In this updated edition of his “utterly magnificent” social history, the Scottish parliamentarian examines the privatization of Scotland’s common land (Sunday Herald, UK). As an author, activist, and politician, Andy Wightman has made a career of fighting for Scottish land reform. In this provocative and influential book, Wightman offers a revealing analysis of how and why landowners got their hands on the millions of acres that were once held in common. He also tells the untold story of how the Scottish legal and political establishment appropriated land through legal fixes. Throughout, Wightman poses some provocative questions: Have attempts to redistribute power made any difference? What are the implications of the debt-fueled housing bubble, the Smith Commission, and the new Scottish Government's proposals on land reform? Can we get our common good land back? For all those with an interest in urban and rural land in Scotland, this edition of The Poor Had No Lawyers, updated with new statistics, provides a fascinating analysis of one the most important political questions in Scotland.

This is a comprehensive account and analysis of landownership in Scotland. Drawing on a wide range of sources, it lists the owners of Scotland, and analyzes the current pattern of landownership and how it has evolved over the centuries

In October 2007, writers Mike Small and Kevin Williamson launched Bella Caledonia at the Radical Book Fair in Edinburgh. Since then, Bella has consistently explored ideas of self-determination and offered Scotland's most robust and insightful political commentary. In the run up to Scottish independence referendum, international interest grew and Bella Caledonia had more than 500,000 unique users a month, with a peak of one million in August ― and since then has been given multiple awards recognising it as one of the top 10 political blogs in the UK. This anthology, curated by Mike Small, is a flavour of Bella's output over these 14 years ― the editor's pick. Bella is aligned to no political party and sees herself as the bastard child of parent publications too good for this world; from Calgacus to Red Herring, from Harpies & Quines to the Black Dwarf. Under Mike's editorship, Bella has developed a 'Fifth Estate' as a way of disrupting the passive relationship of old media, creating something more active and appropriate for the 21st century ― it's about concentration of ownership, and bringing together radical coverage with cultural analysis. Hence the plethora of wide-ranging voices in this anthology, each representing outlier viewpoints in contemporary society ― novelists, poets, bloggers and journalists publishing in non-mainstream media outlets, and the social media. * "Bella Caledonia has been a flagship for progressive thought in Scotland, providing a platform for informed and creative writing, advocating a progressive and independent nation fit for the future." Stuart Cosgrove "Bella has been to be a constant thorn in the side of the powerful voices who would prefer that conventional wisdom went unchallenged, that awkward questions went unasked, and bold solutions went unheard." Peter Geoehgan * The Contributors: Andy Wightman • Alan Bissett • Brian Quail • George Rosie • Kathleen Jamie • Peter Arnott • Scott Hames • Laura Easton Lewis • Meaghan Delahunt • AL Kennedy • Alistair Davidson • Alastair McIntosh • Katie Gallogly-Swan • Max Macleod • Caitlin Logan • Irvine Welsh • Paul Tritschler • Chloé Farand • Abi Lightbody • Pat Kane • Adam Ramsay • Rory Scothorne • Alison Phipps • Jamie Maxwell • Amna Saleem • Neil Cooper • Dougie Strang • Mairi McFadyen • Christopher Silver • George Gunn • Stuart Christie • George Kerevan • Iain MacKinnon • Dougald Hine • Cait O'Neil McCullagh • Raman Mundair • Gerry Hassan About The Editor: Mike Small is a writer, journalist, author and publisher. He has written for the Guardian, Sunday Herald, Sunday National, Open Democracy, Variant, Lobster and Z Magazine. He is currently working on a biography of Patrick Geddes and a history of Scottish Anarchism. He has edited Bella Caledonia since 2007.

What is land reform? Will the Scottish parliament make a difference? This work argues that nothing less than a radical, comprehensive programme of land reform can make the difference that is needed. It clarifies the complexities of land ownership in Scotland, and explodes the myth that land issues are relevant only to the far flung fringes of rural Scotland. The book also questions mainstream political commitment to land reform, while the author offers his own programme for change with a vision of how Scotland can move from outmoded, unjust power structures towards a more equitable landowning democracy.