As we approach the 2026 Holyrood election, the Countryside Alliance invited parties to write an article for our website setting out their vison for rural Scotland.
Here is the response from Graham Simpson, Reform UK Scotland MSP:
Reform Scotland fully recognise the importance of ensuring that rural voices are properly represented in our national debate.
Rural Scotland plays a vital role in our economy, environment, and cultural life, and it is essential that policy reflects the realities faced by those who live and work in our countryside, as well as the contribution rural communities make to Scotland as a whole.
Reform recognises the significance of sustainable land use, food production, biodiversity conservation, and rural employment, including the contribution that responsible shooting and related activities make to local economies and environmental stewardship.
Rural Scotland matters and it should be treated as such.
It underpins food production, environmental stewardship, local economies, and national identity. Yet, despite covering most of the country’s landmass, rural communities are too often overlooked, constrained by policy designed elsewhere and by people who have no understanding of the countryside and the way it works.
We have seen that too often in the Scottish Parliament and Reform won’t have it.
A confident, sustainable countryside depends on practical policies that reflect how rural areas actually work.
Jobs, affordable housing, connectivity and services matter but so does certainty.
Rural businesses need stable, proportionate regulation and long‑term thinking, not constant upheaval or blunt one‑size‑fits‑all solutions.
Land‑based industries deserve respect. Farming, forestry, tourism, conservation and fieldsports are interconnected.
They sustain jobs, skills, and fragile rural economies.
Shooting, including game shooting, wildfowling and deer stalking, is a legitimate, lawful, and productive activity.
When well managed, it delivers habitat management, biodiversity gains, local employment, sustainable food, and investment in remote areas.
Environmental responsibility is strongest where people have a stake in outcomes.
Effective regulation should support best practice, recognise local knowledge and encourage continuous improvement, not undermine confidence or investment.
A countryside that is productive, environmentally responsible and socially resilient benefits everyone. Backing it decisively is essential to Scotland’s future. Reform will always be on the side of the countryside and its custodians.
Rural Scotland needs policy that matches its commitment with clarity, confidence, and common sense, giving communities, land managers and fieldsports the space to succeed, invest and plan boldly for generations ahead together.
Graham Simpson is a Reform UK Scotland MSP.