‘I am the warning, I am the guinea pig. What’s happening to me now, might happen to you, unless you fight and oppose.’ Polish writer Kasia Kokowska describes a European life still in limbo while surrounding compassion is running out.
Archives for July 2017
Nothing to see, and nothing to say: Marlie Mul at GoMA
\The boundaries of possibility are set before we open our mouths. The exhibition space becomes no longer filled with art, but whatever happens in there remains art all the same.’
BBC bias to right, left – and centre
‘Young people are now increasingly turning to social media as their first source of information about current events. If the BBC is to win back this section of the audience – or at least stem the ebbing tide – it needs to examine, and respond quickly, to the current mote in its political eye.’
Can Scotland and Wales block the EU repeal bill?
The devolved legislatures cannot block the bill but the need for their consent means that they have a considerable degree of leverage – much more so than if Theresa May had secured a landslide majority in the June election. It is likely the devolved nations will seek to exploit this leverage to the full.
Think again on Brexit
‘In a democracy, it is always possible to think again and to choose a different direction. We need to think again about Brexit, to have a UK-wide debate about calling a halt to the process and changing our minds.’
More devo or less devo?
It is likely, therefore, that the UK Government will retain the key powers indefinitely and devolve only cautiously. It seems unlikely that the UK Government will transfer them all back or that the Welsh proposal for joint policymaking will be adopted.
Scenes from Highland life – and thoughts on land reform
Rather than trying to unmake history, Scotland should build on it. Rich landowners, whether native-born or from elsewhere, who cherish Scotland’s wild places, can use their resources to help to care for for it and to protect it from the challenges of the future.
The EU Withdrawal Bill and devolution
‘The initial reaction from the Scottish and Welsh Governments repeats their concerns about the new restrictions on devolved legislatures. Given its breadth and constitutional importance, a Scotland-wide debate is surely needed to make sure it leads to an outcome which wider Scottish civic society can support’.
Who owns the town centre?
Top down policy won’t transform those wasted spaces. Meaningful regeneration grows upwards from community grassroots but it needs help from above. Fay Young introduces two articles by Susan Mansfield describing how empowered communities can transform local environments and quality of life.
Regeneration comes from community grassroots
‘Not everybody wants to participate in workshops, meetings, agendas.’ In her second article on the Stalled Spaces project, Susan Mansfield meets Scottish communities where regeneration begins in vacant plots and grows from the grassroots up.