Edinburgh College plays host to Colleges Scotland 2026 Scottish Election hustings event
The College’s Sighthill campus was the recent host of a Colleges Scotland election hustings event which saw representatives from Scotland’s six largest parties in attendance, discussing their plans for the future of the sector.
The panel was moderated by Andy Maciver, the founder and director of media and PR company Message Matters, and featured Ben Macpherson from the SNP, Miles Briggs from the Conservatives, Paul O’Kane from Labour, Willie Rennie from the Lib Dems, Ross Greer from the Scottish Greens and Graham Simpson from Reform UK.
There was plenty of lively discussion between all of the candidates as they laid out their visions for the country’s Colleges ahead of the Scottish Parliamentary elections in May. As noted by the host, there seemed to be a rare consensus among all the parties that Scotland’s Colleges must be protected and supported to ensure the country enjoys a prosperous future.
Audrey Cumberford, Principal of Edinburgh College, was invited to give a closing statement, in which she noted that it was encouraging to see the importance of the sector recognised across party lines.
A sincere thanks is also due to the many staff who put in lots of hard work to ensure the event went off smoothly.