Scottish Elections 2026: Party Pledges for Culture 

We believe that culture should be celebrated and accessible in every community across Scotland. Art and artists make a powerful contribution to Scotland’s society, culture, and economy, and we want to see our government support this through cultural policy and investment. 

SCAN won’t be telling you how to vote on 7 May, but we can share with you mentions of cultural pledges from the main political party manifestos, listed in alphabetical order below. 

 

Reform UK Scotland 

There is no mention of either culture or the arts in the Reform UK Scotland manifesto. You can read the manifesto here 

 

Scottish Conservatives and Unionist Party 

The Scottish Conservatives refer to Scotland’s ‘thriving culture sector’ in a manifesto section titled ‘Promoting Brand Scotland’.  

If elected, the Scottish Conservatives pledge to: 

  • establish a new Culture Act. 
  • merge some of Scotland’s culture quangos. 

As part of this merging, Creative Scotland would remain as a standalone body but would undergo reform. The Scottish Conservatives would ‘forbid’ certain types of projects from being funded, instead encouraging ‘grants for arts and cultural endeavours that have broad popular appeal’ under the banner of supporting ‘access to arts and cultural endeavours for everyone’. Grants would be tied to ‘guarantees that free speech is upheld in the institutions that receive them’. 

You can read this on page 30-31 of the Scottish Conservatives manifesto here. 

 

Scottish Greens 

The Scottish Greens call Scotland’s cultural sector ‘world class’, stating that ‘through arts and culture we can transform our communities, economy and climate, and build a better Scotland that everyone can enjoy.’ The party cites priorities including transformative investment, improved equality of access to culture, fair work for cultural workers, and culture as a reflection of the diversity of Scotland. 

If elected, the Scottish Greens pledge to: 

  • bring forward a Culture Bill. 
  • introduce a £1 levy on tickets for all arts, cultural and music events over 2,500 capacity to support grassroots venues. 
  • protect free access to museums and cultural assets. 
  • establish an emergency fund to protect cultural sites from cuts, closures and reduced hours. 
  • support greater community involvement in the management of cultural sites particularly in rural and island communities. 
  • ensure expressive arts learning (including visual arts) for every primary pupil. 
  • pilot a Small Festivals Fund to support the development and sustainability of festivals in rural and island communities. 
  • improve pay and conditions for arts and cultural workers, including freelancers, by adding greater conditionality on public funding. 
  • Demand urgent regulation of the use of generative artificial intelligence and copyright laws to protect creators’ work. 
  • Support greater representation of people from minority ethnic backgrounds working in the arts, including by guaranteeing interviews and directly funding internship and apprenticeship schemes. 

You can read this on pages 158-161 of the Scottish Greens manifesto here. 

 

Scottish Labour 

In a section titled ‘Championing culture and sport’, Scottish Labour state that Scotland’s culture sector ‘inspires creatives and makes Scotland an exciting place to live’.  

If elected, Scottish Labour pledges to: 

  • reform Creative Scotland to ensure it is ‘representative and responsive to people from all backgrounds’. 
  • designate a creative capital fund to upgrade and protect venues across the country. 
  • pilot a creative entrepreneur’s allowance, supporting up to 1,000 creatives and artists with living costs as they establish a commercial enterprise. 

You can read this in section 6 of the Scottish Labour manifesto here. 

 

Scottish Liberal Democrats 

If elected, the Scottish Liberal Democrats pledge to: 

  • take forward the recommendations of the Creative Scotland independent review and remove the ‘needless bureaucracy’ from funding applications  
  • distribute culture money to nurture and promote talent across Scotland 
  • maintain free access to museums and galleries 

You can read this in section 4 ‘Business and Jobs’, under ‘more detail’, here.

Scottish National Party  

The SNP include increased culture funding and an artist minimum income among their 50 ‘next steps’ for policy in Scotland. 

The Party states that ‘a prosperous Scotland has a flourishing arts and creative sector’, expressing an ambition for ‘a Scotland where creativity is encouraged and supported.’ 

If elected, the SNP pledges to: 

  • consult to develop a Culture and Arts Bill by the end of the next parliament. 
  • deliver an additional £100 million annually for culture by 2028-29. 
  • ensure at least a further £50 million for culture investment by the end of the next parliament. 
  • pilot a Scottish Artists Minimum Income. 
  • Introduce a Youth Culture Pass worth £200 by the end of the next parliament. 

You can read this on page 42 of the SNP manifesto here. 

 

Looking for more guidance? Take a look at our election asks campaign The Future is Art here. You can also watch a recording of the Culture Hustings event co-organised by SCAN, featuring representatives of all the main political parties discussing their plans for culture. 

Don’t forget to vote on 7 May!