SFHA General Election round-up

Less than three months ago we had a different First Minister, the Greens were in Government in Scotland, the nationwide housing emergency hadn’t been declared, and nobody (or very few...) knew we would be voting in a General Election today.  

The result of the election will mostly be won or lost depending on what happens in England, and if polls, experts and some Conservative Ministers are to be believed, it’s a foregone conclusion that Labour will win – and potentially win big. Here in Scotland the result is looking a lot less certain, with the SNP and Labour both fighting to come out on top with the most MPs. 

Whatever happens though, at SFHA we’ve been busy over the past six weeks lobbying for our members and your tenants’ needs to be firmly on the political agenda. Our manifesto - which laid out what we need to see from a UK Government – called for prioritising social and affordable housing, an Essentials Guarantee in the social security system, and a social tariff in the energy market.  

Alongside our sister federations, we wrote to each of the main party leaders calling on them to commit to supporting an energy social tariff to ensure that everyone can live in a warm, safe and comfortable home. We also joined the Joseph Rowntree Foundation and Trussell Trust’s campaign on the Essentials Guarantee to ensure that nobody is going without the basics, and been part of the Scottish Campaign on Rights to Social Security’s work, ‘Designing in Dignity: Vision for UK Government’.  

In the run up to the election we also put together Operation Social Vote. As social tenants are one of the groups least likely to vote, we wanted to support members to do all they can to make sure tenants voices are heard in this election. In April we ran a webinar with the Electoral Commission on what rules you need to be aware of and what sort of campaign work you can undertake yourselves. Due to the timing of the election, we know it’s been difficult for a lot of members to arrange things at such short notice, but we’ll be able to take a lot of learning forward for the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. 

Post-election we will be carrying on our campaigning work and putting our members at the front and centre. We will be writing to all the elected candidates in Scotland welcoming them to their role and making clear the essential role that housing associations and co-operatives play in our communities. We will be sending out an ‘MP’s Guide to Social Housing in Scotland’ to support them in their role and make sure they are up to speed and looking to arrange visits for MPs to local RSLs. 

On top of that we’ll be writing to the relevant Cabinet Secretaries congratulating them and reiterating what our sector and tenants need from the UK Government. We’ll also be heading down to Westminster later in the year to build those relationships and keep arguing for our members in the heart of Government. So, much has been done – but much more to come!