We should come clean: the fight to reverse inequality – not least in educational outcomes and opportunities – has not even begun; redistribution has been a chimera; poverty is enduring.

That was the late David Gow, Sceptical Scot co-founder and co-editor, commenting on Scotland’s lack of progress as a self-styled social democratic nation in his post, “The abuse of social democracy”. He was writing in May 2015 when the SNP had tripled its membership under the new leadership of Nicola Sturgeon and won a record number of seats in Westminster in a fateful pre-Brexit general election. How much has changed since then?

The wider world is suffering seismic shocks and yet some things seem surprisingly static in Scotland. Sturgeon may have fallen from grace (perhaps has further to fall) but in May 2026 John Swinney returned an SNP government to Holyrood achieving a fifth successive nationalist victory despite increasing general dissatisfaction with the SNP performance.

Reform has now entered the Scottish Parliament with as yet unknown impact. But in that pre-Brexit world of 2015 David noted that while Scots tend to think of themselves as more “left” than the English or Welsh, “Scottish voters, however, still managed to back UKIP in sufficient numbers at the European elections in May 2014 to send a (single) MEP for that party to Strasbourg/Brussels.”

Uncannily fresh – a sceptical eye on Scotland

David died in November 2025 but his writing often feels uncannily fresh. Or “Plus ça change”, as he might say, observing the nature of Scottish debate. In a recently introduced feature on Sceptical Scot you will find an archive of his work featuring a new article every day. With hundreds to draw on it will take some time before the first one comes round again. But there is more work to add from his Substack series and other so far unpublished writing.

During his ten years at the Sceptical helm, David was an incorrigibly energetic writer-editor. We produced an anthology of just ten pieces for the celebration of his life lovingly organised by Gayle Gow at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in April 2026.

From the first post of March 2015, Latvia no Template for Scotland, to the last of October 2025, Build Baby Build, the selection gave a glimpse of the extraordinary depth and breadth of his interests and knowledge: political, social, cultural and personal. Never far below the surface, is his frustrated disappointment at Scotland’s inability to move beyond binary political paralysis since the 2014 referendum. As he wrote in March 2022 when Sceptical Scot (briefly) shut up shop:

For the co-editors it is more obvious that the Scottish polity – and parts of civil society – is simply not prepared to get out of its comfort zone, rethink Scotland’s position within a rapidly changing geo-political environment, join in European and global debates on the way forward or, bluntly, abandon its parochialism and provincialism. There is simply a brick wall of often sullen incomprehension in front of us.

Scotland the good society? David asked in 2017. It was a constant recurring theme. “…we all still need to ask and find answers to these questions, is Scotland genuinely more egalitarian? How does Scotland tackle early mortality, poor health outcomes, rising poverty, educational under-achievement – and with what instruments.”

Feature image: front and back cover of David Gow anthology (limited edition not publicly available)

Photograph credit, Gayle Gow

Thanks to Dougal Perman for a lively new look Sceptical Scot incorporating the David Gow archive.