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Sceptical Scot

Asking Questions. Seeking Answers.

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Local government

Scottish councils at breaking point

November 1, 2020 by Gordon Munro Leave a Comment

‘This will not be unique to Scotland’s capital but does illustrate the double bind that local government is in with COVID-19: tackling the problems created along with the cost of doing so with insufficient funding and still having to make cuts of £39m at the same time. This is where the unallocated monies and the underspend can be used especially now in this time of great need.’

England’s constitutional key

November 1, 2020 by Jim Gallagher 7 Comments

‘… a different kind of constitutional structure from a typical federal state, but a structure which discharges the same functions…For Scots, endlessly split over the unhelpfully binary independence question, change in the UK offers a different option which not just constructive unionists but thoughtful nationalists will be attracted to…’

Mythologising modernism

October 17, 2020 by David Black Leave a Comment

‘This is not the model of capitalism envisaged by Adam Smith, that beautiful smooth-running machine with its assumptions of benign reciprocity between an industrialist and a workforce. It is, rather, an unfettered Hobbesian monster, not unlike the rampant and exploitative mercantilism which Smith (a proto-social psychologist, as well as economic theorist) sought to discredit.’ First of three in a series on Edinburgh’s architecture…

Educational Erewhon

June 28, 2020 by James McEnaney 2 Comments

‘Scotland likes to see itself as a bold, brave, progressive, dynamic 21st Century nation, but the truth is more insular, conservative, deferential and, in the end, suffocating – not just for individuals, but for ideas and innovation too. Unless that changes, nothing else will.’

Local governance reform in Scotland

June 28, 2020 by James Mitchell 2 Comments

‘Every major party in Scotland has contributed to the process of centralisation and this has undermined local responses to the crisis. Scotland’s constitutional status is an important issue but not at the cost of considering the need for reform of local governance….’

Community empowerment or delivering less with less?

March 2, 2020 by Tom Lloyd Goodwin 1 Comment

‘..with so much promise offered by new economic democratic agendas such as new municipalism, communities can have a key role as partners with the state against the cosh of market liberalism and declining public services.’

Airbnb blitz is blighting cities

February 21, 2020 by David Black 5 Comments

‘Nor is it all bad, by any means. Just as there were ‘good banks’ and ‘bad banks’ after the 2008 economic crash, so there is a ‘good’ Airbnb and a ‘bad’ Airbnb.’ But the bad outweighs the good, says the author

The need for cultural change

February 18, 2020 by Richard Marsh Leave a Comment

‘The economic statistics published by the SG tend to pick out relevant data from UK-wide surveys and administrative data. This approach needs to change if Scotland is to generate a more reliable, relevant and holistic evidence base of its performance from which to base its future economic vision and objectives.’

A way home for Scotland’s homeless young people

December 23, 2019 by Sceptical Scot Editors 1 Comment

Key to the front door

A message of hope for Christmas. Prevention is the new focus in efforts to reduce youth homelessness in Scotland via Housing First

Part Two: the council boards a runaway train

December 15, 2019 by David Black 3 Comments

A wrecking ball in Edinburgh St James

Edinburgh, once a working city, seems destined to become a tourist theme park – that falls victim to the demise of cheap air travel…

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What’s new on Sceptical Scot

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