Social Enterprise Scotland’s manifesto for the upcoming Holyrood election has now been launched
The election might seem a long way away - currently planned for Thursday 7 May 2026 - but as we know, these things come around quickly!
Building Wealth, Building Community is A Manifesto For Scotland’s Future Economy - as we seek to transform our economy to benefit people and planet.
An increasing number of people are realising that new, creative solutions for our big economic challenges are urgently needed - and social enterprise is a key part of that.
We’re working in partnership with friends and allies in other sectors - with similar inclusive, democratic businesses like cooperatives and employee-owned businesses.
This also means close partnerships with all private and public sector colleagues - to further embed social impact in their supply chains.
The manifesto is fairly concise and focuses on a number of core areas that need policy action.
Firstly, this is about committing to policy initiatives that are already being taken forward in some way.
Primarily this means Community Wealth Building, Fair Work, public service reform and full implementation of the Inclusive, Democratic Business Models (IDBM) independent report.
As the current 10-year Social Enterprise Strategy and final Action Plan draws to a close in 2026, we’re also calling for renewed and long-term investment in Scotland’s world-renowned social enterprise ecosystem.
But this moment demands more than continuity - it calls for ambition. The next strategy should go further, championing social enterprise as part of that broader movement of inclusive, democratic business.
The manifesto urges policy-makers to support more direct investment into social enterprises in the real economy and more social enterprise delivery of public services, to drive our green social economy, ensure that every voice has equal value - and to support our other vital areas of interest.
It’s essential that politicians genuinely listen to and learn from the lived experiences of social entrepreneurs and the people they serve - and really understand the financial realities on the ground for local social enterprises.
As we know good legislation too often fails to translate into genuine, real-world impacts in our local communities - this needs to change.
With many more social enterprises and other social impact businesses we could see genuine and inclusive economic growth, more quality jobs, a big boost in productivity and the democratic renewal that Scotland urgently needs.
This is about expanding our collective imagination and looking to new, innovative policies - going beyond the old policy debates.
We urge all election candidates and political parties to read and adopt our manifesto of affordable, achievable, real-world policies.
The manifesto wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise and wisdom of SES members and our Policy Advisory Group (PAG), gathered through webinar consultations and meetings - thank you!
Please read the manifesto and share widely with your colleagues and customers, your social enterprise networks and your partners in every sector - this is a manifesto for all of us.
Duncan Thorp is policy and public affairs manager at Social Enterprise Scotland.
