Growing up in Ross-shire, now living in Inverness, and representing the Highlands and Islands in the Scottish Parliament, this region is more than just my workplace; it’s my home.  And because of that, I care passionately about its future, and the future of the people who live here year-round - and I'm very familiar with [...]

The Highlands and Islands is a place which constantly punches above its weight, leading in renewable energy, agriculture, and landscapes that inspire our local artists as well as those who are part of the seemingly exponential growth of visitors every year.  But increasingly, we are also constantly fighting the symptoms of depopulation. Growing up here, [...]

Emma Roddick MSP has called for the Scottish Government and anyone with an interest in Gaelic and Scots to redouble their efforts to preserve Scotland’s national languages, warning that depopulation in the Highlands and Islands puts them at risk. Ms Roddick sponsored an event in the Scottish Parliament organised by the Association for Scottish Literature, [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has platformed the concerns of young islanders across Scotland in Holyrood, pressing the Scottish Government on the urgent need for more affordable housing available in all communities. During a parliamentary question to Housing Minister, Paul McLennan, Ms Roddick highlighted a recent report from the Young Islanders Network, which revealed [...]

Scotland faces unique demographic challenges. Unlike other countries in the UK, we are projected to see population decline by 2030, which cannot be overcome by birth rates alone. Put simply, we need more people to move here to live and work. This is especially true in the Highlands and Islands. Since Brexit, and due to [...]

MSP for the Highlands & Islands Emma Roddick met with the Co-founder and Master Distiller of the Isle of Raasay Distillery, Alasdair Day, and the Scotch Whisky Association last week to hear about the impact the distillery is having on the island. The distillery, opened in 2017, now employs around 40 people, including people who [...]

SNP MSP Emma Roddick has asked the Scottish Parliament to remember the positive potential of the Highlands and Islands when considering how to address depopulation. In a debate led by the Tory colleague Tim Eagle, she asked the Government not to think of rural and island areas simply as places that need money to remain [...]

Emma attended the 2024 Rural Housing Scotland Conference in Aviemore on Friday [23rd of February 2024] to discuss the Scottish Government’s Addressing Depopulation Action Plan and how to sustain rural communities in the Highlands & Islands. The plan, which was published last week [16th of February], is particularly important to rural communities that are already facing a [...]

Emma has visited local businesses in Fort Augustus, talking about the Scottish Government’s latest Building a New Scotland paper which focuses on migration policy in an independent Scotland and how it could support them deal with the impact of rural depopulation.  Since the end of the freedom of movement after Scotland was taken out of the EU against [...]

Highlands and Islands MSP Emma Roddick has told the Scottish Government that private investment in carbon schemes needs to complement, not damage, the needs of surrounding rural communities. The SNP MSP linked the schemes, which often involve rich private investors buying up land in the Highlands to sell carbon credits, to depopulation, saying that communities [...]