A contrarian view from Glasgow-born MacShane: “It will be hard for Labour or the Lib Dems to get back into the game, which suggests that the SNP is likely to win a clear majority and a large majority of Holyrood seats.”
UK
Coronavirus Bill and beyond
‘At the end of the day people will want to be assured that: (a) the powers granted under the Coronavirus Act have been and are being properly and proportionately used; (b) any proposal to extend a power beyond its natural life has a proper rationale..’
A million on zero-hours contracts
‘The UK urgently needs to address the growing casualisation and insecurity that exists in Britain’s labour market – besides the issue of low wages.’
The need for cultural change
‘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.’
Sinn Fein surge and the border
‘This created the space Sinn Féin needed for an election on its terms – in many respects the party had precisely the kind of election the UK Labour Party wanted and failed to get in 2019.’ Why SF won…
Disruptive ideas on the road to a net-zero carbon economy
In the first of a new series on Scotland’s Economic Future: Disruptive Ideas, Robert Pollock argues for profound institutional change – drawing on (bitter) lessons from the wind industry. Part 2 follows (see below)
GE2019 and #indyref2
‘Surveys have shown that almost half of English voters are content to leave the matter to the Scots, with many of the rest having no opinion. There appears to be little appetite for coercing Scotland, should Scotland really want to leave.’
Strong and stable democracy under PR?
No PR system would have been likely to produce a workable majority for any sustainable coalition, but that is a reflection of the highly fragmented multi-party political system in the UK.
The only lesson worth learning: FPTP must go
‘Centrist or socialist, whoever leads the Labour party next—or indeed the Liberal Democrats—must put electoral reform back on the agenda.’
Scottish Labour for Radical Democracy
‘We call on the left across the UK to back our demand for a second referendum on independence and to fight with us to secure a radical democracy for all the peoples of these islands.’