Land reform is at heart of new book by former Far North MSP Rob Gibson
Former north politician Rob Gibson is the author of a new book on the story of land reform, a subject that has been close to his heart throughout his adult life.
Reclaiming Our Land, published by Highland Heritage Educational Trust, gives an insight into Mr Gibson's many years of direct involvement in land issues – from his time as a student campaigner to his work in the Scottish Parliament and since.
He was the SNP MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross from 2011 until retiring in 2016, having been a regional member before that. He lives in Easter Ross.
For land reform to succeed, he maintains, first you must remember what has created the problem, then look at the possibilities for change, and finally reclaim the land for the people who live on it.
Mr Gibson campaigned on land issues while a student at university in Dundee. The Federation of Student Nationalists held a Skye Crofting Scheme in September over several years from 1968 to 1995. He joined in 1970 as students were camping in a mothballed school at Colbost and helped plan a demonstration at Strollamus, near Broadford, in 1972 aiding local crofters to face down a new landlord.
The 1970s saw policy debates in the hope that a Scottish assembly would be established. In the 1980s and 1990s there were campaigns recalling past struggles such as the Battle of the Braes and the formation of the Land League as well as a commemoration of the 1948 Knoydart Land Raid.
Mr Gibson pursued land and housing issues and collaborated with land campaigners while he served on Ross and Cromarty District Council from 1988 until 1996. He was a volunteer environment and land reform spokesperson for the SNP.
In 2003 he was elected as SNP MSP for the Highlands and Islands and was re-elected in 2007. He went on the win the Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency in 2011 and was appointed convener of the Scottish Parliament's rural affairs, climate change and environment committee.
He was deeply involved in the development of the 2016 Land Reform Bill.
Mr Gibson was named best politician in the Scottish Green Energy Awards 2012 and politician of the year in the Nature of Scotland Awards 2013.
“I was determined to see more diverse land ownership and sustainable energy uses that empower local communities," he said. "To that end, my involvement in land reform issues continues since my retirement from Holyrood in 2016.
"This book reflects on these decades of homing in on our goal.”
Reclaiming Our Land by Rob Gibson is published by Highland Heritage Educational Trust, c/o Gibson, Tir nan Oran, 8 Culcairn Road, Evanton, Dingwall IV16 9YT (email robgibson273@btinternet.com); paperback, 324 pages, £11.99 plus £2 postage per copy. It is available direct from that address and will be available soon through independent bookshops. The book includes a land reform timeline, more than 20 illustrations and a full index.