Party Manifesto Extracts
Here is what each of the five main political parties says about National Parks in its manifesto for the May 2021 Scottish Parliament Elections:
Scottish Conservatives
Scotland has two national parks, Loch Lomond and The Trossachs and the Cairngorms. Nearly twenty years on from their creation, we would create Scotland’s third national park in Galloway and consider other proposals for further parks.
Scottish Greens
The Scottish Greens will deliver an ambitious programme of reform and expansion of our National and Regional Park network. We will create at least two new National Parks and one new Regional Park. We will invest in our new and existing parks so that they have an adequate ranger service and more powers to deliver its goals. We will deliver a programme of public and community land acquisition so that more of our Parks are publicly owned and managed in the public interest. As in the last Parliament, we will also oppose developments which exploit and degrade our National Parks for profit.
Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour will support the designation of new National Parks (including coastal, marine and city parks), recognising that National Scenic Area designation is insufficient.
Scottish Liberal Democrats
We support development of a new national strategy to designate more national parks, as part of a wider network of protected landscapes.
Scottish National Party
No reference to National Parks.
SCNP/APRS Manifesto Proposals
For information, during the 2020-21 manifesto preparation period, SCNP and APRS wrote to all of Scotland’s political parties proposing the following wording regarding National Parks:
Our National Parks lead the way in tackling the climate emergency and biodiversity crisis, promoting mental and physical health and well-being, boosting rural employment and celebrating the beauty of our world-class landscapes. We will extend these benefits to other parts of Scotland through a national strategy to designate at least seven more National Parks, starting with Galloway and the Borders, as part of a wider network of protected landscapes.
