To use journo-speak the 'land reform question' in Scotland is 'gaining traction', and it can't come soon enough. For too long has public money been shoveled to super-rich landowners simply for having land or for at best a bit of environmental tinkering. Just as the Scottish Parliament is discussing land reform, a 28,000 acre estate is on the market for a cool £11.4 million. So what you might ask? Well, a major selling point, as advertised in the sales particulars, is the fact that this estate is guaranteed £12,000 a week in agricultural subsidies and forestry grants. In other words we are giving someone who can afford an £11.4 million estate £624,000 income.
With stuff like this going on and the fact that 432 people/organisations own half of Scotland this shit is long overdue for sorting out.
'According to sales particulars issued by selling agents Knight Frank, the new owner of the 28,000-acre Auch and Invermearan Estate in Argyll can look forward to getting a guaranteed £12,000 a week from the taxpayer by way of agricultural subsidies and recurrent forestry grants. Long unquestioned, such hand-outs to Scotland’s super-rich lairds (and you have to be super-rich to afford Auch and Invermearan at an asking price of £11.4 million) are starting to attract both media and political attention. Reacting to the Auch and Invermearan figure (incautiously revealed by Knight Frank at a point when social security payments are being capped and jobless young folk forced to live on £56.80 a week), the Daily Record commented: "Something is rotten in the landed estates of Scotland." Glasgow Labour MP Ian Davidson was equally forceful, labelling landowners, as the Record headlined, Scotland’s "greediest benefit claimants."' (Andy Wightman article).
media-underground.net