Make Hope Possible has been behind some ground-breaking events and cross-party political campaigns.

Below you will find a flavour of what we’ve been up to…


Caroline Lucas in Conversation : How To Beat Right Wing Populism

In mid-march 2025 Make Hope Possible brought Caroline Lucas to Scotland to begin our series of talks about creating hope in our political sphere.

Caroline Lucas has been prominent in British politics for 25 years, including as the UK’s first Green Party MP and as a leader of the Greens in England and Wales.  We heard her talk about her latest book, “Another England” in which she argues that the Right has hijacked Englishness and that, at a time of rising populism, we urgently need more diverse and inclusive stories of national identity. She was in conversation with Make Hope Possible Director, the Scottish journalist Adam Ramsay



Building a Local Scotland Logo
Democracy beyond the doors of holyrood

2024 marked the 25th anniversary of the Scottish Parliament.

In the years since 1999, there have been various attempts to address the original aspiration for local democracy but none have yet been implemented.


A major event on the future of the United Kingdom, its nations, and the European Union, inspired by the work of Tom Nairn.

The Breakup of Britain Logo

Confronting the UK’s Democratic Crisis.

  • “On 18 November 2023, over 700 people gathered for an all-day conference on ‘The Breakup of Britain?’ in Edinburgh’s Assembly Rooms. They filled the main hall and gallery. The conference was a salute to the late Tom Nairn (1932-2023). It debated how to resolve Britain’s democratic crisis. Politicians, scholars, journalists, writers and poets from all four UK nations as well as speakers from Europe participated. The event was live-streamed by Indie Live, where over 4,200 logged in, and on openDemocracy, where 2,700 did.”
    Anthony Barnett
    Anthony Barnett
    Chair of The Breakup of Britain? Steering Group

LOCATION: THE ASSEMBLY ROOMS, EDINBURGH
DATE: 18TH NOVEMBER 2023

  • “What a triumph! Congratulations on an extraordinary event, which was a great tribute to Tom. The choice of speakers was inspired.”
    Lynda Myles
    Founder, Edinburgh international film festival
  • “The event was terrific and very well executed. The energy and sense of purpose was very marked… I was very, very impressed by the quality of contributions.”
    Henry Porter
    Henry Porter
    Novelist & Director of The Convention
  • “…too often the pre-publicity of similar events has promised much more than the actual substance delivered on the day. This was a happy exception.”
    Make Hope Possible Icon
    Rob & Fiona Thompson
    Commonweal

COMING SOON

As we move beyond the Holyrood election 2026 we will be hosting a series of discussions exploring what’s next for Scotland.

Join our mailing list to be the first to hear of these exciting events.

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