The Scottish Countryside Alliance attended the Scottish Conservative Party Conference at Murrayfield Stadium over the weekend of the 13-14 June. This was a great opportunity for us to speak to MSPs, MPs and councillors about the rural agenda and our current and future campaigns.

Keynote speeches from Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP, Russell Findlay MSP, Rachael Hamilton MSP and Andrew Bowie MP took place throughout the weekend.

Mr Findlay’s keynote speech focussed on winning back trust, investing in education and utilising Scotland’s oil and gas industry by further investment in the North Sea, instead of importing energy from abroad. All very positive messages for the rural sector.

We attended break-out sessions on topics including hospitality and tourism, fixing Scotland’s roads, the housing emergency, education, and rural Scotland.

Hospitality and tourism

The visitor levy dominated the discussion during this session, with several speakers expressing concern about its potential unintended consequences and questioning the appropriateness of labelling it a “visitor” tax. One commonly cited example involved families needing to stay in nearby hotels while a loved one is hospitalised far from home—highlighting how, in such cases, the levy would still apply. Murdo Fraser MSP suggested implementing a flat-rate tourist tax instead of a percentage-based one.

The housing emergency

This session, hosted by Megan Gallacher MSP, featured a panel of councillors from across Scotland. The key takeaway was the urgent need for greater investment in the housing sector. Participants emphasised that excessive legislation around planning applications is hindering progress and should be streamlined to enable development. Councils should also prioritise regenerating derelict buildings and vacant land to expand the social housing supply. In rural areas, small homebuilders play a crucial role, and support measures are needed to ease their path through the construction process. Additionally, improvements to local infrastructure—including roads, education, and public services—are essential to support growing communities and counteract depopulation.

Rural Issues

This panel group discussion was hosted by Tim Eagle MSP, and included Finlay Carson MSP and Councillor Hannah Powell . We raised concerns about evidence submitted to committees and Parliament being overlooked in favour of the views expressed by animal rights organisations.

We had many visitors to the stand and managed to catch up with a number of MSPs to update them on our current campaigns. Topics under discussion included deer management legislation as part of the Natural Environment Bill and the Agriculture and Rural Communities Act, the Hunting with Dogs Act and its licensing scheme, educating the public on enjoying the countryside respectfully, and encouraging the younger generations to experience the outdoors and learning about the careers on offer in the rural sector.

The Scottish Countryside Alliance will continue to engage with MSPs from all parties to ensure that the rural voice is heard in parliament. There is much to do in educating the urban-centric politicians about the rural way of life and land management activities that help conservation and biodiversity in the Scottish countryside.