Scotland’s main political parties have set out their technology offer to the public as we approach the Holyrood elections on May 7.
Ranging from creating a new national AI Scaleup Accelerator, to slashing red tape on tech firms, to powering data centres using Scotland’s abundant natural resources, politicians have set out their tech plans following the vote in a week’s time.
Other ideas include investing in more AI-enabled scanners in hospitals, to help clinicians hit the 62-day referral target for cancer, digital adoption funding to help Scotland’s army of small businesses benefit from new technology, and installing a Minister for Digital and Emerging Technologies to oversee the modernisation of technology in the public sector.
We approached all the main political parties for their tech pledges ahead of the national poll, and all bar Reform replied. The Scottish National Party, Labour, Scottish Conservatives, Lib Dems and Greens all came back with their ideas for tech renewal.
Today, we publish their manifesto pledges in full, set out below, led by their chosen spokespeople on the technology agenda.
1. Calum Kerr, SNP candidate for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale
In 2024, the digital technology sector in Scotland was valued at £6.87 billion, making up 4.7% of the country’s total economic output. Independent analysis estimates that the AI sector alone could be worth £23 billion to the Scottish economy by 2035.
In government, the SNP has delivered over one million faster, more reliable broadband connections across the country – backed by over £1 billion of publicly driven investment and a re-elected SNP government will accelerate the rollout of full fibre broadband in Scotland by supporting providers to reach more remote areas.
We will also commission a feasibility study to explore potential options for a subsea cable between Shetland and mainland Scotland which would provide high-speed internet and telecommunications for businesses and communities across the island.
We will establish a digital skills development initiative, to empower digitally excluded people to gain the skills necessary to access digital services and employment opportunities. Our ambition is to harness AI responsibly, for the benefit of everyone, whilst ensuring that Scotland remains competitive in an ever-evolving global landscape.
We will take forward the interventions in Scotland’s AI Strategy which builds on our established commitment to the responsible use of AI and shows how we will keep pace with and prosper in rapidly changing global technologies and markets. This will include piloting an AI Scaleup Accelerator connecting high growth companies with experienced entrepreneurs and investment networks.
The SNP created Techscaler in 2022 to strengthen Scotland’s entrepreneurial environment by giving founders the skills, support and connections needed to build globally competitive companies. Latest figures show that Scottish tech founders raised £257 million in investment since joining Techscaler, our national tech scaleup programme.
Data centres are the backbone of a vibrant digital economy and with Scotland’s capacity to generate renewable energy there is an opportunity for Scotland to become a leader in green data centres.
Our updated National Digital Strategy sets out our ambition to create a digitally connected country to create economic growth and help people and businesses thrive. The strategy aims to attract investment, deliver sustainable public services and create better opportunities for the people of Scotland and outlines a number of steps, including delivering a pilot of a new [Scottish Government] app to let people access personalised public services.
By 2028, another pilot will explore ways AI can deliver efficiencies in public services, such as streamlining administrative tasks. The SNP will always support Scottish businesses to grow and prosper but with many economic powers remaining in the hands of Westminster, it is clearer than ever that it is only with the fresh start of independence that Scotland can fully realise its vast potential – and it’s only by voting for SNP on May 7th that we can make this a reality.
2. Daniel Johnson, Scottish Labour’s Economy and Skills spokesperson
As Scottish Labour’s Economy and Skills spokesperson, I am really proud of Scottish Labour’s offer on technology. Scotland is extremely well-placed for the technological revolution, with world-class universities and brilliant potential with renewable energy, and it is vital that Scotland’s government makes the most of this opportunity.
Scottish Labour will use new technology to modernise government, ending the complacency and stagnation that 19 years of the SNP have brought.
Digital access and skills are crucial for participation in modern society but under the SNP the urgency to tackle digital exclusion has been lost. We will ensure no one is locked out of digital services.
Greater use of AI presents a significant opportunity for Scotland. We will invest in new AI-enabled scanners so that Scotland finally hits the 62-day referral target for cancer treatment, using cutting edge technology to ensure Scots get the very best healthcare.
Data centres will be crucial to the future role of AI, digital innovation and technology but come with huge energy demands. The substantial capacity for clean electricity generation within Scotland can help us deliver on the opportunities this industry represents. We’ll explore this in a way that supports our goals to reach net zero and tackle the climate emergency.
We will also remove the ideological block on new nuclear energy, ensuring Scotland can benefit from the zero-carbon energy that comes from the development of small modular reactors.
A Scottish Labour government will support the expansion of renewable energy generation in Scotland, cutting decision times and supporting the grid through planning reforms, and increasing community ownership of renewable energy generation, keeping people at the heart of progress.
One of the key opportunities tech presents us is in helping Scottish businesses to stay competitive, open new markets, and build resilient local supply chains. Scottish Labour will provide new rounds of digital adoption funding, to help businesses adopt digital tools that improve their productivity and help them grow.
We will also put in place a target to improve R&D so it matches the UK average, with strategic advice and support for business on accessing UK R&D reliefs and encouraging R&D through government procurement challenges.
These are just a few ways Scottish Labour will harness the power of tech to drive our economy, create opportunities, and build a better future for Scotland.
3. Patrick Harvie, Net Zero, Constitution and External Affairs spokesperson, Scottish Greens
Digital technology has already transformed our society in many ways, both for better and for worse. As technology continues to advance, it is likely that this mixture of benefits and harms will continue, and public policy should recognise both.
Many governments are seeking to maximise economic benefits, but failing to exercise their responsibility to regulate effectively to prevent harm.
This applies particularly to LLMs and other so-called “AI”, which are useful tools when used with care, but which come with a host of unintended consequences. The companies developing them cannot be relied upon to put the public interest first.
Social media has shown us how much harm can be done when the regulatory environment is weak. The current and future threats here include not only economic harm, but social and cultural harms, mental health impacts, and even the potential undermining of democracy itself.
The concept of digital sovereignty is increasingly important, and there is urgency in reducing our over-reliance on digital technology and services from countries which may pose a security threat, such as China and the US. Working more closely with domestic and European organisations, operating under proactive regulatory control, should be a priority.
In relation to infrastructure such as data centres, we believe that greater strategic spatial planning is required, so that the number, scale and location of these developments are decided in the public interest and in line with issues such as grid capacity. Developers must also be required to contribute to the costs of grid upgrades, onsite renewables, and the development of heat networks so that their waste heat is put to good use.
Technology also has positive potential to help improve public services. Our NHS in particular has not seen the investment needed to modernise, and there is general consensus that there is great scope for improvement here.
Care must be taken to ensure that it’s the public interest which actually gains the benefit of investment in technology, however, rather than private sector providers. Accessibility of public services must be protected, including for people who face barriers to digital access.
The digital age looks like it is here to stay. So, we must take every step to ensure the security of public data and the protection of privacy and civil liberties are of critical importance, none of which should be sacrificed in the name of efficiency.
4. Scottish Conservatives Business Spokesman Murdo Fraser
Scotland has an enviable heritage and we have a world-leading reputation in the tech field. We must build on the legacy of Silicon Glen and the enormous success we’ve had in the games industry, for example.
But for all their rhetoric, the SNP government has an atrocious record on this front. They continue to hammer Scotland’s businesses with taxes and red tape and repeatedly failed to pass on the business rates relief that other parts of the UK got, which put Scottish firms at a huge disadvantage.
They have failed to embrace advances in digital technology that would save taxpayers money and improve services. They have done it purely to manufacture grievances – most notably with their decision to opt out of a UK-wide NHS app, which has been working successfully in England and Wales for years but still hasn’t been introduced here.
The Scottish Conservatives’ manifesto outlines plans that would ensure Scotland is well placed to capitalise on the AI revolution, while putting measures in place to protect those whose livelihoods will be at risk during that transition. We would simplify Scotland’s current maze of business and skills quangos by bringing them together under one body, Growth Scotland, to promote economic growth independently of ministerial decisions.
We would let businesses who know best what they need to promote new technologies and initiatives and steer them in the right direction. We would cut red tape and taxes to let entrepreneurs promote growth, in the tradition of our heritage of invention and engineering know-how.
To achieve that we need to ensure that people have the skills to secure a job in changing industries, no matter their age. That is why we’ve outlined the most ambitious plans since devolution started to help people throughout their working adult lives.
Our Jobs for Life scheme, backed with government funding and is modelled on Singapore’s successful SkillsFuture programme. It would work directly with businesses to help people to develop skills to take on new jobs in a different industry. It would be specifically focused on those whose long-term job prospects are likely to be affected by technological change, as well as those entering the labour market.
John Swinney’s SNP government has notably failed to engage with these issues diverting money from apprenticeship and training. On his watch they are years behind the rest of the UK when it comes to adopting new technological solutions.
That failure will only continue if they are returned to office, so it’s vital that those who want to see Scottish workers properly equipped to face the future cast their peach votes for the Scottish Conservatives to stop an SNP majority.
5. Jamie Greene, Scottish Liberal Democrats’ economy spokesperson and candidate for Inverclyde
Scotland has so much going for it, but for the last two decades, its potential is being wasted in too many ways. Among our greatest assets is our knowledge economy – the scientific expertise, advanced education, established industries and energetic startups all poised to take advantage of a digital world changing at lightning speed.
Under the SNP, Scotland has not yet taken advantage of this incredible opportunity. The Scottish Liberal Democrats are determined to put us at the cutting edge.
This effort will begin at the centre of government. We will appoint a Minister for Digital and Emerging Technologies, with a mandate to oversee the modernisation of technology across the public sector and helping companies leverage emerging technologies to grow, compete globally, create high-quality jobs and protect themselves against cyber attacks
We’ll also boost the performance of our struggling public services by closing existing digital gaps and embracing new technologies. The Scottish NHS’s systems, for instance, are well behind the curve when it comes to efficiency; we will publish an action plan to safely, smartly and efficiently deploy AI across the health service, require all IT systems used by the NHS to work with each other, and finally deliver the long-promised NHS app that has so far failed to materialise.
The Scottish Liberal Democrats also understand that for Scotland to become a truly business-friendly country that fosters world-beating companies at the forefront of new technology, we need a clean and renewable energy system that can power everything from data centres to manufacturing – and we also need the skills base to build and maintain it.
By setting out a clear, detailed and stable roadmap to net zero, we will give businesses the confidence to invest in Scotland, while the Offshore Wind Skills Programme secured by the Scottish Liberal Democrats in the 2025/26 Budget will help ensure that our expanding renewables sector is built and maintained by Scottish talent.
We will also embrace the advent of new nuclear energy technology, ending the era of ideological opposition to nuclear power by exploring the potential of small modular reactors, which have the potential to support up to 3,000 jobs per project at peak construction.
And to invest in Scotland’s digital workforce potential, we will bring college and vocational courses with our new skills strategy, delivering the skills businesses need, building on the funding Scottish Liberal Democrats secured in the 2025/26 Budget for new skills pipelines in fields such as offshore wind.
After two lost decades of managed decline, it’s time for Scotland to harness its own potential and get to the front of some of the world’s fastest-moving industries. The Scottish Liberal Democrats believe in getting things done, and that’s what everyone in Scotland can vote for on May 7th.
