Politics
The Sun, the SNP and a new Scotland
Politicians are in the game of professional cynicism, argues Loki in his latest philippic. Posing with and for The Sun goes with the territory. Yet we were promised a new politics in Scotland, not the…
Scotland shakes up the Brexit cards
The Remain and Leave campus are neck-and-neck in the run-up to the June 23 EU referendum so where does that leave Scotland – and Nicola Sturgeon’s on-off desire for #indyref2 in the event of a…
Next SG: revolutionary but hardly radical
The SNP has one revolutionary aim: the overthrow of the UK constitution. Yet its manifesto is a model of moderation. Why? Tempered by the compromises of government – or cautious process to win over the…
A new democratic settlement for Scotland
The SNP’s 2016 election manifesto commits to a new wave of decentralising power in Scotland. But is that likely from a party that is now or on the verge of becoming the predominant one in…
Student funding: what the parties say
Scotland’s leading expert on HE funding sets out what the parties say about student support in the run-up to the May 5 elections to the parliament.
Holding our own feet to the fire
Loki stirred up a hornet’s nest among Yes supporters when he wrote on the STV website why he won’t vote SNP on May 5 but for RISE. Here he explains more about why he’s saying…
Ireland, Scotland and Westminster
Alex Salmond’s take on the Easter Rising – and Irish independence – is a flawed analysis. Not least because he leaves out the civil war. And sees “Westminster” at fault everywhere.
Maths and myths around graduate charging
Ruth Davidson has set out proposals for charging students up to £6000 upon graduation for a 4-year course. But the maths around this idea are not simple as Scotland’s leading expert on student funding explains.
Not the news where you are
The campaign for a Scottish Six TV news broadcast is gathering steam and figuring in the Holyrood election debates. One reason is the wilful ignoring of Scottish election news/views by London-based media. Here two Cardiff…
Sustaining scepticism in Scotland
This magazine is now a year old: it needs support to grow and offer a richer variety of sceptical analysis and comment to, we hope, a wider audience.
University is no universal benefit
Scottish universities, we learn, have a £60m annual funding gap yet ministers talk as if all young people should go free to university. But how is that wider access to higher education to be financed?…
Enabling communities to plan their own future
Life outcomes increasingly depend on a postcode lottery. So Scotland needs to combine community and spatial planning so as to improve local people’s lives and tackle glaring inequalities.