scottishgamesPolitical Consensus: Scottish Liberal Democrats Adopt Games Action Plan Pillars
The political momentum behind the future of the Scottish games ecosystem has reached an all-time high.
Following the publication of the Games Action Plan, the subsequent debate in the Scottish Parliament and the launch of the IES manifesto, the Scottish Liberal Democrats have now formally adopted Level Up: Scotland’s Games Action Plan into their official party policy. At their spring conference, the party passed a motion calling for a major boost to the sector, but the significance of this motion goes far beyond general support.
In a move that clarifies the strategic future of the industry, the motion explicitly calls on the Scottish Government to:
Work with the Scottish Games Network in enacting the Scottish Games Action Plan, which has been co-created with all key stakeholders within the industry.
Addressing the Strategic Vacuum
The Liberal Democrat motion is grounded in the extensive diagnostic data provided by the 2022 Scotland’s Games Ecosystem paper from the business schools at the University of Glasgow and the University of Stirling. It notes that the games sector has suffered from a fundamental misalignment with existing tech, screen, and creative industry structures.
This misalignment has left games absent from national economic, digital, skills, and cultural strategies – a gap that the motion identifies as a primary limiter of collaboration, scalability, and long-term resilience for Scottish studios.
The Professional Mandate
The motion was proposed by Neil Alexander, a game designer with over eight years of experience in the industry. His involvement highlights a critical shift in Scottish politics: the people who actually build our games are now taking seats at the policy table to demand the strategic coherence the sector has lacked.
Mr Alexander told the Scottish Games Network:
Despite making a massive contribution to Scotland’s economy and culture, the video games sector here is much more fragile and less coordinated compared to other European nations.
It’s deeply frustrating that the government have failed to crack down on well-documented exploitative practices, particularly the “crunch culture” that exists within the industry.
To reach its full potential in Scotland, the gaming sector needs to be supported to grow nationwide, creating opportunities for new start-ups and long-term economic development.
This motion represents an important first step in addressing current challenges. Scotland cannot be complacent and rely on past successes; we’ve got to keep putting in the work to ensure this industry thrives for years to come.
From setting up low-cost office spaces to implementing fairer working conditions and cultivating the right skills in every corner of the country, I want to see the gaming industry finally getting the major boost it needs to turbocharge Scotland’s economy.
We agree – and with this endorsement, we have the unified mandate to fix it.
No More Room for Delay
What is most significant about this endorsement is that it reinforces the support across the country. Whether it is the Liberal Democrats, the CPG co-chairs from the SNP and Scottish Labour, or the cross-party MSPs who spoke so passionately and supported our motion last month, every corner of Holyrood is now aligned on the same five recommendations.
By explicitly naming the Scottish Games Network as the partner for enactment, the Liberal Democrats have validated not only the 2022 Games Ecosystem Paper from Glasgow and Stirling Universities, but the two years of expert-led consultation and the 22 technical workshops that forged this blueprint, with input from over 300 organisations and individuals across the whole of the UK.
It renders the idea of yet more ‘task-and-finish’ reviews redundant.
The task is finished. The delivery partner has been named. The policy is now a matter of cross-party consensus.
The Delivery Window
While the Liberal Democrats are setting out their vision for the next parliament, the Scottish Games Network remains focused on the here and now. We are currently finalising a date for the final meeting of the games cross-party group before the Scottish Elections. We have already invited Richard Lochhead MSP, the Minister for Business & Employment for the line-by-line review of our implementation roadmap, agreed at the recent debate.
With the industry, the academic community, and now multiple political parties all calling for the same strategic leadership and investment, the time for hesitation is over.
Scotland is ready for a Games Supercluster. The blueprints are on the table. It is time to hit start.
You can read the whole motion on the Scottish Liberal Democrats website.
If you’ve not yet read Level Up: Scotland’s Games Action Plan – or left a comment of support, you can find it here.
Photographs © Liberal Democrats
#games #GamesActionPlan #government #LevelUp #parliament #PartyConference #scotland #ScottishLiberalDemocrats
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