My time as Policy Intern for Scottish Land & Estates
In this blog, our Policy Intern Alfred Drummond-Herdman discusses his time with SLE. Alfred outlines how the opportunity came to be and shares some of his personal highlights.
Having come from a small estate in Perthshire, I have always held felt a deep connection with rural Scotland. Over time, I became increasingly engaged in many of the key areas relating to working in this sector, such as diversification, land management, agricultural leases, and the private residential sector.
In 2017 I took a business HNC at Perth College, before moving to the University of Stirling where I graduated with a degree in politics in 2022. After that I began an accelerated Law degree at the University of Edinburgh, which I am currently part way through.
At the start of the summer holiday I worked on placement in a law firm’s rural land and business department. This experience fed perfectly into my time at SLE. Earlier in the year I had contacted Stephen Young asking if there were any internship opportunities. As luck would have it, he was just about to open up such a position in the policy team, the first time this position was created. After an interview, I was delighted to be offered the job
I couldn’t have hoped for a better time at SLE. Nowhere else would I have been exposed to so many different areas of work and representation across rural Scotland. My primary project was creating a resource for members to use which aims to help them understand and increase their contributions to Scotland’s Wellbeing Economy. This is a concept adopted by the Scottish Government which measures national success through various other metrics in addition to GDP. This involved me interacting with colleagues across all departments, as well as engaging with a group of members who kindly gave their time and expertise to assist.
Over the summer I was given the opportunity to attend meetings with a great variety of stakeholders in rural Scotland ranging from internal groups, such as the Land Reform Task Force, to the Scottish Land Commission. A particular highlight of my time at SLE was sitting in on a meeting at Victoria Quay with the government bill team for the upcoming land reform bill. This showed me firsthand the process by which rural policy is developed and enacted.
Overall, I have gained an in-depth understanding of the varied and interconnected world of rural Scotland, where I plan to work later in a legal capacity. This experience could not have been achieved anywhere other than within SLE. However, it would not have been the same if it wasn’t for the people I was working with, as they made me feel so welcome from the start. I learnt a great deal from the people at SLE – particularly in areas outside of what I was working on. I would especially like to thank Sarah Madden, whose expertise, help, and guidance throughout my time was invaluable.
I strongly recommend an internship with SLE to anybody looking to develop an understanding of how rural Scotland operates. Especially, as you will gain an incredible insight into the extensive areas of work undertaken by Scottish Land & Estates on behalf of members. I was amazed at how much happens ‘behind the scenes.’ In particular, you would be likely to see the great amount of work happening behind the scenes which falls outside the purview of which the national media reports on. You will also gain an understanding of not only the complex challenges facing people and businesses in this sector, but also the myriad success stories in every aspect of rural Scotland.
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