“An Unexpected Collection of Scots”
The team behind Building a Local Scotland is made up of activists, academics, ex-council chiefs and trade unionists who’ve crossed party and constitutional divides in pursuit of a shared political aim.
Ewan Aitken
former labour councillor
Ewan served as Convener of Education and Leader of Edinburgh City Council and as CoSLA spokesperson on Education. He was a member of the CoSLA Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy and has over 40 years’ experience working in the Public and 3rd sectors.
Mike Danson
Professor Emeritus of Enterprise Policy, Heriot-Watt University
Mike is Professor Emeritus of Enterprise Policy, Heriot-Watt University and co-director of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies. He publishes widely on community, rural and island development. Mike has served on the Scottish Government Just Transition Commission, the Tax Working Group of the Poverty and Inequality Commission and various governmental working groups.
Esther Roberton
former coordinator of the scottish constitutional convention
Esther is the former Coordinator of the Scottish Constitutional Convention whose 1995 publication ‘Scotland’s Parliament, Scotland’s Right’ provided the blueprint for the Scottish Parliament. She is a board member of the Parliament’s Scottish Futures Forum and a passionate advocate of local democracy, community involvement, collaboration and consensus.
Peter McColl
Writer and campaigner
Peter was Rector of the University of Edinburgh 2012-15 and has been involved in the creation of the Charter for Responsible Debate and The Centre for Consultation. He was a co-director of a major conference on the life and work of Tom Nairn and Scotland’s constitutional future, The Break Up of Britain? in 2023 and is currently working on a range of issues on how communication shapes politics.
Ann McGuinness
Feminist Campaigner and director at scottish Rural Action
Ann has spoken out on issues such as climate change, poverty eradication, and on both gender and LGBTQ+ equality. Ann sits on the board of directors for Scottish Rural Action and is co-convener of the Scottish Greens’ Woman’s Network where she is focused on addressing systemic causes of gender inequality within the political sphere.
Joyce McMillan
Columnist and Theatre Critic
Joyce has decades of experience commentating on Scottish politics and the arts. She chaired the Constitutional Commission, a sub-committee of the Scotland’s Constitutional Convention, and was part of the Scottish Office Consultative Steering Group on structures and procedures for the new Scottish Parliament.
Lesley Riddoch
Director of Nordic horizons
Lesley co-producer of 5 Nordic films and completed a PhD comparing Scotland and Norway in 2021. Columnist at The National – former Scotswoman editor, Isle of Eigg Trustee, and now a journalist, podcaster, author of Blossom & Thrive.
Jonathon Shafi
Journalist and activist
Jonathon Shafi writes extensively on Scottish politics and is a passionate advocate for strengthening democracy, community empowerment and new democratic innovations like citizens assemblies.
Willie Sullivan
Senior Director for campaigns and Scotland at the Electoral Reform Society
Willie is a creative campaigner designing and leading campaigns , interventions and policy ideas towards trans-formative outcomes. He is particularly interested in reform of the institutions of government and democracy and in democratic innovations such as citizens led democracy.
Dave Watson
Director of the Jimmy Reid Foundation
Dave is former Head of Policy and Public Affairs with UNISON Scotland. He is the author of several papers on local democracy and was an expert advisor to the Christie Commission on Public Sector Reform. Dave is also a past Chair of the Scottish Labour Party.
It’s time for a fundamental shift in how we govern ourselves.
It’s time to Build a Local Scotland.