Common Weal director Robin McAlpine looks at the broad sweep of the Programme for Government on Source here. There will also be a further, more detailed policy analysis published on the site later today. In short, the Programme was a bit of a pre-election teaser. There’s not a lot of heavy lifting going on in terms […]
Analysis
“Generally, if you wish to be progressive, then you don’t give all your tight public finances to corporations. The words ‘public’ and ‘ownership’ do not appear in the same sentence in this report. There is little which will be substantially different from what I expect from the UK Government in the same poicy fields – and that is a worry.”
Programme for Government: who benefits as the government runs out of steam?
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will announce a “national mission” to “create new, green jobs across Scotland with fair pay and good conditions” when she sets out her Programme for Government today. The proposals will include a “youth guarantee” scheme as proposed by her economic advisory group report, a programme to re-train people to work in low-carbon industries, […]
‘New, green jobs’? Here’s what to keep an eye out for in the Programme for Govt
With the Programme for Government due tomorrow in Scotland, it’s a good time to take a look at the state of politics. A poll over the weekend showed Labour are now neck and neck with the Tories, with the Conservatives managing to squander a 26 point lead in the space of five months. When Johnson […]
The Programme for Government in political context
Imagine you are elderly, and you and your family are discussing whether to move into a care home. Maybe a Source Direct subscriber out there is in this situation. Naturally, you would be worried about covid-19. One of the questions you may have about a possible care home is: ‘How has it done so far […]
We need care homes transparency: whether commercial providers like it or not
With mounting evidence that ‘lone wolf’ attacks are actually manifestations of organised far-right politics, is it time to refocus on fascism itself?
Analysis: Time to ditch the ‘lone wolf’ label – we are facing organised fascist violence
Amid the GERS hullabaloo yesterday (a good analysis of that is on Sourcehere), there was some other interesting things going on that deserve a bit more attention. First, the STUC, Scotland’s leading trade union body, have written to Alok Sharma MP and Paul Wheelhouse MSP, UK and Scottish Energy Ministers respectively, calling for an urgent bilateral […]
Why is Scotland’s green energy manufacturing industry in crisis, in a climate emergency?
“As the UK’s regional inequality continues to deepen, the Scottish Government must again ask who is the economy for?”
GERS 2019-20: The UK is pooling more than it shares
Merry GERS-mas! No, Lionel Messi is not signing for Rangers. GERS day is the geek term for the ultimate geeky day in Scottish politics, where a statistical publication is wielded like a constitutional axe, weaponised as the definitive financial statement of whether an independent Scotland is perfectly viable or a disaster waiting to happen, depending […]
On GERS day 2020, we should remember that economics is about choices
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman has announced she will not be seeking re-election next year. Freeman joins Mike Russell, Aileen Campbell and Roseanna Cunningham in being the latest Minister to announce that she will be stepping down. “While I have a great deal of energy left and more I want to do, I think it is […]