‘This will not be unique to Scotland’s capital but does illustrate the double bind that local government is in with COVID-19: tackling the problems created along with the cost of doing so with insufficient funding and still having to make cuts of £39m at the same time. This is where the unallocated monies and the underspend can be used especially now in this time of great need.’
England’s constitutional key
‘… a different kind of constitutional structure from a typical federal state, but a structure which discharges the same functions…For Scots, endlessly split over the unhelpfully binary independence question, change in the UK offers a different option which not just constructive unionists but thoughtful nationalists will be attracted to…’
A plague on old age
‘By far the most important risk factor for getting hospitalised, being admitted to an ICU, and dying from the disease is old age, particularly being over 80. Not many housing scheme residents get that far…’
Flying the unionist flag
‘It is not clear how well this visible unionism will work in Scotland….As the debate over independence resumes, however, we will see more competition between the UK and Scottish governments for ownership of spending initiative and over visibility.’
Bandit capitalism: a very British oligarchy
Why didn’t the auditors flag this up? Where are the regulators? How did such jaw dropping debts happen? Why don’t we ever learn – starting a new ‘best of’ podcast series. First up, Bob Wylie
#KeepThePromise – or childcare without parents
Too often love is invoked when individuals, institutions and governments seek to disguise transactions involving power, in this case children in public care.
Janice McGhee and Lorraine Waterhouse examine the ‘Promise’ and find it wanting
Allotments make a comeback
‘The most deprived communities have faced an eight times greater loss of allotments when compared to the least deprived. This is a loss of the ability to grow food in areas where communities are most at risk from not having enough food.’
Modernist mythologies 2
In the second part of his series on architecture David Black finds that modernism is an expression of far right neo-liberal ideology
Black history and future in Scotland
In more than 20 years, Scotland has produced no Black MSPs, as we prepare for the most important election since devolution, Agnes Holmes reflects on her own experience as she explores obstacles facing Black candidates.
Which Scottish currency?
The issue of which currency an independent Scotland would adopt has gone on the back-burner. But with a new poll showing 58% support for indy it deserves to move to the front…Economist/statistician Richard Marsh urges a wider debate.