“At face value, this does seem like another area where the Scottish Government is not being adequately held to account for its decisions. Doing so might throw up some difficult questions but at least there would be a more informed debate over what Scottish spending priorities really are.”
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Should the Scottish Government fund public interest journalism?
“Don’t get me wrong – the journalists employed by these papers still work hard and do a pretty good job. I would still recommend reading a newspaper over not reading one. But we need to find a way to halt this slow collapse of the media landscape.’
Is Reform really overtaking Labour?
Much has been made of the news that Reform has overtaken Labour in voting intentions in a recent poll. The poll, produced by market research agency Find Out Now, put the Conservatives on 26%, Reform on 24% and Labour on 23%. Most recent polls show that Labour is still ahead of Reform, but only by a small […]
Balgy Gap and the missing loop in the grid
The privatisation of Scotland’s power has proved a failure, argues Jackie Kemp, citing the 60-year failure to provide power to a part of the Highlands
Let’s reverse the decline in Scottish journalism
“This not just about how we understand foreign affairs and how we tackle misinformation, but about basic democracy functioning in Scotland. Hopefully MSPs and ministers understand that though journalists can be a pain in the arse for them, a news vacuum full of disinformation and conspiracy would be much worse.”
Is Scotland heading for an early election?
The parlous state of UK public finances and spillover impact of the October 30 Budget could mean Holyrood refuses to pass next year’s Scottish Budget, triggering the government’s resignation
Options and challenges for Wales’s constitutional future
In her latest European Conversations podcast the author talks to a member of the independent commission on the constitutional future of Wales about its findings – and their relevance for Scotland
Lies, damn lies and education stats
“For the Scottish government to claim that this supersedes PISA – as they do in their statement today – is either disingenuous or evidence of dismaying statistical ignorance.” (Prof Lindsay Paterson)
What’s the Orange Order’s future?
“I was at a talk the other week by the Orange Order Historian Dr David Hume. It is a measure of how far we have come as a society that there was a talk about the Orange Order in the James Connolly Centre on the Falls Road.
Saltire in the sky
‘It is perhaps under-recognised by many in the independence camp just how much support there was for the Union in 1707 among middle-class Scots. That support was based on a hunger for opportunity. But Brexit has reversed that – it means a big reduction in the degree of opportunity that Union with the rest of the UK once offered.’