Scotland 2050 - what is it all about and who is the man behind it?

Scotland 2050 sounds like a long way away. It really isn’t - hence the urgency.

Cunning is clearly on brand and message as he turns up wearing a Scotland 2050 T shirt, seems relaxed, confident and upbeat about the future and orders a triple shot latte, clearly needing an energy boost as his focus is now on the next Scotland 2050 conference which takes place at the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh on June 2.

Two days after the Scotland 2050 sold out hustings at the same venue, Cunning explains why he decided to stage the free event in conjunction with The Scotsman.

“In short, I believe that everyone should be part of the conversation about the future of Scotland, irrespective of background or status, and one of the best ways of doing that is by holding a hustings where people can directly ask questions from those trying to be in power. I felt the hustings went well, it was a good and respectful debate, sometimes it got a bit lively, but that’s to be expected. There was some really good stuff that came out of it, but it’s clear that the people of Scotland want to see politicians do more, as opposed to just talking about the issues affecting Scotland.”

Taking part in the Scotland 2050 hustings was Malcolm Offord, Leader of Reform Scotland, Mairi McAllan, SNP, Cabinet Secretary for Housing, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, stalwart of Scottish politics, Murdo Fraser, Scottish Conservatives and Unionist Party, Patrick Harvie, Scottish Green Party and Martin Whitfield, Scottish Labour Party.

So who does Cunning feel was the winner?

“That’s a tough question as Scotland 2050 is a non-partisan event but what I would say is that every candidate made good contributions to the debate, Mairi was great and is a rising star in the SNP, Patrick was also impressive in how he handled the questions, Murdo had a great line about the Scottish Conservatives being the sensible centre right party in Scotland, Alex is an outstanding orator who made some great points and it was hard not to be impressed with his passion and Martin Whitfield who is a close friend and as I would expect spoke elegantly and got straight to the point capturing the attention of the audience as he highlighted the need to deal with the rise of toxic masculinity.”

The flagship Scotland 2050 conference took place in the Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh which had a stellar programme of speakers which included Cole-Hamilton, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar, First Minister John Swinney, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, and Cherie Blair, Founder of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.

Dubbed as the “McDavos of Scotland”, it was an impressive line-up for an inaugural event so what was the reaction like?

“That’s a great question,” says Cunning. “The reaction from the outset was very positive from everyone, in fact the first person to respond to say that they would take part in Scotland 2050 was Alex Cole-Hamilton who if I remember rightly had just been in Ukraine.

“I sometimes think Scottish politics gets a bad rap with people saying that it’s very toxic or very little happens, the reality is that isn’t true, but when things get a little tired there has to be a re-set and a renewed focus on how best to tackle the core structural issues affecting Scotland in policy terms and I’m hopeful we will see that in the next Scottish Parliament.”

So why is the Scottish Parliament tired?

“Since 2012, Scotland has been overshadowed by the constitutional question, with promises of a second referendum by 2023 which didn’t happen, when it becomes more about a political slogan as opposed to practical delivery, you’ve lost the debate, and ultimately trust from those voters, who let’s be honest still want to see an independent Scotland, but the real focus for them is about the cost of living crisis, economy and housing and cheaper energy bills which are becoming the main talking points of the current Scottish Parliament election.”

So why a free conference and why him?

“Not to sound like Liam Gallagher, why me, why not he says. Look, first of all I’m a patriot, I love this country and everything we stand for – tolerance, outward looking, we have a rich history and heritage that has given the world so much, but at the end of the day I’m a pragmatist, I want to see things get better for the people of Scotland and that means taking a long term view of things, having a long term plan that tackles the issues affecting Scotland today for a better tomorrow is at the heart of the ambition of Scotland 2050 which is one of our key asks in the Scotland 2050 manifesto.”