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17. Cultural Pride Protected 🟢
Education and the historic environment are devolved. From August 2028, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle will replace Experiences and Outcomes with a Know–Do–Understand model.
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The 28 are detailed positions on the major domestic challenges facing Scotland — including education, health, justice, energy, housing and the defence industry. Each is written as policy analysis, not as a slogan or a list of promises. Together they set out a serious view of what good government in these areas would require.
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16. Rural Revival 🟢
About one in six people in Scotland live in rural areas on the official 6-fold classification. By 30 July 2026, the R100 contracts had delivered 99,434 connections, plus 6,299 voucher connections, against a planned 112,939.
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15. Mental Health First 🟢
In the quarter to March 2026, 91.2 per cent of children started CAMHS treatment within 18 weeks. Adult psychological therapies reached 79.4 per cent, below the 90 per cent standard.
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14. Sustainable Environment for Generations 🟢
Scotland created 8,470 hectares of new woodland in 2024/25 — 54 per cent of the UK total, and almost half the 15,040 hectares of the year before. The Climate Change Committee has said the 2023/24 rate proved a rapid rise is possible, and that grant-scheme cuts then halved it.
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13. Strong Families – The Scottish Way 🟢
Every three- and four-year-old is entitled to 1,140 funded hours a year, with no parental work test. Eligible two-year-olds have the same hours; take-up among them was about 55 per cent in 2025.
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12. Defence & Deterrent – Scotland Secure 🟡
Faslane is the operational home of the continuous at-sea deterrent. Lossiemouth is the northern Quick Reaction Alert and maritime patrol hub.
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11. Scotland Runs Scotland 🔴
Immigration, nationality and asylum are reserved in full. So are the main taxes, National Insurance, VAT, corporation tax and monetary policy.
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10. Scotland Leads the Future 🟡
Scotland already has a dense cluster in photonics, quantum, semiconductors and sensing, a nationally hosted supercomputer, Europe’s leading small-satellite manufacturing base, and a licensed vertical spaceport.
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9. Scotland Builds the World Again 🟢
Naval yards on the Clyde and at Rosyth are among the busiest in Europe. The last commercial yard on the lower Clyde has no hull in the build hall. Ministers announced in March 2026 that they intended to award four public vessels directly to Ferguson Marine.
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8. Powerhouse Scotland – Bills That Cost What They Cost 🟡
Scotland exported 21.7 TWh of electricity in 2025 and imported 0.9 TWh. Net exports were 20.8 TWh, with an indicative wholesale value of £1.7 billion.
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7. Scots Trained, Scots First 🟡
Scotland still reports skill-shortage vacancies in trades, engineering, digital work and care. Modern Apprenticeship starts fell in 2025/26 after a flat post-pandemic recovery.
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6. Back to Basics – World-Class Education 🟢
Education is fully devolved. The last comparable international test of fifteen-year-olds placed Scotland at or near the OECD average in mathematics and science, below England, and well below its own early-2000s scores.