“Governments working together to regulate the production of greenhouse gases is our planet’s best, perhaps only, only hope. To get there, we need these issues to be in the spotlight. More power to your elbow, Greta.”
Blog
GERS 2023: uptick in oil revenues narrows the budget deficit
“And here the challenge is stark, with a likely deficit far in excess of the UK as a whole, other comparable countries or that which is deemed to be sustainable in the long-term. It is not enough to say ‘everything will be fine’ or ‘look at this country, they can run a sensible fiscal balance so why can’t Scotland?’. Concrete proposals and ideas are needed.”
Zombie Scotland must wake up to its future
“…suggestions of a return to ‘a government of all the talents’ with bells on and other ideas should form part of an honest Scottish/British conversation about the years ahead – and the best policies and institutions for achieving that rejuvenation and reinvention. One shorn of nostalgia and delusions….”
Let’s make interest rates zero – permanently
“The idea of permanent zero rates is far outside the mainstream of economic thinking. But perhaps (Joan) Robinson was right to suggest it as a viable compromise between capitalism and more radical alternatives: rewarding entrepreneurship without compounding inequality or incentivising the unsustainable use of resources. At a time like this, it’s an old idea well worth considering.”
Treasury gives Holyrood more fiscal leeway
The Fiscal Framework behind the Scottish Budget has finally been updated, giving the Scottish Government greater leeway when it comes to tax and spend poli
Ukraine’s recovery will ‘take a village’ of international actors
“Ukraine is now making unimaginable human and economic sacrifices in its commitment to Europe. Helping the country fully to recover and become an EU member state will serve as a geo-strategic investment in the sustainable security and economic performance of the continent.”
A splash of sunshine
“Perhaps it would be nice to be a degree or two warmer than today’s 16C. But every day brings news of the burning reality of climate change in blistering heatwaves reaching 50C in many places across the world.”
Why BAME politicians are pushing harsh immigration policies
“The illegal migration bill comes just a year after Patel led the passage of the Nationality and Borders Act. Both policies are designed to keep out outsiders, many of whom are black or brown. It is contradictory that the ministers responsible for these policies are descendants of immigrants themselves.”
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.
Declaration of Arbroath: no political cherry-picking!
“…the declaration’s authors had little desire to see an Anglo-Scottish union centuries later, nor had a high opinion of popular sovereignty. Democracy too was an alien concept at this time. This was a document written for the elites, by the elites.”