The Scandal of Freeports,
Special Economic Zones,
Energy
Two of the founding members became aware of email exchanges between Kate Forbes MSP and Michael Gove in the summer of 2022 discussing the implementation of Freeports in Scotland. There had been no public discussion about Freeports and they were not in the SNP manifesto for the 2021 Scottish election.
What followed was months of research into what these Freeports were, who was behind them, and what they would mean for Scotland. We didn’t like what we were reading, particularly in relation to the flagship Teesside Freeport.
If Freeports were the golden goose, wouldn’t they be all over the news telling Scots of the economic benefits, boasting about the jobs and prosperity they would bring to the communities and Scotland as a whole? Why was there silence and secrecy from the Scottish government?
We also knew by this time most Scots were unaware of what was coming our way. What could we do to get the word out? We talked about holding protests and demos. But what would that achieve? No one would come because only a dozen or so of us were talking about it.
So we decided to set up a campaign group and hold public meetings across Scotland, primarily within both Freeport zones, the Cromarty & Inverness Freeport area and the Forth Freeport.
The first public meeting was in Inverness in August 2023.
Since then we have held public meetings all over Scotland in 2024 and 2025. We have held stalls at AUOB and HoF rallies, and delivered a presentation at the SSRG Conference in Dunfermline in May 2025. In 2026 we continue to research and monitor the changes which are being proposed in Scotland. some are very controversial and a number of groups are actively voicing their concerns, including councils.
This website aims to put all the information we have on Freeports, SEZs, Investment Zones, Windfarms, the Energy Superhighway, Solar Farms, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and increasingly AI Data centres, and more, into an easily accessible place to reach more people than public meetings ever could.
Separating the information we have into just Freeports and SEZs would only tell part of the story. The green energy project runs through all the zones. Governments at all levels from Local Authorities, SCOTgov and UKgov, provide funding, legislation and involvement with corporations and conglomerates which is woven through all of these projects and now including AI data centres the potential of which are giving major concerns
SEZs/Investment Zones are areas where businesses can receive tax breaks, simplified regulations and other incentives to boost economic activity. In the UK the most recent iteration of SEZs include Freeports, Green Freeports in Scotland, and Investment zones. These zones are financed with public, local and national funding, and private investment.
The website aims to put the information we have on Freeports. SEZs – Special Economic Zones, Windfarms, the energy Superhighway, solar Farms, battery energy storage Systems (BESS) and more, into an easily accessible place to reach more people than public meeetings ever could.
Separating the information we have into just Freeports and SEZs would tell only part of the story.
The green-energy iniative spans every zone, receiving support from government bodies at all levels – local authorities, the Scottish Government, and the UK Government. funding, legislation, and active participation from corporations and conglomerates are woven throughout each project.
On 23rd June, 2025, the UK Labour Starmer government – published the above plan. Link to the plan.
“We have two Green Freeports in operation, in the Firth of Forth and Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and we have Investment Zones in development in Glasgow City Region and in North East Scotland – the latter delivered by our Regional Economic Partnerships. Investment has already started flowing into the Green Freeports, and they, and the Investment Zones, stand to leverage much more in the future.”
David Powell on X :- Link July 2026 and before. Also on Substack. Great source of valuable accurate information
Free zones do not require acts of Parliament. Enter secondary legislation, which is an insidious form of corporate governance. Primary legislation is debated in Parliament, the public is consulted, the press is notified. Secondary legislation passes by statutory instrument, often unopposed, almost always unreported. If sovereignty cannot be seized all at once, it can be carved off, jurisdiction by jurisdiction, acre by acre, under administrative language that never announces what it is doing. Freeport. Special Economic Zone. AI Growth Zone. Charter city. Each is a smaller bid for the same outcome the Network State pursues at the level of ideology: territory governed by selection and contract rather than by vote and accountability.
This is how England, Scotland, and Wales have been quietly carved into free zones, freeports, and now AI Growth Zones. Not through a single Act anyone voted on. Through instruments, designations, and mayoral powers stacked over a decade.
The pattern holds for both parties. Freeports was a Conservative party flagship policy. Labour did not scrap them, it rebranded them, adding investment zones an AI growth zones on top of the same architecture. The new Labour government July 2026 is most likely to continue along the same lines.
Should we be concerned ? – Yes. As parliament has not voted on this legislation, we need to be very concerned that there will be a benefit for the people and its not all for the profit of corporations, who may not even be registered in the UK.
Freeports – advantages – provide specific benefits like low tariffs, optimized customs processes, and a business-friendly framework that stimulates local economies and attracts global players.
Special Economic Zones – advantages
are strategically established to boost economic development through innovative regulations, enticing tax perks, and robust support systems that enhance international commerce. Similar to the rules in freeport.
But what benefit to the local community. What safeguards. What accountability.
Will they deliver on their promises ofeconomic regeneration, particularly in postBrexit Britain? Previous experience with big projects like this suggest not. They can benefit the people if correctly controlled and organised. However, people’s trust in government is low, and the people must hold our elected representatives to account.
We are to raising the awareness of everyone in Scotland to the potential risks and consequences of each government regime being introduced right across the United Kingdom. They are surrounded in secrecy
This is complex and its challenging to work out what exactly is going on.
What can you do?
We are committed to raising the awareness of everyone in Scotland to the potential risks and consequences of each of these government regime(s) being introduced right across the United Kingdom. They are surrounded in secrecy.
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