Scottish 2026 Holyrood Elections: Manifestos affecting co-operatives

Scottish Election manifestos: A summary for co‑operatives 

Labour and the Scottish Green Party both commit to expanding the number of co‑operatives and employee‑owned businesses in Scotland, alongside simplifying the Community Right to Buy.  

The Scottish Green Party further pledges to strengthen co‑operative development by directing greater support through Scottish Enterprise and full implementation of the IDBM review's recommendations.

The SNP commits to implementing the Community Wealth Building Act, which includes co-operative development and to supporting further growth in employee ownership. Labour also pledges additional support for the credit union sector and for the development of community heat networks. Labour, the Greens and the SNP all make substantial commitments to grow the community energy sector, while the Greens and SNP additionally propose measures to expand fan ownership within Scottish football.  

Reform UK commits to creating vibrant community hubs across Scotland, the Conservatives and Reform focus primarily on business taxation, particularly business rates. Reform proposes abolishing business rates altogether, alongside the removal of Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, while the Conservatives pledge permanently lower business rates for retail, leisure and hospitality, and 100 per cent relief for pubs with rateable values up to £100,000.

Scottish Election manifestos: In detail 

Scottish National Party: 

• Supporting community ownership as part of regeneration of town centres  
• Enhancing opportunities and support for community right to buy and ownership 
• Establish a Last Provider Fund to help keep open shops and pubs who are the last remaining providers in rural and island communities, after the UK Government closed the Community Ownership Fund. 
• We will expand the football Fan Bank to 2031 to support more communities to acquire a share or control of their local sports club 
• Expand the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) to £15 million supporting community ownership of renewable energy projects 
• Work with stakeholders to develop proposals to ensure community benefit works better for areas impacted by renewable energy projects 
• Implement the measures in the Community Wealth Building Act. 
• Will increase the number of employee-owned businesses operating in Scotland to 500 by 2030

Scottish Labour: 

• Encourage the expansion of co-operative and employee-owned models 
• Create a £100m Community Energy Fund 
• Redefine community benefit so funds derived from local energy deliver tangible long-term results for communities 
• Simplify community right to buy 
• Create a dedicated housing bank within Scottish national investment bank for low-cost loans for new housing projects, including specific support for new co-operative owned housing. 
• Expand community heat and power networks 
• Supporting growth of credit unions and building societies  

Scottish Greens:  

• Implement the IDBM review recommendations in full
• Expand support for worker, consumer and community co-operatives, including expert advice, funding and finance from Scotland’s Enterprise Agencies and Business Gateway, with an initial target of 1% of enterprise grant funding to go to co-operatives. 
• Increase co-operative and employee ownership models 
• Support the development of alternative housing models, such as self-build, co-housing and housing co-operatives. 
• Bring private care homes into public or community ownership 
• Simplify community right to buy. 
• Empower fans to have an ownership stake in their football or sports clubs, through enacting the clause in the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act that gives fans the right to buy. 
• developing Community Wealth Building capacity 
• Pilot a Community Wealth Fund to support locally-owned green enterprise, including wealth generated from renewables

Reform UK 

• Restore civic pride in towns and cities by creating vibrant community hubs. 
• Phase out Land and Building Transaction Tax and Business Rates and replace with an annual property tax 

Scottish Liberal Democrats: 

•  Re-writing community benefit rules so local people get much more of the money companies make from generating renewable energy near them 

Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party: 

• Introduce Scottish Business Zones, where businesses would pay zero rates 
• Reducing taxes for retail, hospitality and leisure businesses 
• Remove all business rates off businesses with valuations of £20,000 or less 
• Introduce lower business rates for small and medium sized retail, hospitality and leisure. 
• Provide 100% rates relief to Pubs with rateable valuations of £100,000 or less.