There are some good examples of community ownership in Scotland mainly in the Highlands and Islands – South Uist, Eigg, Assynt – but, there are also some smaller ones – Maryhill Community Halls in Glasgow.

In 2015, the Scottish Government passed the Community Empowerment Act, which comes into force this year. The new SNP Council in Glasgow is proposing to allocate £1million of Council funds to groups within each ward (i.e. Council constituency area, which , in Scotland are multi-member, being elected under STV). In the initial stages the amount of scope that local groups will have will be constrained – it is a learning process for both the public and for council officers and there are existing contracts to be honoured – but, over time, local groups can increase their powers and the amount of budget over which they have control.

The issue of land reform has to be tackled with determination. This is the biggest obstacle to widespread ownership, both at the level of the individual and at the collective level.