Tories warn of legal challenges if ‘junk law’ Land Reform Bill is passed

The Scottish Government has been warned it faces a “plethora” of legal challenges if the Land Reform Bill is passed.

The Tories said the Bill had been described as “junk law” and called it “ill-conceived, badly drafted and impossible to explain”.

If passed, it would give ministers the power to break up large estates being offered for sale if certain conditions are met, as well as aiming to make community buyouts easier.

MSPs debated the Bill at Holyrood late into Tuesday evening as they began voting on nearly 400 amendments over the course of two marathon debate sessions.

The Scottish Greens said an amendment by the party which was voted through by MSPs will force large landowners to set out plans to restore nature and biodiversity, if the Bill is passed.

Ariane Burgess, who submitted the amendment, said “many of biggest landowners have shown that they can’t be trusted to protect nature on their own” and said the party’s amendment “will make them do it”.

Conservative MSP Edward Mountain, who submitted dozens of failed amendments on Tuesday, said one solicitor had described it as “junk law”.

He added: “If that is not clear I do not know what is. Perhaps saying it is ill-conceived, badly drafted and impossible to explain is more parliamentary to using the word mince, which is what I have heard in other forums.”

He said the Bill was “incredibly complex” and would be a “nightmare” for legal professionals to act for people trying to buy and sell land, adding that it was “clear” the legislation would result in a “plethora” of legal challenges.

Mairi Gougeon, the Rural Affairs Secretary, said ahead of the vote that the Bill would mean that large estates cannot be sold until ministers have considered the impact on communities “and whether a more diverse pattern of ownership would be beneficial”.

“The Scottish Parliament has long championed land reform,” she said.

“Modernisation is necessary to increase transparency, allowing communities to truly benefit from the land they live and work on, as well as to ensure that we protect tenant farmers and small landholders from being exploited.

“This Bill gives us the chance to move the dial and make real progress in how our land is owned and managed, for the benefit of all of Scotland’s people, rather than the few.”