Spare a thought this Christmas/New Year for the person at the Fiscals’ office on whose desk the file marked ‘Operation Branch Form’, the investigation into the SNP’s finances, is resting.
Politics
How does Assad’s removal alter the Middle East’s geopolitics?
Following the Assad regime’s collapse in Syria, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) is asserting control in Damascus, aiming for interim governance. Despite optimism for stability, concerns about HTS’s intentions persist. Meanwhile, foreign influences shift, with Turkey, the U.S., and Israel gaining power, while Iran and Russia face diminished roles in a rapidly evolving landscape.
Still spinning plates: the 2025 Scottish Budget
“There aren’t even any mathematical reasons (if anything, Council Tax reform and a land tax would have made it easier to win progressive votes in Parliament for the budget). There aren’t any objections from their members (indeed, quite the opposite, by not enacting those reforms the SNP are running directly against motions passed overwhelmingly at recent conferences) There is only the lack of will from the Government to make it happen.”
Snobbery at Edinburgh Uni: what a surprise!
“Scottish students at Scottish universities pay no tuition fees! It’s great! The Scottish Government pays them! Except of course, the Scottish Government DOESN’T pay anything like the real amount per head, leaving universities like Edinburgh and St Andrews to recruit the vast majority of their students from the rest of the UK and from abroad.”
A new way to govern Scotland: co-opposition
Labour and Plaid Cymru ran Wales pretty successfully for three years (2021-24) without a formal coalition. Could Swinney and Sarwar take a leaf out of the same boat?
Welcome to a dark future under Trump 2.0
Donald Trump said in his White House meeting with Joe Biden “it’s a nice world today” but the incoming 47th US President will preside over a dark world he blackens daily
The EU and UK under Trump 2.0
A week after Trump’s election victory, the EU – and wider Europe including the UK – look weak and uncertain. Muddling through is not going to be enough in an increasingly unstable, conflict-ridden and climate-damaged world.
Strangled by the purse strings
Unless, of course, the point is to keep that firm grip on the purse strings to actively prevent too much Local Authority autonomy – a view that has been expressed to me as a “good thing” by too many in political circles (including elected office) especially when the voters in a particular Local Authority had the temerity to vote for the “wrong” political party.
Too big to be local
The new UK government has made a commitment to devolution within England and to resetting the relationship with the devolved administrations in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. At the same time there is a growing debate about devolution within Scotland. An architect of the original devolution settlement 25 years ago examines our glaring democratic deficit.
Who owns the news?
“We pay a licence fee and in return deserve a fearless and objective public broadcaster. That may at last change the gloomy media weather forecast. It will require the departure of a number of staff – some on-screen, some not – whose grip on democracy, the public mood and decent journalism has been irretrievably damaged by 14 years of Tory government….It is a pity a change of government has not signalled a turning of the tide.”