Liz Kendall, work & pensions secretary, has won a lot of criticism but a few plaudits for the long-awaited “green paper” on welfare reform. Here is analysis of the main elements: PIP will not be frozen, but eligibility will be restricted The Secretary of State’s headline announcement was in line with news over the weekend, which suggested that rates will not be frozen. … [Read more...] about Welfare reforms: the (unknown) Scottish dimension
Articles
Insurgent, disruptive or flailing Labour?
When key Labour advisers, and the prime minister himself, are throwing around consultancy-speak words like disruption and insurgency then it’s clear the government has a deep problem. It doesn’t actually know what it's there for, let alone how to be popular – and the feeble, ever narrower repetition of the word ‘growth’, as growth stalls, is not helping. Keir Starmer told his … [Read more...] about Insurgent, disruptive or flailing Labour?
Fiscal sustainability and the Scottish budget
When the draft Scottish Budget was presented to Parliament in December, we raised some concerns about the extent to which lessons about financial planning from previous years had been learnt. In particular, there was the decision not to budget for the likely shortfall in funding for the Employers National Insurance change, and the announcement of a commitment to mitigate the … [Read more...] about Fiscal sustainability and the Scottish budget
Energy privatisation is a disaster for Scotland
Energy poverty is when you can’t afford to heat your home or cook your food. Almost a third - 31% - of Scots are in this category, That is more than double the rate in England. It is far higher than any EU country - and four times the levels of countries like Scandinavia or Ireland. The irony is that Scotland is rich in energy resources - Scotland makes 16% of … [Read more...] about Energy privatisation is a disaster for Scotland
10 reasons why Donald Trump can’t stop global climate action
If you care about saving Earth from catastrophe, you might be feeling a little down about the re-election of Donald Trump as United States president. Undeniably, his return to the White House is a real setback for climate action.Trump is a climate change denier who has promised to increase fossil fuel production and withdraw the US from the … [Read more...] about 10 reasons why Donald Trump can’t stop global climate action