A Vision for a Better Scotland

Less Tax, Less Work, More Life

A comprehensive framework for building a happier, fairer, and more prosperous society through technology, renewable wealth, and progressive policy reform.

Version 1.14 — January 2026

What's In It For You?

Before you read 50 pages of policy, here's what this actually means for your life:

✅ None of this is fantasy. Every single policy exists somewhere today — Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Estonia, Germany. The only reason we don't have them is because the people who'd lose out own the newspapers.

Who Doesn't Want You To Read This

You might be wondering: if these ideas are so good, why haven't I heard them before?

⚠️ Because the people who'd pay more under these policies are the same people who control what you read and hear.

Six billionaires own 90% of UK print media. The Sun, The Times, The Telegraph, The Mail, The Express — all owned by billionaires or their families. Most are non-domiciled for tax purposes, meaning they don't pay UK tax on their worldwide income. A Land Value Tax would cost them millions. A Wealth Fund built from public resources would mean less private profit. Of course they don't give these ideas airtime.

💡 The BBC is not neutral — it cannot be. The licence fee is set by Westminster. The board is appointed by the UK government. Over 80% of BBC staff are based in England, with just 7% in Scotland. A University of the West of Scotland study found that during the 2014 referendum, BBC Scotland's coverage favoured No arguments by a ratio of 3:2.

"Think tanks" are often lobbying groups in disguise. When you see an "expert" on TV explaining why Land Value Tax is unworkable, ask who funds them. The Institute of Economic Affairs, the Taxpayers' Alliance, the Adam Smith Institute — many refuse to disclose their donors. Those that do reveal funding from property developers, fossil fuel companies, and inherited wealth.

🔑 433 landowners control half of Scotland's rural land. Many inherited it. Many pay little or no tax on it. A Land Value Tax would cost them hundreds of thousands per year. They have lawyers, lobbyists, and friends in Parliament. You have a vote.

Energy companies made over £125 billion in profits on UK operations since the energy crisis began. While your bills doubled, their shareholders got rich. A Scottish energy market that kept prices linked to production costs would end this.

This isn't conspiracy. It's just interests. People with money and power use that money and power to protect their position. The question is whether you let them.

What The Headlines Will Say

If these ideas gain traction, here's what you'll read. And here's the truth:

"Land Value Tax will destroy farming!"

No. Working farmers pay 0% — same as now. The tax hits grouse moors, empty land, and wealthy people buying farms as tax shelters. If you actually farm your land, you pay nothing.

"Businesses will flee to England!"

Flee to what? Higher energy costs? A smaller skilled workforce? No EU access? Ireland has higher corporation tax than the UK and businesses queue up to locate there because of what they get: educated workers, EU market access, quality of life.

"A Wealth Fund takes decades — what about now?"

Norway started in 1990, hit $1 trillion by 2017. Yes, it takes time. But most of this vision — land reform, housing, NHS, four-day week pilots, democratic reform — can start immediately with current powers. The Wealth Fund is the long game.

"Scotland can't afford this!"

We can't afford NOT to. The current model costs us billions in energy bills that should be lower, housing wealth hoarded by landlords, health costs from poverty, and brain drain as young people leave.

"You'll lose your pension!"

No. The UK state pension is an earned entitlement based on National Insurance contributions. When Czechoslovakia split, pensions were honoured. When the Soviet Union dissolved, pensions were honoured. International precedent is clear.

Executive Summary

Scotland stands at a pivotal moment. We are a country where 433 landowners control half of all private rural land, while young families cannot afford a home. Where we generate more renewable electricity than we use, yet pay among the highest energy bills in Europe. Where workers put in longer hours for stagnant wages.

Yet we have the natural resources, the renewable energy potential, the world-class universities, and the political will to build something genuinely different.

Seven Transformative Shifts

1. Scottish Wealth Fund — Capturing renewable wealth, modelled on Norway
2. Tax Shift — From labour to land and wealth
3. AI Transformation — Making public services dramatically more efficient
4. Science Superpower — Exporting Scottish cures worldwide
5. Digital Democracy — Estonia-style transparent government
6. Skills Investment — Parity between university and technical education
7. Intergenerational Fairness — Citizen's Dividend for ALL ages

The Result

• 32-hour, four-day week as standard
• Lower income tax for ordinary workers
• Citizen's Dividend from our national wealth
• Housing costs under 25% of median income
• Energy bills half what they are today
• Life sciences exports growing to £12-15bn
• Government spending transparent to every citizen
• 35,000+ apprenticeships per year

1. The Case for Change

The Failed Promise of Growth

For decades, we have been told that GDP growth would lift all boats. Instead, it has concentrated wealth at the top while ordinary people work longer hours for stagnant wages.

Scotland's founding membership of the Wellbeing Economy Governments partnership (WEGo), alongside Iceland, New Zealand, Wales, and Finland, recognises that GDP is a poor measure of national success.

Scotland's Unique Opportunity

💡 Norway's oil fund now exceeds $2 trillion — $385,000 per citizen. Scotland's renewable energy potential is proportionally even greater, and unlike oil, it is inexhaustible.

2. The Vision: What Life Could Look Like

📖 Imagine Scotland in 2040...

Sarah wakes at 7am in her warm, draught-free home in Aviemore. The heat pump clicks on quietly — her energy bill last month was £45. It's Friday, which means the weekend starts now: her company moved to a four-day week in 2032, and productivity actually went up.

She checks her phone — her Citizen's Dividend of £120 has arrived, her share of the Scottish Wealth Fund that now stands at £140 billion.

Her daughter Eilidh, 4, goes to the free nursery down the road. Her son Jamie, 17, is doing a Graduate Apprenticeship with a wind turbine manufacturer, earning while he learns.

Sarah's parents live in Ullapool. Housing costs are capped at 25% of income. When her mum needed a hip replacement, the wait was eight weeks, not eighteen months.

This weekend, she'll drive up to see them in her EV, charged overnight for the cost of a coffee. The A9 is dualled now. She checks the government spending dashboard — every pound traceable.

✅ This is not fantasy. Every element exists somewhere today — in Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Iceland.

2.1 Work That Works For You

• 32-hour week over four days, at full pay
• Three-day weekends for family, hobbies, rest
• Productivity maintained — proven in UK and international trials

Scotland is already piloting this. Edinburgh Council voted in June 2025 to trial a four-day week. The 2022 UK pilot with 61 companies showed 56 continued the policy. Iceland's 2015-2019 trials: 86% of workers now have reduced hours. Microsoft Japan reported 40% productivity increase.

2.2 Lower Taxes On Labour

• Income tax reduced for everyone earning under £100,000
• £15,000 tax-free personal allowance (up from £12,570)
• Citizen's Dividend from Scottish Wealth Fund to all residents

The key insight: taxing labour is economically inefficient. It punishes productive work. By shifting taxation to land and wealth — which cannot flee the country — we can reduce the burden on workers while raising more revenue.

2.3 Housing For Everyone

• 25% cap on housing costs as share of income
• 20,000+ social homes built annually via National Housing Company
• 44,453 empty homes brought into use through escalating taxes
• Land hoarding ended through Land Value Tax
• Foreign buyer restrictions — homes for people who live here

2.4 Cheaper, Cleaner Energy

• All-electric homes as standard — heat pump, induction hob, EV charger
• Scottish Energy Tariff at 15p/kWh or less
• Heat pumps 45% cheaper than gas once levies are shifted
• £1,500-2,000 annual savings per family
• Free retrofit for fuel-poor households

Scotland generates 38.4 TWh of renewable electricity but consumes only 22 TWh. We export the surplus to England for £1.5 billion, yet pay among Europe's highest energy prices due to punitive transmission charges.

2.5 Free Education, Healthcare, Secure Retirement

• Free university tuition maintained and extended
• Free childcare from age 1 — Sweden has 80% female workforce participation vs UK's 72%
• NHS properly funded with AI-assisted diagnostics
• Free social care — no selling your home for old age
• State pension increased to a genuine living income

2.6 Minimum Income Guarantee

Building on the Scottish Government's MIG consultation (June 2025):

• A floor below which no one falls
• Simpler system without cruel sanctions
• Dignity for carers and those unable to work
• Pathway to Universal Basic Income

3. How We Pay For It

The critical question is always: "How do you pay for it?"

The answer: three transformative revenue sources that do not increase the burden on ordinary workers.

3.1 The Scottish Wealth Fund

Modelled on Norway's Government Pension Fund Global (now over $2 trillion).

Revenue Sources:

• Crown Estate Scotland seabed leases (ScotWind raised £700m in option fees)
• Green hydrogen exports via Scot2Ger pipeline
• Public equity stakes in offshore wind
• Carbon capture revenues

Projected Growth:

3.2 Land Value Tax

Council Tax is a regressive relic based on 1991 valuations. We propose abolishing it for most families and replacing it with LVT targeting wealth, not homes.

Replacement Revenue:

New Rates for Primary Residences:

✅ Result: 60-70% of Scottish households pay nothing. Average family saves £1,200-1,500/year.

Protecting Working Farmers

Working farmers pay 0% LVT — same as now. The target is land hoarding and sporting estates, not food production.

Qualification tests: output thresholds, farming as primary income, quality assurance registration, employing workers. Fail two or more, and the exemption doesn't apply.

Grouse moors pay full rates: 1.5-2% annually. A 20,000-hectare moor valued at £30m would face £450,000-600,000/year.

3.3 Homes for People, Not Investors

Who we protect:

• Small domestic landlords with one rental property
• Tourism businesses with genuine occupancy
• Scottish residents with one second home

Who pays more:

• Empty homes — escalating to 5% + compulsory purchase
• Portfolio landlords (6+ properties) — escalating rates
• Foreign non-residents — banned from existing homes (New Zealand did this 2018)
• Corporate/institutional owners — 5%+ rates and ownership caps

Revenue: £500-600m annually

4. Technology for People

4.1 AI in Public Services

• NHS Forth Valley: AI-powered complaints handling
• VisitScotland: AI travel planning
• Dumfries & Galloway Council: AI email triage
• CivTech: £16m in 24 digital challenges

Key principle: AI augments human workers, it does not replace them.

4.2 All-Electric Homes

Scotland generates more renewable electricity than it consumes — 38.4 TWh produced, 14 TWh consumed. We export £1.5 billion worth. Yet Scottish households pay Europe's highest bills.

⚠️ The Scandal: A wind farm in northern Scotland pays £5.54/MWh to connect. A Welsh wind farm gets paid £2.80/MWh.

Current vs Scottish System:

Current Support (many don't know about):

• Home Energy Scotland Grant: Up to £15,000 for heat pump + insulation
• ECO4: 100% FREE for eligible low-income households
• Warmer Homes Scotland: £10,000+ free improvements

4.3 District Heating

• Queens Quay Clydebank: UK's largest water-source heat pump — 1,200 homes
• H100 Fife: World's first 100% renewable hydrogen network — 300 homes
• AMIDS Paisley: UK's first fifth-generation network

4.4 Smart Transport

• Free bus travel under 22: 116+ million journeys since 2022
• Ferries: Road Equivalent Tariff for all routes — cut island costs dramatically
• Rail: Complete electrification — no diesel by 2035
• A9: Complete the dualling — Scotland's most dangerous trunk road

5. Science Superpower

Scotland gave the world penicillin, the MRI scanner, Dolly the sheep. Our universities rank among the world's best. But too often, Scottish discoveries are commercialised elsewhere.

Small nations can become science superpowers:

• Switzerland: Life sciences = 5.7% of GDP, 30% of exports (£80bn+)
• Israel: 1,600 life sciences companies, £1bn+ annual investment
• Scotland: £4.3bn exports — strong base to build from

Scottish Science Assets

• Edinburgh BioQuarter — UK's largest health innovation campus
• Roslin Institute — genetics and stem cells
• Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre — 80+ research teams
• Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre — £56m facility

Scottish Science Investment Fund

Israel's Yozma invested $100m → catalysed $10bn+ VC industry.

Target by 2040

6. Democratic Reform

Scotland is one of Europe's most centralised countries. Trust in politics is falling. People feel no control over decisions affecting their lives.

The Estonia Model

Estonia — 1.3 million people — has the world's most advanced digital government:

• 99% of services online 24/7
• Filing taxes: 3 minutes
• Citizens own their data and see who accesses it
• All spending transparent and tamper-proof

Scotland could adopt:

• Digital ID for all services, voting, healthcare
• Data ownership with access logs
• Real-time spending transparency
• Once-only principle — no repetitive forms
• Secure online voting

Citizens' Assemblies

• National assemblies yearly on major questions
• Local assemblies in every council area
• Binding recommendations with required government response
• Random selection ensures diverse voices

Participatory Budgeting

• 1% of council budgets by 2028
• 5% by 2035 — ~£500m decided by citizens directly

Decentralising Power

Scotland: 32 councils for 5.4m people. Denmark (similar population): 98. France: 35,000+ communes.

Proposals:

• Community Councils with real decision-making powers
• Local retention of business rates
• Extended Community Right to Buy

Transparency

• Real-time government spending dashboard
• Lobbying register — all meetings published
• Recall elections if 10% of constituents petition
• Whistleblower protection and rewards

7. Skills for the Future

Parity of Esteem

End the artificial hierarchy between academic and technical education:

• Single funding body for tertiary education
• Modern Apprenticeships expanded to 35,000+/year (from 25,500)
• Graduate Level Apprenticeships — degrees while earning
• Living wage for all apprentices — end £7.55/hour minimum

Skills for Growth Sectors

Lifelong Learning

• Individual Learning Accounts for every adult
• Modular micro-credentials fitting around work
• Flexible Workforce Development Fund restored
• Four-day week training day option

8. Thriving Rural Scotland

Population projected to fall from 2033. Fourteen areas face decline. Highlands and Islands losing young people. Yet rural areas produce our food, whisky, renewable energy, and tourism.

Why People Leave

• Housing: Lack of affordable homes, holiday lets displacing residents
• Jobs: Limited opportunities, seasonal work, low wages
• Services: Declining schools, distant healthcare
• Transport: Expensive ferries, infrequent buses
• Connectivity: Broadband blackspots

How This Vision Helps

Every policy benefits rural areas:

• Renewable wealth is in rural Scotland
• Four-day week enables remote work
• LVT penalises land hoarding
• All-electric homes end expensive oil/LPG
• 30% rural land target for community ownership
• Nature-based jobs growing fastest

Repopulation Priority Areas

• £50,000 housing grants in priority areas
• Flexible community childcare
• Digital hubs with guaranteed gigabit broadband
• Road Equivalent Tariff on all ferries
• Small business incentives

Scotch Whisky

Scotland's largest export: £5.4bn (26% of all goods exports). 152 distilleries. 41,000 jobs. 44 bottles shipped every second.

Support through:

• Trade deals reducing tariffs (India currently 150%)
• Review of excise duty (70% of bottle price is tax)
• Green hydrogen for decarbonisation
• Transport links to Speyside and Islay

9. Health & Wellbeing

Scotland has Western Europe's lowest life expectancy. People in deprived communities die a decade earlier than the wealthy.

Every Policy Is Health Policy

• Four-day week: Less stress, more exercise time
• Warm homes: End cold-related illness
• Affordable housing: Reduce housing stress
• Good jobs: Secure employment = health
• Income security: Poverty is the biggest health driver
• Community: Social isolation harms like smoking

Digital Health

• NHS Digital Front Door — app for booking and records
• Hospital at Home — remote monitoring
• 35 digital mental health therapies — 74,000 referrals
• AI diagnostics for radiology, pathology

Proactive Care

• CVD risk programme — find undiagnosed conditions
• Frailty prevention — early support for older people
• Healthy weight priority — make healthy options cheaper
• Minimum Unit Pricing continued

10. Implementation Roadmap

Phase 1: Now to 2028 (Current Powers)

• Expand four-day week pilots
• Escalate empty homes tax to 200-300%
• Implement Housing Act 2025 rent controls
• Use Land Reform Act 2025 powers
• Launch Scottish Science Investment Fund
• Double Scottish Child Payment to £55/week
• Citizens' assemblies in all council areas
• Government spending dashboard
• 30,000+ Modern Apprenticeships
• NHS Digital Front Door

Phase 2: 2028-2035 (Additional Powers)

• Land Value Tax replacing Council Tax
• Income tax cuts under £100,000
• National Housing Company — 20,000+ homes/year
• Universal Basic Income pilot
• Four-day week as public sector standard
• Free childcare from age 1
• Scottish Energy Tariff — 15p/kWh
• Estonia-style digital government
• 1% participatory budgeting

Phase 3: 2035-2045 (Full Transformation)

• Four-day week universal
• Citizen's Dividend £1,000-1,500/person
• Full UBI
• Housing under 25% of income
• Empty homes under 10,000
• 30%+ rural land community-owned
• Net zero achieved
• Life sciences exports £12-15bn
• All homes EPC Band C+
• Wealth Fund £100bn+

11. Intergenerational Fairness

The UK's intergenerational budget imbalance is £7.6 trillion. People aged 61-79 will withdraw £220,000 more than they contributed. Today's infants will contribute thousands more than they'll ever receive.

The Problem

The Norwegian Solution

Norway's fund is designed for intergenerational equity:

• 3% rule: Only 3% withdrawn annually, preserving capital
• Both generations benefit: current citizens get services, future citizens inherit capital
• Now over $2 trillion, funding 25% of the budget

This Vision's Approach

• Wealth Fund with intergenerational mandate
• Citizen's Dividend for ALL — including children
• LVT captures housing wealth without forcing sales
• Universal services help working-age people squeezed now
• Affordable housing breaks the asset wealth gap

The goal is not to take from pensioners — many are poor. It's ensuring wealth benefits ALL generations.

12. The Information War

A Note to England

📖 If you're English and reading this: you should want us to go.

Not because we hate you — we don't. But staying together isn't working for either of us.

What England gains from Scottish independence:

• An English Parliament — decisions without constitutional awkwardness
• Cheaper energy imports — we'll sell you renewable electricity at good rates
• End of the subsidy argument — no more GERS rows
• Trident resolved — England decides where to base it
• Government matching your votes — Scotland consistently votes differently

The EU question is fair. But Ireland manages a land border while in the EU. It's manageable.

The honest pitch: We're not leaving because we hate you. We're leaving because Westminster doesn't work for either of us. Let's be good neighbours instead of resentful housemates.

Why Reform UK Isn't the Answer

If you're angry about housing, wages, and broken services — that anger is justified. But Reform UK is part of the problem wearing a different hat.

⚠️ Follow the money:

Three-quarters of Reform UK's funding comes from just three wealthy men. Half of all donations come from people with offshore interests. Nigel Farage went to Dulwich College and worked as a City commodities trader. Richard Tice is a property developer worth £40m.

Their policies:

• Tax cuts benefiting the wealthy
• Deregulation helping corporations
• Climate denial protecting fossil fuel donors
• Immigration scapegoating distracting from real causes
• Nothing on land reform, housing, or wealth concentration

The Reform trick: channel working-class anger toward scapegoats while protecting the economic interests causing the problems.

How to Spot the Con

Check who's paying. When a "think tank" is quoted, ask who funds them. The Institute of Economic Affairs refuses to disclose. The Taxpayers' Alliance was founded by political operatives.

Notice what's not discussed. Count coverage of tax arrangements of newspaper owners vs coverage of migrants. The ratio tells you whose interests media serves.

Be sceptical of emotional manipulation. When a headline makes you instantly furious, pause. Ask who wants you to feel this way.

Cross-reference everything. No single source is reliable. Find primary data.

Trust your lived experience. If official narratives don't match your reality, trust your reality.

Powers Required

Currently Devolved (Can Act Now)

• Land Value Tax
• Housing and planning
• NHS Scotland
• Education and skills
• Four-day week in public sector
• Local democracy reform
• Heat in Buildings Standard
• Retrofit grants

Requires Westminster Cooperation

• Scottish Energy Tariff (energy markets reserved)
• Transmission charge reform (Ofgem decision)
• National Insurance (fully reserved)
• Immigration policy (fully reserved)

Requires Independence

• Full energy market control
• Scottish currency and central bank
• EU or Single Market membership
• Full fiscal autonomy

A Scotland Worth Living In

This vision is not fantasy. Every element builds on existing policy, proven examples, or existing technology:

• Norway shows wealth funds work
• Estonia shows digital government works
• Switzerland and Israel show small nations can become science superpowers
• Iceland shows four-day weeks work
• Denmark shows land value tax works
• Scotland's own pioneers in citizens' assemblies, district heating, cancer research show the path

The question is not whether this is possible. It is whether we have the political will to choose a different future.

A Scotland where people work four days, keep more of what they earn, never worry about housing or healthcare, and have time for what makes life worth living.

🔑 That Scotland is within reach. The resources are ours. The technology exists. All that remains is the choice to build it.

"The goal and objective of all economic policy should be collective wellbeing." — Nicola Sturgeon, Wellbeing Economy Alliance, 2020