Ideas Scotland

A new 'virtual' think tank set up newly elected Scottish Labour Leader Wendy Alexander in September 2007. Ideas Scotland was to be run at 'arms length' from the Labour Party by Oxford academic Gregg McClymont and to help devise policy for Labour. Its initital remit was to look at local government, widening public democracy, and improving public services.

The BBC reported that:

Labour MSP Margaret Curran will also take a leading role in the organisation. "We need to tune into the changing aspirations and hopes of the people of Scotland and reach out effectively to all sectors of Scottish society," Ms Alexander said. "We will listen to, work with and engage with business, the voluntary sector and civic Scotland and through Ideas Scotland and with the assistance of our team of new external advisers, we will do just that." Three policy discussion papers have already been commissioned by the new think tank, on participation in local government, widening public democracy, and improving public services.

The three reports were said by the Scotsman to be as follows:

Ewan Aitken, the former leader of City of Edinburgh Council, will look at participation in local government. Professor John Benington will examine widening public democracy, and health care specialist Professor Jean Hartley will look at improving public services. Mr McClymont said: "Politics is about ideas, this think tank will provide them."

The think tank appears to have disappeared by 2009, having published no reports and done nothing to attract media reporting with the exception of its own 'launch' in September 2007.