Andy Wightman
| Andy Wightman MSP |
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|---|---|
| File:AndyWightmanMSP.JPG | |
| Member of the Scottish Parliament for Lothian |
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| Assumed office 5 May 2016 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | Dundee |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Political party | Scottish Green Party |
| Residence | Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Alma mater | University of Aberdeen |
| Occupation | MSP, Writer, political activist |
| Website | andywightman |
Andy Wightman is a Scottish Green Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Lothian region and a writer and researcher best known for his work on land ownership in Scotland. He is the author of "Who Owns Scotland" and "The Poor Had No Lawyers".
Background
He was born in Dundee and graduated from the University of Aberdeen in 1985 with a degree in forestry.[1][2] He was a co-founder of Reforesting Scotland, a group dedicated to substantial reforestation.[3]
He began his career as a scientist working on renewable energy at the University of Aberdeen and then as a Projects Officer with Central Scotland Countryside Trust. He became a self-employed writer and researcher in 1993. Over the next 20 years, he contributed to a wide range of debates on land use, land reform, the Crown estate, common good land, local democracy and fiscal reform. Author of a number of reports on these topics, he also served as a Specialist Adviser to the UK Parliament's Scottish Affairs Committee Inquiry on land reform 2014–2015.
He was coordinator of the Land Action Scotland campaign. The campaign has the stated aim of supporting local residents though seeking to democratise companies that are run by a handful of people who are not living on the land involved.[4][5]
In February 2015, Wightman was announced as being a member of the Commission on Local Tax Reform.[6] This cross-party group was set up by the Scottish Government, tasked with examining alternatives to the Council Tax. The final report Just Change: A New Approach to Local Taxation was published on 14 December 2015.
Wightman is a member of the Scottish Green Party. In March 2015, the Scottish Greens balloted their members to select candidates for the 2016 election, with Wightman was placed second on their Lothian list.[7] He was elected as an MSP on 5th May 2016.[8]
Published work
- Who Owns Scotland (Canongate, 1996)[9][10]
- Scotland: land and power. An agenda for land reform (Luath, 1999)
- The Poor Had No Lawyers (Birlinn Books, 2013)[11]
References
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External links
- Profile at Scottish Green Party
- Land Matters Andy Wightman's blog
- Andy Wightman on Herald Scotland
