Scotia Future is a political party in Scotland which supports Scottish independence. The party is in favour of what it considers "Real Independence and a Scotland of Equals" outside both the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

with a Swiss style relationship within

EFTA The European Free Trade Association (EFTA) is a regional trade organization and free trade area consisting of four European states: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland. The organization operates in parallel with the European U ...

. On social and economic issues, the Party looks to an older radical nationalist tradition in Scotland than the Scottish National Party (SNP), such as to the economic radicalism of the Scots National League, the

Co-operative Movement The history of the cooperative movement concerns the origins and history of cooperatives across the world. Although cooperative arrangements, such as mutual insurance, and principles of cooperation existed long before, the cooperative movement bega ...

, and the

Highland Land League The first Highland Land League ( gd, Dionnasg an Fhearainn) emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Associat ...

. Its colours are purple and white, and its logo is a

triquetra The triquetra ( ; from the Latin adjective ''triquetrus'' "three-cornered") is a triangular figure composed of three interlaced arcs, or (equivalently) three overlapping '' vesicae piscis'' lens shapes. It is used as an ornamental design in ar ...

superimposed on a map of Scotland.

History

Scotia Future was founded on 9 September 2020 by former SNP MSP Chic Brodie. It was registered by the

Electoral Commission An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

the same day. On 22 October 2020, Cllr Andy Doig became Scotia Future's first elected representative when he defected to the party while sitting on

Renfrewshire Council Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Ren ...

for the Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch ward, having been elected as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

. He had been both an SNP representative and an independent, but the party to date has decided not to contest elections to either

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

or local government, but only to contest Holyrood elections, so Cllr Doig retains his Independent status on Renfrewshire Council. In February 2021 Chic Brodie announced his candidacy on behalf of Scotia Future to stand in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

constituency at that year's Scottish elections, and Cllr Doig announced his candidacy on behalf of Scotia Future to stand in Renfrewshire South constituency also. Brodie died on 24 September 2022 following a short illness. Three days later, it was announced that the party would continue in spite of Brodie's death.

Manifesto launch and policies

Scotia Future launched its Holyrood manifesto on 4 April 2021. It stated that the focus of the election should be on "policies not personalities" which may have been an oblique reference to the very personal contest at that election between the SNP led by Nicola Sturgeon and the newly created

Alba Party The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. The party was founded in February 2021, with Alex Salmond (a former first minister of Scotland) announced as party leader shortly thereafter. Salmond lau ...

led by

Alex Salmond Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...

. The Manifesto called for a programme of more residential rehab centres to treat

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

, a strategy to repopulate the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland and Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...

, a post-independence referendum on the monarchy, a second revising Scottish Senate based in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and a House of Representatives based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, the introduction of

single transferable voting Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

to Holyrood, the decentralisation of local government, and a commitment to repatriating all employment law to Holyrood and the introduction of employee votes and shareholding in every company above a certain size, as in Germany.

Electoral performance

Scottish Parliament

References

{{Political parties in Scotland 2020 establishments in Scotland Political parties established in 2020 Scottish independence Political parties in Scotland