About Our Scottish Future
Our Scottish Future was set up in 2019 by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown to set out a progressive agenda for change in Scotland. The think-tank supports Scotland's continued place within the UK, but wants to use its platform to set out ways for people from all political backgrounds to come together, with positive ideas for Scotland on key areas of concern to us all. At the same time, the think-tank is hoping to engage with people across Scotland, to listen to their views, and draw out areas of common purpose and shared values.
Ahead of the 2021 Holyrood election, and as we face the consequences of the Coronavirus Pandemic, Our Scottish Future plans to set out proposals - from improvements to the NHS and ways to boost jobs - so we can make a fairer and more just nation for us all.
News, press releases and reports
Call for Scottish-UK Government “Testing Summit” to boost Coronavirus response -
THE Scottish and UK Governments should convene an urgent ‘virtual summit’ to agree a joint plan to test, trace and isolate COVID 19 in Scotland, an open letter signed by union leaders and Care Home chiefs declares today.... (read more)
New Our Scottish Future report urges radical acceleration of coronavirus testing -
The Scottish and UK Governments must agree a radical acceleration of testing for coronavirus in Scotland if the country is to secure a clear path out of lockdown, a leading think-tank says today.... (read more)
Coronavirus and the Constitution -
With the UK's united approach to managing the coronavirus crisis apparently fraying at the edges, questions are being asked about whether devolution is problematic for crisis management, and even whether the Scottish government is "playing politics" in the midst of a pandemic.... (read more)
To my fellow Scots
We have just had an election where Scotland - and the rest of Britain - voted overwhelmingly for change. And change is desperately needed: to create high quality jobs, improve our NHS, transform our schools, preserve our environment, and combat poverty and inequality. But right now there is no overwhelming majority for how Scotland should be governed.
I am therefore inviting all of you - whatever your views on independence - to attend a Neighbourhood Assembly put on by Our Scottish Future. To talk together as one community about what kind of a Scotland we want to build over the next decade. To find what values and hopes we have in common. To understand why we disagree when we do. To uncover the sort of change we could all unite behind. We need to hear what every community in Scotland has to say.
Despite the turmoil of the last decade I still hope that Scotland's future will be better inside the United Kingdom in some form, and that we can find a way forward that the vast majority of people in Scotland can support.
It is time we listened to each other. The division cannot go on. We need to settle this.
Let's Talk
Gordon Brown
The Challenge
Scotland is a divided country in a divided Kingdom. The referendums of the 2010’s have created a legacy of bitterness and a politics that is stuck repeating the same tired arguments and slogans
We are still known the world over for our sense of fairness, our ingenuity, and our pride in Scotland’s role in the world. But at home we are all having to deal with rising economic insecurity in what feels too often like a rigged system, our NHS and public services struggling under huge pressures, and a breakdown of trust in our current political system as a route to solving these problems.
Scotland therefore desperately wants both change and settlement – a vision of a better society that can rise to the challenges of the 2020s, and one that an overwhelming majority of people in Scotland can feel a part of no matter what their national identity.
We at Our Scottish Future want to play a part in this change by helping to come up with the ideas and solutions that can build a better Scotland and that will stand the test of time.
Let’s Talk Scotland
We know that Scotland can do better than what is on offer from either Westminster or Holyrood right now. That Scotland’s unique culture and history cannot be papered over by raising flags a little higher, and that the economic ties and shared values that exist between Scotland and the rest of the UK cannot be ignored.
We believe that the common values and shared experiences of people living in communities across our country are stronger and more important than our political disagreements. That by coming together and talking openly and honestly about how they feel about Scotland today and their hopes and fears for the future, people all over our country can together come up with the ideas and a vision for the future that is fundamentally different to today.
We want to bring neighbours, friends and families together across Scotland to share their stories, to discover where they agree, and understand how and why they might disagree. From these Neighbourhood Assemblies we might just find that our shared values can lead to common purpose and a way forwards as One Scotland.
One Scotland, Many Voices
We want to hear from everyone – Yes and No, Leave and Remain. Whatever our future relationship with Britain, we know that Scotland will do better the more United it is.
If you sign up above, we will let you know when there is a Neighbourhood Assembly nearby. Neighbourhood assemblies will last for 2-3 hours and we will refund reasonable travel and childcare costs. We will do our best to accommodate everyone who signs up, but occasionally numbers may be limited.
Upcoming Neighbourhood Assemblies and other meet ups will also appear on our website below.
Our programme of assemblies will be going on throughout spring, with precise times and locations for each event confirmed around 3-4 weeks before. Neighbourhood Assemblies will last for around 2.5 hours and we will refund reasonable travel costs. Although Our Scottish Future will do our best to ensure that everyone who signs up can be accommodated, spaces may be limited.
We will be holding events in:
Aberdeen
Ayr
Dundee
Edinburgh Central
Edinburgh Northern and Leith
Elgin
Glasgow Maryhill
Glasgow Southside
Hamilton
Inverclyde
Inverness
Kirkcaldy
Motherwell
Perth
Stornoway
What happens in a Neighbourhood Assembly
Neighbourhood Assemblies are opportunities for communities to come together and talk and listen to each other in a way that is unusual in the current political debate. It is an opportunity to hear directly why people have the political beliefs that they do, discover common ground, and appreciate diversity of opinion. We are explicitly not trying to persuade anybody to compromise their beliefs or their principles, we just want to listen and to learn.
What will happen next
After each assembly we will send a summary of what was discussed and areas where there was agreement to everyone who participated. As we do more across Scotland we will gather together and publish a report that highlights the common ground that exists in Scottish politics, and start to campaign for change in those areas by coming up with policy ideas and working with any political party that wants to collaborate with us to put them into practice.