“Holyrood needs to revive its commitment to power sharing and subsidiarity. At its inception, the Scottish Parliament could legitimately claim to be bold and innovative. It can be again.”
Dateline Covid capital of Scotland
“The tension between reporting the facts and the grave reality of the situation and the responsibility to boost morale is laid out in front of you as a reporter.” Trials and tribulations of being a frontline local news reporter during the pandemic movingly described by the author.
Edinburgh reimagined: the future will be localised
Arts and culture are at a turning point, says Morvern Cunningham, facing the risk of returning to a kind of normal that we saw pre-pandemic. Only this time, the normal we are heading back to is likely to be worse than before.
The People’s Occupation: no more cuts
As the post-Covid reckoning approaches, who is going to ‘own’ the rebuilding of services, community capacity and employment to which both UK and Scottish governments are formally committed?
Scotland’s Glorious Thirty
Going beyond recovery from the pandemic. In reviewing a recent book on Scotland post-Covid-19, we urge an ambitious, granular debate on the ways to transform our country and make it greener, fairer and more democratic for all.
Manifestos for #Holyrood21 and the pandemic’s impact on future Scottish society
Since its inception, the Scottish Parliament has not been renowned for its reforming zeal. But the pandemic has thrown up a range of challenges that must be addressed if a ‘working’ system is to re-emerge in hospitals, schools and the courts. It is surely right then that the electorate has some idea of the competing views of each of the political parties as to how they intend to respond to the pandemic’s effects.
Sunak’s Budget and Scotland
“..further Covid-related allocations are designed to support the economy during ongoing restrictions – and these provide the Scottish Government with further resources during 2021/22. In years beyond that, this was a budget that aims to rebuild the economy by leveraging investment, whilst raising more from tax and tightening the screw on public services spending. But there is no role in the future economic vision for welfare policy or public services spending.”
Fractured Union
As epitaphs are written for the Union of 1707, prematurely or not, the author argues that unionists misunderstand it: it’s a process under constant negotiation.
A very Scottish foreign policy
“Scotland should also develop its own niche areas of expertise, starting with the gamut of environmental issues related to climate change. Indeed, the aim for the coming years should be: ‘Scotland – the Green Capital of Europe.’”
Covid inspires a can-do response to old problem
Brace yourselves for good news. A ‘can-do’ story of enterprise, ingenuity, and kindness. Though, there is a familiar theme – how Covid has exposed the faultlines of our society. Who knew so many university students would be going hungry?