Hoping that you can form a decent personal relationship with key Ministers in London isn’t a satisfactory basis on which to run a complex country in the middle of a crisis.Fixing the structural weaknesses revealed by Covid is a task that a pro-UK Government in Scotland will need to tackle. The next time, Britain needs to work better.
UK
Labour’s green gaffe plays into Far Right hands
Labour is dumping its £28bn “green prosperity plan” like farmers dumping manure outside the European Parliament: no way to save the planet, modernise the economy, take on the Far Right backlash…
Sturgeon in the stocks
“Many people who watched or read the transcript of Nicola Sturgeon’s evidence to the Covid Inquiry may have been reminded of just what a good First Minister she was at that time. She can do the detail. She is smart, empathetic and forthright. Her engagement with the people of Scotland brought comfort to many in a difficult time.”
The plot to kill the BBC
“What we have is smoke in mirrors designed to weaken the BBC’s independence, cow its journalists, and ripen it up for dismemberment and eventual sale to the highest bidder. It’s short-term electoral politics and strategic long-term weakening of a once great British institution.”
Starmer can’t afford to be cautious
Labour “is caught between the public policy need for bolder action and an even more sober presentational approach than that of 1997. Bold policies are not incompatible with sober campaigning. But sober campaigning may not excite and mobilise support,” says Prof Mitchell, arguing the case against ultra-caution.
Roch the wind: industrial strategy 3 – Scotland and EU
Both the SNP and Scottish Labour are bigging up industrial policy to modernise the economy as a general election issue. Our co-editor argues this won’t work fully outside Europe.
Shared links with Europe suit Scotland’s purpose
Forget David Cameron’s muscular unionism and Humza Yousaf’s sense of grievance: Scottish and UK foreign policy must go through Europe
Labour’s road to victory runs through Scotland?
“Labour once again is seeking a middle road in its pursuit of power, both north and south of the border, attempting to be the grown-up in the room, offering a coherent, united proposal, while its political rivals turn their focus inward. However, this middle way remains challenging, and while Labour’s prospects in the post-Sturgeon era appear sunnier, many challenges await it on the road to power.”
Scottish economy outperforming the UK but for how long?
Looking forward to the Scottish Budget on Dec 19, the FAI says: “With monetary policy determined at UK level and little in the way of manoeuvre on its own fiscal stance, the Deputy First Minister’s decisions will need to deliver a budget that takes all these constraints into account, and some large parts of her funding are already determined – especially as it pertains to the Block Grant.”
What does the Autumn Statement mean for Scotland?
“As these are devolved matters, the Scottish Government receives this funding but is under no obligation to match the policies announced by Westminster. For example, the retail, hospitality and leisure relief is a repeat of the measure for 2023-24, which the Scottish Government decided not to pass on and spent elsewhere. So this is one to watch out for at next month’s Scottish Budget.”