Month: September 2026

Tuesday 22nd September | Hoxton Hotel Edinburgh

Marie was the keynote opening speaker at Monday’s conference on Reimagining Public Service Delivery, hosted by Holyrood magazine and held at Edinburgh’s Hoxton Hotel.

Addressing an audience of public sector workers and other stakeholders, the speech comes at a key moment in the debate about the future shape of public services in Scotland, including proposed reforms to the health service and local government.

Marie took the audience through her own personal journey, touching on her early career in the City of London, her health battle with endometriosis and then her success as a businesswoman and investor, creating the HALO project to help regenerate former industrial heartlands, whilst at the same time engaging in community projects and wider philanthropy.

The conference came a day after the Scottish Government announced proposals to cut the number of councils in Scotland from 32 down to as few as six regional authorities, with between 120 and 160 community authorities operating below them.

Marie opened her speech by paying tribute to the work of the public sector, noting that without its input on a daily basis, the essential services we all need simply would not function.

She went on to caution whether the plans for local government reorganisation were the right way forward.

She said:  “We do not want to see a situation where we get rid of 32 local authorities to the detriment of the communities they serve – especially when those councils are staffed by people who know what they are doing.” 

Marie finished her contribution on an upbeat note, calling on the public and private sectors to work together to create a successful economy and society for all.

She said: “My key message is always founded on hope – hope for a better and brighter future for all our communities. 

“I want Scotland to be the most aspirational and enterprising country in the world, delivering that better future, especially for our young people, who will be the gatekeepers and protectors of they legacy we give them.” 

Edinburgh | Thursday 17^th September 2026

Dr Marie Macklin CBE chaired the inaugural Shared Heritage, Shared Future Summit in Edinburgh, bringing together representatives from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland.

The Summit provided an opportunity to strengthen relationships, exchange views and explore future collaboration between Scotland and Northern Ireland, recognising the historic, cultural and family connections shared by both nations.

Against a backdrop of economic challenges and ongoing constitutional debate, discussions focused on the importance of constructive engagement, community representation and opportunities for closer cooperation.

Reflecting on her role as Summit Chair, Marie said:

“I am honoured to have been asked to Chair the inaugural Shared Heritage, Shared Future Summit. As someone who has lived and worked in Belfast, I understand the strength of the relationship between Scotland and Northern Ireland and the opportunities that can come from working more closely together.

At a time of significant economic challenge, the Summit will highlight the value of greater collaboration between Scotland and Northern Ireland, while ensuring the voices of our communities are heard. I look forward to seeing the relationships established develop and, importantly, lead to progress for all.”

Marie’s contribution was recognised by representatives from both organisations.

Phillip Brett MLA expressed his appreciation for Marie’s role in facilitating the engagement, acknowledging her commitment to bringing people together and strengthening relationships across the United Kingdom. He highlighted the opportunities her involvement had created for constructive discussion and future cooperation.

Andrew Murray, Grand Master of the Grand Orange Lodge of Scotland, also thanked Marie for chairing the inaugural Summit, describing the gathering as a significant step towards a wider conversation about Scotland’s place within the Union. He expressed his hope that the Summit would mark the beginning of continued dialogue and greater collaboration in the years ahead.

The Summit concluded with a shared intention among participants to build on the relationships established and explore opportunities for future engagement.

Monday 7th September 2026 | Marie was a guest panellist on Monday’s edition of STV’s flagship politics and current affairs programme Scotland Tonight 

She was joined on the panel by former MSP and Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont and former SNP Scottish Government cabinet minister Michael Matheson.

Hosted by STV’s political editor Colin Mackay, the panel discussed a range of issues, including the Scottish Government’s plans for health board and local government reorganisation as part of its Programme for Government published last week, as well as UK Chancellor John Healey’s proposals to stimulate growth across the economy.

Marie highlighted the need for real, targeted investment to drive growth and recovery, following the failure of the UK Government to follow through on previous pledges of financial support for the Grangemouth industrial complex.

She also joined fellow panellists in discussing whether the Scottish Parliament needs a fundamental shake-up, following anonymous criticism of Holyrood from a number of former MSPs, whose comments chime with Marie’s own calls for change in her recent Scotsman article.

See video below for highlights.

Marie’s Column | The Scotsman | Thursday 3rd September 2026

Dr Marie Macklin explains why she’s started to wonder whether we should rip up the current Scottish Parliament and start again

As a business leader, I’m often asked my views on what lessons might best be applied from the private to the public sector. Should taxpayer-funded services be more consumer orientated; do they offer best value for money; how might they be run differently if they had to report to shareholders?

There is no point in ripping up the status quo and replacing it with systems which repeat the same mistakes, which lead to waste and which ultimately do nothing to improve the lives of the public they are supposed to serve.

A starting point should be a candid assessment of the amount of inefficiency currently in the system.

Audit Scotland, the nation’s public spending watchdog, has published a string of reports detailing the extent to which taxpayers’ money continues to be misspent.  In the health service, it was found that despite record levels of spending and staffing, the NHS in Scotland is simply not financially sustainable in the long run.

Meanwhile, our university and college sector is in dire straits, with threats of mass redundancies and deep uncertainty over the long-term vitality of some of our most important learning institutions, despite the huge sums of public money spent in the sphere.

At the same time, government investment in key initiatives to kick-start economic growth and renewal have come unstuck – whether in the shape of individual projects such as the nationalised Ferguson’s shipyard, or as we have seen most recently in the deficit run up by the Scottish National Investment Bank.

So, what can be done to turn things around? Scotland’s public realm is bloated, and reform has been put off for far too long, but it has taken the looming threat of a multi-billion pound black hole in Scotland’s public finances to force the hand of government.

There is inevitably resistance to changes which could mean job losses, and trade unions have already signalled their strong opposition, as might be expected.

What would be more concerning would be for the issue to become subject to the polarised nature of Holyrood politics. The opposition parties know, every bit as much as the government, just how essential reform is. That being so, they should not indulge in opposition for opposition’s sake.

The unions have also suggested that the quality of public services is bound to suffer as a result of the reform agenda.  They are right to raise the issue but are, I believe, mistaken in their conclusions.

There is no automatic reason why the level of service provision must drop – or to suppose that technological advances are incapable of helping ensure that services are not only maintained but enhanced.

Healthcare is perhaps the most obvious area in which all of this applies. The capacity for new technology to help revolutionise patient care, including more treatment at home instead of in hospital settings, is clear.  That can mean savings over the longer term, without compromising on the quality of care.

But clearly, some difficult choices need to be faced.  The government is set to cut the number of regional health boards from 14 down to two, but it should also ask whether we really need 32 local authorities, all with their own top tier of management and significant duplication of resources.

But Holyrood’s inability to get to grips with key spending issues begs the question of whether, with its current powers, the parliament is fit for purpose. Or is it time, to borrow from a classic Scottish hit of the 1980s, to Rip it Up and start again?

That means Holyrood’s own costs should not be beyond scrutiny. Given the parliament building itself ended up costing £414 million, up from an initial estimate of £10 to £40 million, the books have not balanced since the start.  The parliament’s annual budget for the current financial year is £167 million. Is that money well spent or is there scope for trimming it? And the answer from MSPs of all parties can’t just be “Because we’re worth it”.

More fundamentally, should Holyrood’s committees have more clout and ability to scrutinise spending? And should the parliament have the financial powers required to address the economic problems facing the country?

Meanwhile, should civil service jobs be spread more evenly around the country, bringing money and renewal to dilapidated town centres, rather than allowing Edinburgh to suck people and wealth towards it?

These are all questions that should be considered as part of the reform process.

Saying this out loud may not be popular, but it is necessary.  I will be expanding on some of these themes in a keynote speech at an Edinburgh conference in the coming weeks, looking at the public service reform agenda, and what it means for the country in the coming years.

However – and this might be unexpected, coming from a businessperson – I believe that the learning experience cuts both ways. That is to say, there are lessons the private sector can and should take on board from the public realm, just as much as the other way round.

Many of our public servants do outstanding work, much of it unrecognised and unheralded, and without which our society would not only be poorer, but the very fabric that binds it together would begin to fray.   What the public sector needs is a willingness to adapt and – above all – good leadership.

There is huge talent, innovation and passion across Scotland’s public and private sectors. With the right approach, and an openness to learn from each other, they can both drive the change needed to make our public services and our economy fit for the challenges of the mid-21^st century and beyond.

View article on The Scotsman.

Marie was delighted to be asked to speak at CentreStage’s recent 20th anniversary gala evening at the Park Hotel in Kilmarnock.

Friday 28th August 2026 | The Park Hotel, Kilmarnock 

Billed as “A Night Under the Stars”, the event was a celebration of the contribution the arts and community charity has made to the local area over the last two decades. As Business Patron of CentreStage, Marie was invited to address guests, and she used the opportunity to pay tribute to those who have supported the organisation.

In particular, she thanked Sir Tom Hunter and the Hunter Foundation for the generous backing they have provided – which has included supporting the CentreStage food provision campaign for the most vulnerable, Kilt Walk match funding and mentoring and financial support during the asset transfer of the former Kilmarnock Academy to the charity.

Marie concluded by calling on other businesses and organisations to lend their support to CentreStage.