Scotland has a population of 5.5 million, but half of our country is owned by just over 400 people.
By curbing the ability of financial speculators to sit on unused land, we can change how we use land to tackle rural depopulation, the impacts of climate change, ensure nature can thrive and create more rural jobs in Scotland.
If this bill is to pass, then it must be as robust as possible. If I’m going to vote for it, then I need to be confident in it in a way that I am not at present. I want to be able to look constituents in the eye and tell them that we have made significant progress and that it has genuinely improved things.
We can’t afford to get this wrong and find ourselves having to wait another 20 years for action.
We owe it to this generation to get it right and ensure that the solutions we are offering live up to the scale of the challenge. Land reform is not just about changing the names on certificates; it’s about nothing less than independence and self-determination for each and every one of us.