Equalities

The elimination of racism in Scotland is not just a matter of criminal sanction (although this has a role) but the inclusion of minority communities in all aspects of national life and the rooting out of discriminatory behaviour wherever it is found.

With the diversity of our candidates thus far, ALBA has demonstrated how this can be properly achieved. We are immensely proud of our highly active Scots Asians for ALBA and African Scots for ALBA. These affiliated groups contribute a great deal to our party and have helped to shape several of our Equalities policies.

The ALBA Party is a pro-immigration party, that recognises the tremendous contribution that New Scots, who decide to make Scotland their home, make to wider society. This has been demonstrated by our continued support for safe and legal routes for refugees and asylum seekers and our opposition to the UK Government’s inhumane asylum policy.

Approximately one-fifth of the population of Scotland comprises of people who would describe themselves as disabled – in other words a million of our citizens have a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairment which, in interaction with other barriers, might hinder full effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

ALBA will promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. These laudable principles form the mission statement of Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and ALBA supports its incorporation into Scots Law and into Scotland’s new constitution.

The key priorities for ALBA include independent living, securing finance and resources to enable this, and the achievement of improved accessibility to all services. Click here to read ALBA's policy on the establishment of a National Disability Support Centre and click here to read about ALBA's plan for Digitally Accessible Housing

The ALBA Party believes that all of Scotland’s faith communities have the right to practice their faith in line with Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) which protects an individual's right to freedom of religion and belief.

We commit to working with our faith communities to better improve outcomes for members of those communities who are more likely to be victims of religiously aggravated hate crimes.

Our party supports the rights of faith communities to maintain state-denominational schooling.

The ALBA Party has put forward a comprehensive industrial policy that will create many well-paid job opportunities in ethical and sustainable industries. It will also support young people with meaningful training, providing successful career opportunities.

Accessible housing is another priority of the ALBA Party. Our mass public rental housebuilding programme will ensure that young people not only have a chance to get good housing, but rents will be cheaper and quality higher.

We also support a comprehensive system of rent controls to protect younger people who make up a disproportionately high number of renters.