ALLIANCE launches “Our Collective Voice” manifesto for 2026 election

The ALLIANCE manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament Election sets out a positive vision for the next five years.

This Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) were pleased this week to publish our manifesto for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. “Our Collective Voice” was developed through extensive engagement with and input from the ALLIANCE’s membership, demonstrating the breadth of areas we and our members work across.

The 2026 Scottish Parliament election takes place in the context of serious, overlapping challenges. Half of adults in Scotland now live with a long term condition and the number of unpaid carers continues to rise. Ongoing pressure on public finance negatively impacts the delivery of essential public services and the third sector is stretched to breaking point. At the same time, our everyday rights are under increasing threat.

However, the challenges Scotland faces are not insurmountable if we collectively rise to meet them. In this manifesto, the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE) set out our solutions to these challenges and call on Scotland’s political parties to offer a vision of hope for the next five years. We have a vision of Scotland as a human rights leader, with fair finances and an equitable economy. A Scotland where in equal partnership with the third sector, we renew social care and deliver public services for everyone, rooted in effective prevention, early intervention, and lifelong support.

The manifesto was formally launched at a member’s event on 18 February, chaired by ALLIANCE Chief Officer, Sara Redmond. Sara reflected on the timely overlap between the ALLIANCE’s 20th anniversary and the upcoming election, noting the progress made in areas like health and social care integration and lived experience engagement, whilst recognising how much more remains to be done in the future.

Also speaking at the event were Bushra Riaz, Policy and External Affairs Manager (Scotland) at Kidney Research UK, and Charlie McMillan, Director at the Human Rights Consortium Scotland. In her contribution, Bushra noted the many points in common between the ALLIANCE and Kidney Research UK’s priorities, including the importance of prevention and reliable national population health data. Charlie noted the disappointing lack of progress in social care reform and mental health law reform, saying the latter was so overdue that it was “a scandal”, whilst sounding the alarm about the human rights crisis looming over migrants.

Over the coming months, the ALLIANCE will be challenging parties and candidates to commit to our manifesto asks, and they will form the basis of our engagement with the new government and MSPs in May. We encourage ALLIANCE members to help promote this manifesto, integrating it into their own campaigning where it complements their own work and priorities.

You can read the ALLIANCE’s “Our Collective Voice” manifesto via the resource links below, or on a dedicated section of our website. You can also read a longer opinion from Sara Redmond here.

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