“Change can be difficult and uncomfortable, but there is unlikely to be a better time to begin to dismantle some of the barriers which have impeded genuine growth. Scottish education needs to escape from the ‘iron cage’ of its own bureaucracy. This will require vision, honesty and courage, qualities that, sadly, have not been in plentiful supply among political leaders (of all parties) in recent years.”
Articles
Declutter the Scottish economy
“Growth is slowing. Inequalities are rising. With Covid adding its own malign legacy to the challenges ahead, we need to sweep away a lot of that accumulated institutional clutter. And we need politicians prepared to face much more forensic scrutiny of what they are actually delivering. I fear that is not what’s on the ballot paper next month.”
Letter to indy Scotland’s first finance minister
“And even though, with Scotland as an independent country, your policy options would be much greater, you have to be constantly aware of the trade-offs involved and the limitations on your power to influence the choices made by workers and by companies. You can at least take comfort from the fact that less prosperous nations with less well-developed institutions than Scotland manage these issues without the roof falling in.”
You’ve changed: a playlist for life
What I love, still, more than anything, is a message from a friend saying ‘hey – you might like this’. Craig Angus shares
Edinburgh Festivals 2021: a blended spirit
“In 2020, when the festivals were forced into vastly reduced online offerings, I thought of the laughter lost to coronavirus…50,000 hours of laughter. 5.7 years of laughter. All lost to the pandemic. If we can safely start to reclaim some of that laughter this summer, we should.
Postcard from anti-vax France
A doubly vaccinated Frances Allen ventures into the market place to meet the complex cultural attitudes of her adopted home: ‘a country which has a historic mistrust of vaccines.’
Time to rebuild: Edinburgh Reimagined Part 2
During August, a ‘can-do’ attitude from the City of Edinburgh Council and other gatekeepers to cultural provision creates the temporary illusion that any available space in the city can be a venue.
Morvern Cunningham makes the case for spreading cultural growth throughout the city all year round.
More real than reality TV – the virtual community kitchen
It’s not all doom and gloom. Local communities have found inspiring new opportunities in lockdown. For Sceptical Scot, food writer Jonathan Trew ventures into the heat of a a virtual kitchen bringing cultures together
Tax policy in Holyrood 5
The author, fiscal expert at FAI, examines the tax changes designed to achieve greater fairness made in the fifth Scottish Parliament – and the scope for reform and greater powers in the next.
Holyrood needs a second, reforming chamber
“Holyrood needs to revive its commitment to power sharing and subsidiarity. At its inception, the Scottish Parliament could legitimately claim to be bold and innovative. It can be again.”