Elections, the Act, and what comes next for community wealth building in Scotland

A new parliament, a new chapter

Scotland voted on 7 May 2026 and the results are in. The Scottish National Party (SNP) has won a fifth successive term, and John Swinney will seek to form a minority government. For those working in economic development, the result creates both uncertainty and opportunity. The next parliamentary term is unlikely to be defined by a single ideological programme. Instead, it will be characterised by negotiated priorities, pragmatic alliances and competing visions of what an economy should and could look like.

The hard legislative work to pass the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill in Session 6 is done. The Bill is now an Act, and the Act is on the statute book. The question now is what Session 7 will deliver.

A beginning, not an end

The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026 was passed on 10 February, making Scotland the first country in the world to legislate for community wealth building at national level. That is a significant milestone – and I am proud of the role CLES has played in helping to achieve it.

The Act places duties on Scottish ministers to publish a community wealth building statement and on local authorities to establish community wealth building partnerships and publish action plans, It also requires a wide range of public bodies to have ‘due regard’ to community wealth building guidance. The Bill was strengthened significantly at Stage 2, with changes like: economic growth must now mean “inclusive and sustainable” growth; measures ministers “may” take became actions they “must” take; and community ownership of energy assets was written explicitly onto the face of the legislation.

This may be the clearest attempt yet to place democratic economic development on a statutory footing in Scotland. Previous community wealth building activity has often depended on local leadership and pilot programmes. Legislation changes the terrain. It signals an intention to embed the five pillars that underpin community wealth building into the operating logic of public institutions.

What the new parliament means

The scale of parliamentary change is historically significant, with 64 new Members of Scottish Parliament entering Holyrood. That means a large cohort of members who will need to understand what community wealth building is and why it matters. Building those relationships across party lines will be essential, just as broad cross-party support was important during the passage of the legislation.

Importantly, the legislation arrives at a moment when conventional economic assumptions are under pressure. Across party manifestos there was striking convergence around economic resilience, local growth, infrastructure investment and public service reform, even where parties diverged sharply on constitutional questions or fiscal policy.

The SNP, Labour and Greens all refer to elements of community wealth building or directly mention it in their party manifestos. Other parties with seats in the parliament who may not explicitly align with community wealth building principles are still responding to public concern about economic insecurity, declining town centres, uneven regional development and the concentration of wealth and power. In this context, community wealth building can increasingly function as both policy framework and political bridge.

The work ahead

The community wealth building statement that ministers must now publish is the next milestone in the community wealth building journey in Scotland. It will set the tone and ambition for the policy as a whole. Alongside that, statutory guidance on community wealth building action plans must be developed; this is where the principles get translated into something local authority officers, anchor institutions and communities can act on. CLES will continue to play a central role in that process.

We are not starting from scratch. Many places are already experiencing community wealth building activity. We’ve seen policy changes to support broader community wealth building activity through procurement reform, community asset transfer and a focus on inclusive and democratic business models which all encourage localised economic development practices. What the legislation offers is the possibility of a joined-up strategy for what consistent and coherent community wealth building practices look across a country.

Equally important is the political culture surrounding the agenda. Unlike some areas of public policy that become trapped within partisan identity, community wealth building has retained a relatively broad coalition of support. That is partly because it connects to multiple traditions simultaneously: localism, social justice, regional economic development, democratic participation and institutional reform. People may arrive at this agenda through different routes but increasingly they meet in similar territory.

That creates political space for experimentation.

The coming parliamentary term could become a pivotal one for democratic economic development in Scotland — not because ideological agreement has suddenly emerged, but because multiple crises will force institutional innovation. We live in times of fiscal constraint, with pressure on public services, regional inequality and global challenges around security and climate. There is no silver bullet, but taking a preventative, place based and ultimately collaborative approach, may be the best starting point.

Community wealth building will not solve these challenges on its own. But the significance of this moment lies in the fact that Scotland is attempting to move beyond isolated projects towards systemic reform.

We at CLES don’t just observe — we work with others to create practical change. We will continue to support the places and communities of Scotland as we move from thinking to doing and delivering. The legislation is in place. A new parliament is beginning. The opportunity for ambition is real — and what happens next depends on all of us working together to make it count.