2026 Manifesto for an Anti-Racist Scotland

The Scottish Parliament Elections will happen in 2026. Below are 8 commitments which are asking political parties to include in their own manifestos.

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Write to your MSP using the letter template below (You can find the name and contact information of your local MSPs here):

Subject: Support Anti-Racist Commitments in CRER’s Manifesto

Dear [INSERT NAME] MSP,

I am writing as a resident of [NAME OF CONSTITUENCY] to urge you and your party to take meaningful action in the fight against racism by including the Coalition for Racial Equality and Rights (CRER) ’s 8 commitments in your party’s manifesto.

Scotland has a long way to go before we can truly call ourselves an anti-racist nation. Systemic racism continues to negatively impact Black and minority ethnic (BME) people. Progress has been too slow – we need action now.  

The CRER manifesto is an evidence-based roadmap to achieving racial equality. It is grounded in the lived experiences and the immediate needs of minority ethnic communities. Their manifesto commitments are:

1.       Target action against racial inequality in child poverty

2.      Invest in social housing to address the impact of high rent and overcrowding on minority ethnic families

3.       Achieve equal representation for minority ethnic people in the public sector workforce 

4.      Introduce mandatory recording of racist incidents and bullying in Scotland’s schools

5.      Target health inequalities by tracking ethnicity through the healthcare system

6.      Focus on early intervention to prevent racial inequalities for minority ethnic people living with severe mental illness

7.       Promote community cohesion through the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

8.      Support the establishment of Scotland’s Museum on Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration

These are practical steps we can take now to progress racial equality. With the upcoming 2026 election, we ask that you lead by example and:

• Publicly endorse the anti-racist commitments in CRER’s manifesto

• Incorporate all eight commitments into your party’s policies

• Engage with minority ethnic communities to implement lasting change

We hope you will take this opportunity to create an anti-racist Scotland.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Postcode]

Ask about parties’ commitment to race equality at local party meetings, hustings, election events or anywhere else you meet candidates.

Check if you are registered to vote: https://www.mygov.scot/voting-in-elections-in-scotland/register-to-vote

Poverty is one of the biggest issues facing Scotland.

Overlapping inequalities in employment, housing, social security and access to services mean that minority ethnic families are at increased risk of poverty. The latest Joseph Rowntree Foundation report found that over 53% of BME children are living in poverty – twice the number of white Scottish/British children.[1] This is unacceptable.

Scottish Government identified minority ethnic families as one of the ‘priority groups’ in child poverty strategies – those who are at an increased risk of being in poverty. However, child poverty strategies which aim to universally help all priority groups often neglect specific inequalities and barriers that minority ethnic families face.

Minority ethnic people and the organisations supporting their rights must be involved in developing future child poverty action plans, otherwise Scottish Government risks widening the existing poverty gaps.

We’re calling for targeted approaches to anti-poverty, centring the needs of minority ethnic families.

[1] Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Poverty in Scotland 2024 (2025).

The housing emergency across Scotland disproportionately affects people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds, who face multiple barriers in the housing sector.

·       BME people are less likely to own their homes than their white counterparts[1]

·       BME people are more likely to live in overcrowded and substandard housing conditions[2]

·       BME people are more likely to rent from private landlords, meaning housing costs are generally higher[3]

·       BME people face discrimination in the housing sector[4]

To prevent soaring rates of poverty for minority ethnic people, these barriers have to be addressed. Most importantly, housing costs have to come down. One solution is to increase access to social housing.

The provision of safe, affordable homes would reduce the high number of minority ethnic households trapped in Scotland’s increasingly unaffordable private rented sector. Wider actions to tackle the housing emergency, such as introducing stronger rent controls, would also improve outcomes for communities. The amount of social housing needs to increase to meet the demand.

We’re calling for more investment in social housing, and action to ensure that minority ethnic people have equal access to it.

[1] Scottish Government, Scottish Household Survey (2022).

[2] Scottish Government, Housing needs of minority ethnic groups: evidence review (2021).

[3] Scottish Government, Scottish Household Survey (2022).

[4] Generation Rent, A cycle of inequality: minority ethnic renters’ experiences of discrimination  (2025).

Despite decades of anti-discrimination law and above average rates of education, minority ethnic communities are still disadvantaged in employment. Research shows that overall, people from minority ethnic backgrounds earn less than their white counterparts, are more likely to be in in-work poverty and are under-employed.[1]

High levels of educational attainment and high levels of job applications are not addressing unequal access to work. This shows that the barriers minority ethnic people face in the labour market are structural. 

Data shows that the public sector is a key area where access needs to improve. For example, Scottish Government’s BME workforce stands at 4.2%, whereas the Scottish BME working age population is at 7.8%.[2] [3]

Although achieving equal representation in the workforce is one of the goals of Scottish Government's Race Equality Framework, not enough action has been taken to achieve it. The publication of an Anti-Racist Employment Strategy has not been enough to secure change.

Public sector employers must take a more active role in combating racial inequality.

We're calling for firm targets on equal representation in all public bodies, and mechanisms to hold them accountable if these targets are not achieved.

[1] Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Poverty in Scotland 2023 (2024).

[2]  Scottish Government, Scottish Government Workforce Diversity (2025).

[3] 2022 Census

No child should be subjected to racism at school. In reality, however, physical and verbal racist abuse, bullying and exclusion are all common experiences for minority ethnic learners in Scotland.

Learners, parents, carers and many teachers are speaking up about this, but there is no way to reliably estimate the extent of the problem. When a problem can’t be robustly understood, it can’t be robustly tackled.

The current voluntary recording system enables schools to record racist incidents, including the support that they have provided to address them. However, our research shows that a majority of schools are failing to use it.[1]

CRER has been calling for a mandatory national system for collecting and analysing this information for well over a decade. Similar concerns and calls have been raised by the Scottish Parliament Equality and Human Rights Committee;[2] UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination;[3] the Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion;[4] and jointly by the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People.[5]

A variety of data already has to be recorded by schools, then reported by Local Authorities to Scottish Government. A small addition to these requirements could make a huge difference to our ability to tackle racism in schools at national and local levels.

We're calling for recording of racist incidents and prejudice-based bullying in Scotland’s schools to be made mandatory.

Support for parents and carers of learners facing racism in school is available from CRER’s AdRESS advice and advocacy service.

[1] CRER, Racially Motivated Bullying: Policies and Recording in Scotland’s Schools (2022).

[2] Equality and Human Rights Committee, Inquiry Report: It is not Cool to be Cruel (2017).

[3] UNCERD, Concluding Observations of the United Kingdom for 2016 and 2024

[4]Scottish Government, Report of Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion (2016).

[5] EHRC and Children and Young People’s Commissioner, Letter to Deputy First Minister (2017).

Physical and mental health outcomes are worse in many areas for minority ethnic communities compared to white communities.[1] This can be due to a multitude of overlapping factors, such as socio-economic barriers and lack of access to healthcare.

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted significant health inequalities in Scotland, including increased risks of serious illness and death for some minority ethnic groups. The potentially fatal consequences of these disparities couldn't be researched in time to seek solutions, because effective ways of collecting the right data were missing.

Initiatives to improve public health messaging and widen resources were launched through Scottish Government’s Immediate Priorities Plan in 2021. However, the impact on minority ethnic people who continue to face discrimination and inequality within the healthcare system is yet to be seen.

One long standing commitment which has not been fulfilled is linking ethnicity data to Community Health Index (CHI) numbers.[2] These numbers help to keep people’s health records together over their lifetime, but anonymised information from the CHI database also allows researchers to understand trends and outcomes for the population.

The ability to study how these vary for specific minority ethnic groups could transform the ingrained health gaps that they face. It would enable risks to be identified and tackled in advance of any future pandemic.

We’re calling for a new system which supports future health solutions by linking ethnicity data to Community Health Index numbers.

[1] Public Health Scotland, Monitoring racialised health inequalities (2023).

[2] Scottish Government, Progress with ERG Recommendations (2021).

Minority ethnic people with severe mental illness tend to be diagnosed later than people from white communities. This means that they are often experiencing worse symptoms when they first come into contact with mental health services. They then face more challenges in gaining effective and appropriate support and treatment.

Scottish Government created a Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, which details some specific needs of minority ethnic people in Scotland. However, this has not been enough to address late-stage diagnosis.

Late-stage diagnoses can lead to negative outcomes for patients. They are more likely to be detained (sometimes known as being ‘sectioned’), often without the appropriate legal safeguards and with less access to advocacy support. For example, a 2021 Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland report found that BME people are 4.8 times more likely to be compulsively sectioned during times of crisis than their white counterparts.[1]

Early intervention would allow people experiencing mental illness to be treated at the right time, with care and dignity. This could help to prevent progression to the most severe forms of illness and as a result, avoid drastic and potentially harmful measures being taken when someone is in distress.

Minority ethnic people face specific barriers to mental health support, so early intervention approaches must be targeted to meet their needs. This includes approaches which are anti-racist, culturally responsive and trauma-informed.

We're calling for targeted early intervention work, designed for and with minority ethnic people with experience of mental illness.

[1] Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland, Racial Inequality and Mental Health in Scotland (2021).

Reports on the rise of the far-right in Scotland clearly show that the seeds of division are being sown here. Over 50% of individuals going through the Prevent anti-terrorism system in 2023/24 were right-wing extremists.[1]

Racist hate crime has been at its highest rate in a decade, with an average of 9 charges per day in Scotland.[2] This far outstrips the rate of any other form of hate crime. Under-reporting of racist hate crime means that the true level of violence and abuse is likely to be much higher.

People from minority ethnic backgrounds should not feel unsafe in their own neighbourhoods, towns or cities. More focus is needed on promoting community cohesion.

CRER defines community cohesion as communities of all kinds living and working together with understanding and respect, so that people experience:

·     Freedom from discrimination, stereotyping, harassment or violence

·     A shared sense of belonging and acceptance

·     The ability to participate equally in economic, political, civic and social life

·     Freedom to agree or disagree respectfully, without fear of reprisal or rejection[3]

The Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 requires certain public bodies to publish a local outcomes improvement plan. This sets out priorities based on the needs of local communities. However, these improvement plans currently do not act to promote community cohesion.

We’re calling for amendments to the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to require Scotland's public bodies to actively work towards community cohesion.

[1] Police Scotland, Prevent Referral Data 2023-24 (2025)

[2]  COPFS, Hate crime in Scotland, 2023-24 (2024).

[3] CRER, Fostering Good Relations in Scotland (2021).

The histories of minority ethnic communities in Scotland and Scotland’s own historical role on the global stage are irreversibly intertwined. Unlike many nations including France, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and England, however, Scotland has no permanent space to hold these histories.

After more than a decade of campaigning by CRER and others, a commitment to establish a national museum exploring Scotland’s role in empire, colonialism and slavery was made by Scottish Parliament in 2020.[1]

The Empire, Slavery and Scottish Museums independent steering group was set up as a response to this. Six recommendations were made and accepted by Scottish Government.[2] It is crucial for the future of community cohesion in Scotland that a change of Government does not negate or weaken that pledge.

These recommendations must now be given the attention and investment they deserve. Most importantly, practical work must be taken forward to deliver the Museum. The commitment was made over four years ago; it is now time for action. 

Temporary funding has been allocated to support the development of the Museum, and a Board of Trustees has been appointed. However, without sustained investment at a realistic level, the sustainability of work on the Museum is uncertain.

We’re calling for urgent action and long-term national investment to establish Scotland’s Museum on Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration.

[1] Scottish Parliament, Motion https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/votes-and-motions/S5M-22614

[2] Scottish Government, Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums steering group recommendations: Scottish Government Response (2024).