The political dynamics of place-based missions: navigating ideology, parties and coalition-building

Mission-oriented innovation policy is often framed in aspatial terms, with limited attention to the politics of place. This paper examines how place-based missions are constituted through the case of Universal Free School Meals in Scotland and Wales. We show that ideological traditions become entangled across socio-economic and territorial dimensions, that political parties broker coalitions and navigate responses to place-based challenges, and that elections provide mandates that may legitimise commitments while mitigating risks of polarisation. By situating these processes within multilevel fiscal and ideological constraints, the paper contributes to emerging debates on the geographies and politics of mission-oriented innovation policy.