It seems likely that the land reform agenda will be pursued with new vigour now the independence referendum is out of the way.
It is not what Scotland's land- owners want to hear but it is known that some high-level representations have already been made to senior ministers. This is one policy area on which the vast majority of the 1.6 million who voted Yes, and the tens of thousands who have trebled the SNP membership, would apparently welcome progress; indeed, many would expect it.
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont has already made clear she will work with all parties to make progress on the issue.
In a section of her speech in the first Holyrood debate in the immediate aftermath of the referendum that received scant attention, she said: "I think that one area on which people can agree is land reform, which is part of a radical agenda for Labour. If we are to see social change in our communities, land reform can deliver it. There is a will in this Parliament to change the concentrated pattern of land ownership across Scotland."
Ms Lamont said that,before the end of this Scottish parliamentary term in 2016, MSPs had to look at how to enact the recommendations of the land reform review group.
These amounted to 62 wide-ranging proposals, including a legal limit being set on the amount of land any individual or company can own, not to mention a Scottish Land and Property Commission to represent the public interest.
She continued: "We must show boldness in introducing radical changes, and we must address the fact that 423 people own 50 per cent of privately owned land in Scotland …This is about political will, and I will work with people right across the chamber who are willing to do that work." But ministers are being lobbied to act even before they address the review group's work, by strengthening the Community Empowerment Bill in the coming months, in particular the section that seeks to make provision for community bodies to purchase neglected and abandoned land where the owner is not willing to sell.
While the principle of such a right has been warmly welcomed by land reform campaigners, ministers have been left in no doubt that, as it stands, it won't do much to achieve First Minister Alex Salmond's goal of doubling the 500,000 acres under community ownership.
Indeed, in its submission on the bill, Community Land Scotland (CLS), which represents community buyouts such as Eigg and Gigha, says it strongly supports the introduction of this as "a last-resort" power.
But CLS "believes that the significant qualifications on the new right probably makes it impossible to be exercised in practice … It would only be with important amendments to what is proposed that the cause of community land owning would be likely to be advanced by these provisions."
It might be easy to demonstrate that a garden, yard or city allotment has been neglected or abandoned. But it is not immediately clear how that could be done in respect to Highland estates.
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