Who owns Scotland? How did they get it? What happened to all the common land in Scotland? Has the Scottish
Parliament made any difference? Can we get our common good land back? In this book, Andy Wightman updates the
statistics of landownership in Scotland and explores how and why landowners got their hands on the millions of acres of
land that were once held in common.
He tells the untold story of how Scotland's legal establishment and politicians managed to appropriate land through legal
fixes. Have attempts to redistribute this power more equitably made any difference, and what are the full implications of
the recent debt-fuelled housing bubble, the Smith Commission and the new Scottish Government's proposals on land
reform? For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, this updated edition of The Poor Had No
Lawyers provides a fascinating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland. |
