The MSP for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross wrote that he had “never heard from so many Lords, Earls and Dukes in all my life” but argued that their interests are in “letting land to maximise income while allegedly offering minimum security to their tenants.”
After suggesting that the original legislation should be given a “cutting edge”, he concluded: “I believe the Scottish Parliament will see this Bill gets to be as sustainably radical as humanly possible at this time.”
Mr Gibson finished the article by claiming he was writing as an individual but “conscious” of his role as the committee’s convener “for this crucial stage in the land reform journey.”
But Mr Johnstone said: “I would like to think the convener is there with an open mind to persuasion and information. If you want to make changes, they have to be based on hard evidence but what he is saying is we will do something whatever the impact may be.
“It does give you the impression that some people on the committee have made up their mind before they’ve started. It does make you question the process.”
He added: “We’re going to try very hard to get a change but we’re fully aware of the methods and politics being used so it’s very, very difficult.”
The Bill would end a business rates exemption for shooting and deer stalking and could see lairds stripped of their property but SNP members rebelled at last October’s party conference because they thought it did not go far enough.
However, Mr Gibson wrote that it was “the quiet work of dialogue and debate” inside the parliament rather than external pressure from the party that has “focused minds on ways to enhance the original proposals.”
He praised the Scottish Human Rights Commission and Community Land Scotland for “evolving” particular sections of the Bill but mocked landowners for their “hyperactive” response and for “applying various tactics”.
In particular, he highlighted a letter to a newspaper by the Earl of Seafield about a last-minute change tabled by ministers that would allow tenant farmers with no successors to sell on their secure tenancies.
The laird warned this would “clearly impact on property rights” but Mr Gibson argued he had ignored the “shrinking of tenants’ rights.”
Quoting a book he had recently read, the MSP wrote that “feeding the nation appears to be a poor second” for lairds and claimed they want to “keep a grasp of every acre of Scotland’s soil where so few own so very much.”
Mr Johnstone said the criticisms were “absolutely unfair and incorrect.” He pointed out the tenant farmer change had been opposed by the Scottish Government’s own review group and warned it falls foul of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Arguing the change would stop landowners letting out farms, he said: “What we’re seeing at the moment is the end of the tenanted sector.”
An SNP spokesman said: “Unlike the position of presiding officer, committee conveners are active participants in the proceedings of their committees and are as entitled as any other member to express their personal opinion on matters before the committee."
Source: http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/579309/s/4d0ba828/sc/13/l/0L0Stelegraph0O0Cnews0Cpolitics0CSNP0C121140A320CLandowners0EHolyrood0Einquiry0Echair0Ehas0Emade0Eup0Ehis0Emind0Bhtml/story01.htm