Gran Squad: How straight-talking Scottish Grans helped put social housing back on the political agenda

Scotland is gripped by a housing emergency. Families are trapped in temporary accommodation. Rents are rising faster than wages. Thousands of people wait years for a social home that never comes.

Yet despite the scale of the crisis, political ambition to build social housing had stalled.

Shelter Scotland set out to change that.

Our campaign, The Gran Squad, was built on a simple truth: Scotland has solved housing crises before. When the country believed in social housing, it built the homes people needed. To rebuild that belief, we needed voices people trust.

So we put Scotland’s straight-talking Grans at the centre of the campaign.

Through a series of bold, character-led films and digital storytelling, the Gran Squad delivered a message politicians couldn’t ignore: Scotland must start building social homes again. With humour, warmth and unmistakable moral authority, they challenged the idea that the housing emergency is inevitable — and reminded the public that change is possible when Scotland chooses to act.

The campaign transformed a complex policy issue into something human, hopeful and urgent. Audiences were invited to join the movement and call on political leaders ahead of the pivotal Scottish election to commit to building the social homes Scotland needs.

The results were powerful. The Gran Squad mobilised thousands of supporters, generating 21,468 emails to party leaders, 4,626 petition signatures and 3,679 new campaign supporters.

Because when Scotland’s grans speak, people listen.

And when people listen, politicians have to act