I warmly welcome the publication of Community Scotland and the clear statement of intent it represents for the future of community empowerment in our country.

For too long, communities across Scotland have felt that power, wealth and opportunity are concentrated elsewhere. The Scottish Co-operative Party has a compelling alternative: an economy built on co-operation, democratic control and shared prosperity.

At its heart is a simple but powerful principle – by embracing co-operation, we can deliver the change Scotland needs and empower local people and communities.

I was pleased to read about Dalmuir Barclay Food Pantry in Clydebank in the West Scotland region.  A community that recognised the problems in their local area and came to together to try and help.  That community recognised that people didn’t want handouts – they wanted respect – by setting up a food pantry giving people a choice over the items they received.

The co-operative movement is about people helping each other and coming together to fulfil a need in their community.

Community Scotland reflects that same ambition. It recognises that empowerment is not a slogan, but a structural change: giving people a real stake in the assets, services and wealth of their local area. From community energy and employee ownership to housing co-operatives and land reform, the co-operative vision is about sharing both wealth and power. The case for reform is overwhelming. Land ownership remains among the most concentrated in the world, and further land reform is needed to promote community ownership and tackle land hoarding.

In housing, co-operative and community-led models can deliver affordability, empowerment and long-term security, supported by reforms that allow housing co-ops to become community transfer bodies under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. Through community wealth building, we can ensure public procurement, and anchor institutions work to retain wealth locally and grow the social economy. Scottish Labour has also been clear that tackling inequality requires cross-government working and a commitment to prevention and partnership with local government and the third sector.

Community empowerment is central to that mission. It is about trusting communities, resourcing them properly, and ensuring they shape the decisions that affect their lives. Community Scotland builds on Scotland’s proud co-operative tradition – hundreds of co-operatives serving hundreds of thousands of members and generating significant economic value. But it also looks forward, calling for a step change in ambition: doubling the size of the co-operative economy and embedding co-operative development at the heart of government business support.

As Scottish Labour’s spokesperson for constitution, I am proud to support this publication. Community Scotland is not just a policy document – it is a statement of belief that power belongs in the hands of people and communities, not stuck in Westminster, Holyrood or even the local council. By working together – communities, co-operatives, local authorities and government – we can build a fairer, more democratic and more resilient Scotland.