“At the end of a year of confusing cuts, un-cuts and renewed cuts, the Scottish Government’s latest pledge is to invest £100m in the cultural sector over the next five years. How widely and how quickly that will be shared is not yet known.” We report on how successive governments starve a sector that’s key to the Scottish economy – and identity.
Articles
Paradiplomacy and independence in the EU: Quo Vadis Scotia?
“…can the SNP walk and chew gum at the same time? Surely, it makes most sense to focus on priority issues at home, whether in Holyrood or arguing the case at Westminster, and on the case for independence too (the substance not the process).”
Israel and Hamas: the debasement of discourse
“To portray the Islamist fanaticism of Hamas—its radical-conservative ‘purity’ laws, its Manichean world of friend and foe—and its consequent war crimes as somehow comparable to the national liberation movements of past times is, apart from everything else, an insult to the vast majority of those liberation movements.”
How much will an extra Scottish Income Tax band raise?
An extra band of income tax at the higher rate charged on good earners would raise money for the Scottish exchequer but less than anticipated…
What’s in the new Programme for Government? Look in the long grass
Humza Yousaf’s first programme for Government kicks several big fiscal and other policy issues into the long grass.So, do we have to wait till the Scottsh Budget likely on December 14?
Learning from Scotland: what a Labour government would mean for the right to roam
Scottish rights of access are based on a small number of exceptions which tell people where they cannot go, such as private gardens or crop fields, rather than the English and Welsh model which allows access on specified types of land only. This simplifies access rights and removes the need for complex signage and maps full of dead ends and no-go areas.
Europe must unite to stop deep-sea resource grab
“There is no legal or moral ground for allowing a few multinational corporations to profit from the vast array of minerals under the sea. European countries must give this issue much higher priority.”
Energy market reforms must embrace a social tariff
“The cap needs a complete overhaul and Britain ultimately needs to reset how initial consumer prices are determined, so that energy prices better reflect the falling cost of renewable energy. We’ve gone as far as we can with tweaking – something more radical and fully thought out is required to ensure affordable and clean energy for all.”
Tweaking council tax won’t solve its fundamental flaws
“a revaluation is necessary. Indeed, it should be a prerequisite…To continue without revaluation is deeply unfair and to take forward reforms without a revaluation just rubs salt into the wounds.”
Where are Orkney and Shetland?
Orkney’s leaders recently raised the prospect of secession from Scotland, prompting Prof James Mitchell to look back over half a century of constitutional musing and political leverage.