‘Boris Johnson’s bold claim about child poverty needs some careful consideration – it is a very partial truth that completely misrepresents wider realities.’
Inequality
Drugs, poverty and entertainment Pt 2
Cool Britannia Danny Boyle’s film of Trainspotting was the pitch-perfect opening salvo for Tony Blair’s Cool Britannia. A post-ideological antidote to the conscience-pricking social realism of such politically-driven directors as Peter Watkins and Ken Loach, its purpose was not to evoke sympathy for those enslaved to a drug habit; rather, it was to cash in […]
Drugs, poverty and entertainment
Why are there so many deaths from drugs in Scotland? We know all the standard answers but maybe, too, the creative sector has a part to play? Part One of two
Gig economy – on film, in life
Ken Loach’s new film shows how: ‘All of us – the public who rely on the services of the gig economy just as much as the politicians who proclaim its virtues – need to wake up to the reality that, in this instance, “flexibility” is just another word for exploitation.’
Scottish children’s mental health crisis
Poverty, neglect, abuse are among factors behind a mental health crisis among our children & young people. A new skills award offers some hope amidst the accelerating catastrophe.
Triumph of rhetoric over reality
‘Education policy as made by the Scottish parliament has certainly been distinctive. But it has not been obviously successful, and it is not, in any historical sense, particularly Scottish.’
Devo 20 and the economy
‘If Scotland is to meet the challenges of the next decade and beyond – and take advantage of the undoubted opportunities that will arise – it is likely to require a much bolder economic policy agenda’
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Scottish Child Payment is welcome
‘How the Scottish government plans to fund the £180 million policy remains to be seen. But after years of cuts to UK social security, it is a pleasant change to see significant new efforts to reduce child poverty’.
Scottish child poverty targets
‘The challenge with setting ambitious targets is that parliament can be judged, not just on whether or not it is meeting these targets, but on the effectiveness of the reforms they are implementing.’
Basic income is feasible and affordable
‘This plan would pay £10,400 a year for a family of four, boost the incomes of the poorest households, cut poverty sharply, narrow the inequality gap, strengthen universalism and reduce dependency on means testing.’