Zack Polanski wants Donald Trump "kicked out" of Scotland. It is a lovely headline. It plays well on social media. It gathers likes from the usual suspects who believe that international diplomacy and property law should function like a reality TV elimination round. But here is the cold reality: Polanski’s demand isn't just legally illiterate; it’s a strategic disaster for the very environmental and ethical standards he claims to defend.
The Green Party’s deputy leader is tilting at windmills, and not the kind Trump famously hates. By calling for the seizure of the Menie Estate and Turnberry, Polanski is leaning into the "lazy consensus" that says if we dislike a person’s politics, we should simply erase their footprint. This isn't governance. It’s performance art.
The Unexplained Wealth Order Myth
The weapon of choice for the "kick him out" crowd is usually the Unexplained Wealth Order (UWO). The logic goes like this: Trump bought these courses with cash. We don't like where that cash might have come from. Therefore, the Scottish government should trigger a UWO, freeze the assets, and eventually seize them.
I have spent years watching legal teams navigate the murky waters of international asset recovery. Here is what the activists won't tell you: UWOs are not magic wands. They are investigative tools that require a "reasonable suspicion" that the known sources of the person's income would have been insufficient to allow them to acquire the asset.
Donald Trump, for all his legal woes, has been a high-profile billionaire for decades. Proving in a court of law that a man who has licensed his name to half the skyscrapers in New York couldn't afford a few Scottish golf courses is a Herculean task that would likely result in the Scottish taxpayer footing a massive legal bill for a losing case. When the Scottish Government declined to pursue this in 2021, it wasn't out of cowardice. It was out of a basic understanding of the burden of proof.
Property Rights Are the Bedrock, Not a Suggestion
If Scotland starts seizing assets because the owner is a "polarizing figure," it sends a signal to every other international investor: Your capital is only safe as long as your politics align with the current administration in Holyrood.
Imagine a scenario where a right-wing government comes to power and decides to seize the assets of an NGO or a green energy firm because they find their "values" offensive. You cannot demand the rule of law only when it punishes your enemies.
Scotland’s economy relies heavily on foreign direct investment. The moment you introduce "political palatability" as a metric for property ownership, you aren't just hitting Trump. You are hitting the pension funds, the sovereign wealth funds, and the developers who keep the lights on. Polanski is essentially suggesting Scotland should adopt the economic reliability of a banana republic to win a PR battle.
The Environmental Irony
Polanski’s core grievance often centers on the environmental impact of the Aberdeenshire course. Yes, the development on the Foveran Links SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) was an ecological blunder. It destroyed mobile sand dunes that were unique to the region.
But here is the nuance: Seizing the land doesn't fix the dunes. They are gone. Bulldozed. Covered in fairways.
If the goal is environmental restoration, the focus should be on stringent regulation and enforcement, not expropriation. When you own the land, you are responsible for it. If the Trump Organization violates environmental permits, fine them until it hurts. If they breach planning conditions, hold them in contempt. But calling for a total takeover is a distraction from the boring, difficult work of environmental oversight.
The Economic Hostage Situation
Let’s talk about the caddies, the greenkeepers, the hospitality staff, and the local supply chains in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. Turnberry isn't just a patch of grass; it’s a massive employer in a region that desperately needs jobs.
When Polanski says "kick him out," who does he think is going to run these resorts the next morning?
If the Scottish government seizes Turnberry, they become the owners of a luxury golf resort. Do we really want civil servants managing a five-star hotel? Or would they sell it off to the highest bidder—likely another billionaire with a different set of PR problems? You don't "liberate" a golf course. You either run it, sell it, or let it go to seed. Closing it down means firing hundreds of locals to make a political point. That isn't social justice. It’s vanity.
The Better Way Forward
Instead of chasing the dragon of asset seizure, the Scottish government should be doing the following:
- Aggressive Tax Audits: Ensure every penny of profit generated on Scottish soil is taxed appropriately. No loopholes. No offshore shuffling.
- Mandatory Ecological Remediation: Pass legislation that requires landowners of former SSSI sites to fund off-site biodiversity offsets that far exceed the damage done.
- Strengthen Planning Laws: Ensure that the "Trump scenario" can never happen again by removing the ability of Scottish Ministers to override local planning refusals for "national interest" reasons that are actually just private commercial interests.
Polanski's approach is the "easy" way out. It’s loud. It’s angry. It’s ultimately hollow. Real power isn't found in taking someone's toys away because you don't like them. Real power is found in creating a system so robust that no individual, no matter how rich or loud, can bypass the rules.
Stop asking how to kick Trump out. Start asking why the system was weak enough to let him do whatever he wanted in the first place. Fix the system, and the man becomes irrelevant.
The obsession with Trump’s Scottish holdings is a symptom of a political class that has run out of ideas. It is easier to hate a villain than it is to build a fortress of regulation. Scotland deserves better than performative outrage. It deserves a legal framework that treats every investor with the same cold, impartial rigour—regardless of whether they wear a red hat or a green one.
You don't win by seizing the golf course. You win by making the golf course play by your rules.
