Politics
Scotland’s citizen assemblies
Is the proposed new citizens assembly in Scotland an SNP stunt designed to swing behind #indyref2 – or a genuine democratic gain?
Strike now for the future – we have a world to win
Children around the globe are right to go on strike, and we must listen to them. Gordon Munro explains why
People O’ Oor Ain
‘Recall the teeth-gnashing of unionists that people were being sold a false prospectus, that ‘real politics’ are what mattered. Indeed so, but people see constitutional matters as the means to better social and economic policy.’
Scottish local government: a geopolitical approach
In the latest of our series on local government and devolution, the head of the Cosla office in Brussels analyses whether a European model makes sense.
Let children play (and learn) with music
Making music should be a fundamental right of all children from an early age, introducing a series by our new guest contributor, holistic music teacher Abi Rooley-Towle
Legal illegal immigration
‘This is a price the UK pays for the worldwide use of English, a price generally considered worth paying for the many uncosted, and generally unacknowledged, benefits it brings to the UK, both economically and…
The narrative of devolution twenty years on
Twenty years of Scottish devolution: who controls the historical narrative and can thereby claim to ‘speak for Scotland’?
Can Scottish Citizens’ Assembly break the constitutional deadlock?
A Scottish Citizens Assembly could breathe fresh air into the political debate. But it poses risks for all the parties, argues Michael Keating.
Scots pound has a past… but a future?
An independent Scotland could find a new dynamism which would improve its economic performance. But not overnight. A new currency would almost certainly start at a discount to sterling.
Independent Scotland in EU: timing and challenges
Independence is far from guaranteed and big issues such as currency are unresolved but Scotland’s chances of (re)joining the EU as a member state have improved.
A new post-Brexit UK of quasi-independent member states?
‘Just as the nation-state replaced Empire, so the plates delineating optimal, governable units within larger, common systems are again moving.’
“It’s Westminster’s fault”
‘If voters filter their responsibility judgements through the lenses of partisanship and national identity, incumbents may end up being rewarded or punished by the electorate in a way that is unrelated to policy outcomes.’