432 people own half of Scotland’s private land, while 0.025
per cent of the population owns 67 per cent of Scotland’s rural land. In terms of
distribution of ownership, Scotland is one of the most unequal countries in the
world.
Islay - off the west coast of Scotland - is home to 3,000
people but most of the island is owned by just a few wealthy men. Lord
Margadale of Islay Estates owns around a third of the island. The neighbouring
island of Jura is owned by Lord Astor, whose step-daughter Samantha Cameron is
married to the prime minister David Cameron.
Under the Scottish
Government's new Land Reform Bill ministers say they want to encourage more
community ownership and ensure land is used in the public interest. The Bill
also includes plans to create a land register, aiming to increase transparency
over ownership. Private trusts are reckoned, in property and land, to be worth
£500bn in Scotland, according to the Scots Law Commission,
Holyrood also plans to scrap tax breaks for shooting estates
in Scotland.
Landowners and lairds have
accused them of waging "a class war".
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