{"id":303,"date":"2026-04-30T13:39:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:39:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/how-immigration-is-playing-a-role-in-the-scottish-election-even-though-policy-is-set-in-westminster\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T13:39:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T13:39:04","slug":"how-immigration-is-playing-a-role-in-the-scottish-election-even-though-policy-is-set-in-westminster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/2026\/04\/30\/how-immigration-is-playing-a-role-in-the-scottish-election-even-though-policy-is-set-in-westminster\/","title":{"rendered":"How immigration is playing a role in the Scottish election, even though policy is set in Westminster"},"content":{"rendered":"

No single issue has dominated the agenda ahead of the Scottish parliament election in May. But immigration, despite being a matter not devolved to Holyrood, has been part of campaigns<\/a>. This is because some parties use it to feed wider anxieties about housing, jobs, public services and identity.<\/p>\n

Glasgow has been a particular flashpoint because of its role as a City of Sanctuary<\/a> for asylum seekers. About 6% of the UK\u2019s asylum seekers live<\/a> in Scotland, with over half in Glasgow, though data suggests this proportion is falling.<\/p>\n

Reform UK has sought to capitalise on this. Although no small boats have landed on Scottish coastlines, Reform\u2019s leader in Scotland, Malcolm Offord, unveiled a billboard<\/a> in Glasgow with an image of migrants crowded into a dinghy. Large red text reads: \u201cScotland is at a breaking point.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polling shows<\/a> that cost of living, health and the economy rank above immigration as voter priorities in Scotland. Yet these issues can be closely connected in public debate throughout the UK. If people worry about GP appointments, housing waiting lists or jobs, some politicians will blame migration \u2013 even if the underlying causes lie elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Reform\u2019s Scotland manifesto<\/a> mentions \u201cstrangers\u201d being \u201cprioritised ahead of Scots\u201d by local councils in terms of access to social housing. Offord has claimed that asylum seekers arriving in Glasgow are \u201cjumping the queue\u201d, and his party has promised to \u201cprioritise local people\u201d for such housing. <\/p>\n

Asylum seekers are not prioritised<\/a> for housing because of their immigration status. But Scottish councils are obliged to prioritise homeless people seeking temporary housing \u2013 who may be asylum seekers.<\/p>\n

What the parties are saying<\/h2>\n

All major parties recognise that Scotland faces population and economic challenges. An ageing population<\/a>, low birthrates<\/a> and labour shortages are affecting sectors such as health, housing<\/a>, agriculture, social care<\/a> and hospitality.<\/p>\n

Many industries<\/a> understand that without immigration, parts of the Scottish economy would struggle. That reality has, for years, sustained a relatively broad pro-migration consensus across the Scottish political spectrum.<\/p>\n

The governing Scottish National Party argues that Scotland needs a more flexible migration system tailored to Scottish demographic and economic needs. Its 2026 manifesto<\/a> presents migration as both a social good and an economic necessity. The manifesto is also strong on refugee protection, and argues for a Scottish-specific visa scheme. <\/p>\n

Reform UK, polling<\/a> consistently as the second or third leading party, has spotlighted immigration in its manifesto<\/a>. One of the party\u2019s five core pledges is to \u201cprioritise local people in communities and restore law and order\u201d. <\/p>\n

Like the SNP, the Scottish Liberal Democrats champion relatively pro-migration policies for Scotland. The Lib Dem manifesto<\/a> states that the party \u201cbelieve[s] in fairness for everyone, no matter who you are or where you come from\u201d. The manifesto mentions making immigration policy that is \u201csensitive to the skills needs\u201d of certain sectors, as well as allowing asylum seekers to work if they have waited more than three months for a decision on their application.<\/p>\n

For Scottish Labour, the emphasis has been less on immigration and more on housing, jobs and public service reform. Its campaign focus<\/a> on affordable homes, more support for teachers, improving childcare and better economic competency suggests an awareness that many Scottish voters are more concerned with delivery of key services than anti-migrant rhetoric.<\/p>\n

The Scottish Greens approach migration through a lens of refugee protection, anti-racism and social justice, with a manifesto<\/a> prioritising public services for everyone, regardless of immigration status. In addition to calling for the UK government to devolve immigration to the Scottish parliament, the party would also pilot giving asylum seekers the right to work. <\/p>\n

The Scottish Conservative party, while aligned with UK-wide calls for firmer border control, has focused on taxation, public services, crime and policing, SNP competence and the state of the union in its manifesto<\/a>. Issues of immigration and asylum are contained mainly to attacking the SNP. The Scottish Conservatives have accused the SNP of a \u201creckless\u201d<\/a> open-door policy on immigration that has led to \u201can influx of immigrants\u201d and made Glasgow a \u201cmagnet for asylum seekers\u201d. <\/p>\n

Scotland\u2019s immigration story<\/h2>\n

Scotland often tells itself a comforting political story: that it is a progressive society, more welcoming of newcomers, and less susceptible to anti-immigrant politics than other parts of Britain. <\/p>\n

There is some truth in this. The Scottish government\u2019s \u201cNew Scots\u201d<\/a> strategy is generally regarded as a positive statement for welcoming and integrating migrants to Scotland.<\/p>\n

Survey data<\/a> has generally shown attitudes in Scotland to be slightly more positive towards migrants and migration, while openly hostile rhetoric has been less common in mainstream politics. Yet national myths can conceal uncomfortable realities. Scotland is not immune to xenophobia, racism or populism, nor, as Reform\u2019s rhetoric around social housing suggests, is it protected from the politics of scapegoating. <\/p>\n

Public services<\/a> are under pressure, housing shortages<\/a> do exist, and trust in politics<\/a> has weakened. But migrants did not create decades of underinvestment, stagnant wages or failures in social housing supply. Migrants are often caught within those same crises, even if headlines rarely acknowledge this.<\/p>\n

Most of Scotland\u2019s political parties are comfortable supporting the \u201cgood migrant\u201d \u2013 NHS nurses, engineers, scientists, international students or seasonal workers. Far fewer defend asylum seekers, undocumented migrants or family reunion rights. A hierarchy of deservingness<\/a> can emerge: migrants are welcomed when economically useful, yet become politically expendable when portrayed as costly or controversial.<\/p>\n

Scotland cannot be complacent in its self-image. Years of anti-Irish prejudice<\/a>, racism towards minority ethnic communities<\/a>, and longstanding discrimination against Gypsy and Traveller communities<\/a> tell their own story. Matters of economic insecurity<\/a> and contested identities<\/a> can be converted into anti-migrant rhetoric. <\/p>\n

Immigration matters in Scotland because the country is vulnerable to the same pressures seen elsewhere. But ultimately, migrants should not be used as political cover for deeper failures of policy and governance.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

Colin Clark does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No single issue has dominated the agenda ahead of the Scottish parliament election in May. But immigration, despite being a matter not devolved to Holyrood, has been part of campaigns. This is because some parties use it to feed wider anxieties about housing, jobs, public services and identity. Glasgow has been a particular flashpoint because […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-303","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/303\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/redzine.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}