Economy
A quiet election for a tired and poorly Scottish parliament
Scottish party manifestos pledge extra spending without addressing huge challenges facing the next Scottish government – likely to be SNP again despite almost 20 years of underachievement in power. John McLaren sets out four lessons…
Global food insecurity: another dividend from Trump’s war of choice
Markets have reacted to the global impact of closing this incredibly busy shipping channel, focusing on the risk to oil and gas flows, the prospect of higher crude prices and the inflationary pressures that would follow. That concern…
Business anticipates uneasy start to 2026
Business confidence in Scotland remains weak, according to the Fraser of Allander Institute’s Scottish Business Monitor with firms pointing to cost pressures, subdued investment and little expectation of short-term relief. All six headline indicators in…
How will next SNP government tackle fiscal mess left by this one? #ScottishBudget
Eradicating child poverty? Growing the economy? Tackling climate crisis? Ensuring quality public services? Reviewing the Scottish Budget and Spending Review 2026, John McLaren finds a weary government’s major ‘achievement’ has been to hide the cuts…
In this Scottish Budget the silences were loudest
The Cabinet Secretary chose to talk about policies such as higher bands of council tax on million-pound-plus properties and increases in the Scottish Child Payment for children under the age of one, but neither takes…
UK Budget 2025? Get real. The world has changed
John McLaren explains in no uncertain terms why the UK Budget is such a disappointment, doing nothig when so much needs to be done, further eroding trust in mainstream politicians, pushing voters towards outlying parties…
Fraser of Allander takes another bite at the Budget
“The proposed pay-per-mile charge raises important questions of fairness and is likely to be a source of public debate.” After the endless leaky build up, the 2025 UK Budget raises many questions and uncertainties about…
#MuscatelliReport: is Scotland ready for radical action on regional economic development?
Carried out on behalf of the Scottish Labour Party but after the 2026 election the Muscatelli Report is likely to fall to an SNP Government – judging from past behaviour how successful would it be?
Build, baby, build
The Scottish Parliament has just passed a new housing bill that, inter alia, removes the council tax cap on second homes but we need a much more consequential approach to solve the housing polycrisis.
Defence spending in GERS: anatomy of a myth
“Through an official government news release, Scotland’s Finance Secretary has created a false narrative which has now become an outright falsehood being promoted by SNP activists on social media. This should concern anybody interested in…
Independence, GERS and how not to have a debate
“If the fiscal shortfall were only a few billion then fair enough, it’s not that important and we can deal with it when it arises, but not when it’s around £14-18bn. Facing up to it…