Dr Craig Dalȝell

Head of Policy and Research -
@Common_Weal
(Donate to CW: https://commonweal.scot/donate/)

Wrote a book - http://tinyurl.com/AllofOurFutures
Used to play with lasers.
Dabbles in games design

Contact: craig@common.scot
For just my blog posts without the blether:
@thecommongreen@thecommongreen.scot

Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/craigdalzell

Personal Blog: https://thecommongreen.scot
Common Weal: https://commonweal.scot

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Last Notes

2026-05-14 12:44:05 UTC

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I've added the recipe in the comments. Let me know if you try it and how it goes!

2026-05-14 10:33:08 UTC

A culinary experiment the other day that went far better than it should have. I just ate the last slice there.
French Onion Soup Bread.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/116/572/445/336/907/490/original/cbe1ba37ef99df08.png

2026-04-27 06:48:30 UTC

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The End State of Capitalism is Monopoly and then Failure.
https://thecommongreen.scot/2026/02/16/the-end-state-of-capitalism-is-monopoly-and-then-failure/

2026-04-27 06:47:15 UTC

Capitalists: "Unlike in Communism, where workers control the means of production, in Capitalism it is those who own a share of the company who should control how a company operates."
Also Capitalists: "No, not like that."
https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/japan-tighten-rules-shareholder-proposals-amid-pushback-against-activism-2026-04-27

2026-04-16 09:30:29 UTC

Looks like the SNP have ditched all reference to Circular Economy from their manifesto apart from a bicycle repair fund while Swinney is going even further all in on accelerating inwards investment and maximising "economic growth".
This is pretty much the economic equivalent of Flat Earth Theory and denying gravity.

2026-04-13 09:36:54 UTC

Repost from The National (Originally published 9th April)
Donald Trump’s threat to commit genocide in Iran should be taken seriously even after it appears to have been averted.
http://thecommongreen.scot/2026/04/10/threats-of-genocide-must-be-prosecuted/

2026-01-20 09:07:46 UTC

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Reminder that the UK's illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Chagos Islands was done at the US's behest and bought the UK a discount on US nuclear weapons.
https://thecommongreen.scot/2024/10/04/the-sun-still-has-not-set/

2026-01-20 09:07:20 UTC

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The UK should announce that the US's military presence there and elsewhere under UK control is contingent in them withdrawing the threat to invade Greenland and in complying with the UN Member's Charter.

2026-01-20 09:06:55 UTC

Under the proposed plan - which Trump previously welcomed - it would guarantee a US base there for over a century.
Under the previous plan, their lease runs out in about a decade.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cp8yd7z4r24t?post=asset%3Ab5084442-334a-4568-9bc2-c655236069a9#post

2026-01-15 21:43:33 UTC

My article in The National tonight.
John Swinney won't meet his ambition to end poverty unless he tackles the real problem: Inequality.
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25769145.poverty-symptom-not-problem-snp-must-tackle/

2026-01-07 17:21:20 UTC

I welcome all moves to grant Local Councils more autonomy and while I personally prefer a Tourist Tax based on a % of room price, Councils should have the power to do as they like.
Just remember that if a Council proposes using this power to switch, say, a 5% tax to a £5 one, then what they're actually saying is that they're happy to give a tax cut to anyone who can afford a hotel that costs more than £100/night at the expense of a tax rise on everyone else.
https://www.gov.scot/news/visitor-levy-amendment-bill-published/

2026-01-04 09:42:56 UTC

UK politicians. If you don't follow up your statement of "we support international law" with actual, tangible consequences for breaches of international law, then you don't support international law. You support the US's invasion and are happy to defend it. Don't tell us otherwise.

2025-12-07 12:45:47 UTC

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We need a shake up of party and election funding.
Suggestions to discuss:
1) A collectively agreed scale price for party memberships.
2) "No donation without representation" - You can't donate to an election/referendum campaign unless you're registered to vote in that election/referendum.
3) An election campaign voucher system - every voter gets a public-funded voucher that they can give to a single candidate in their election.

2025-12-07 12:45:17 UTC

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The thing is....that's less than the SNP charge as a cash for access fee at their conference.
https://issuu.com/hinksbrandwise/docs/2024-05-16_snp_2024_conference_engagement_opportun?fr=sYjVmZjYyODM5OTM

2025-12-07 12:44:02 UTC

Reform UK are running a 'cash for access scheme in all but name', a senior SNP MP has alleged after they launched a £10,000-per-year membership.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25677131.cash-access-row-reform-uk-open-10k-membership-club/

2025-11-01 09:37:41 UTC

The graph that explains so much about the Scottish economy.
Robin McAlpine in The National.
https://www.thenational.scot/politics/25588386.graph-rocket-independence-movements-backside/

2025-09-02 08:56:29 UTC

When Rightwards-radicalised Centrists try to do a Nationalism while still pretending to be Centrists while trying to outbid right-wing radicals.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/115/133/858/884/579/988/original/570e8b29ada97e9c.png

2025-09-01 09:09:49 UTC

Dear Jack Straw and Policy Exchange
Which human rights currently protected by ECHR do you wish would stop applying to you, personally?
https://www.commonweal.scot/articles/magazine-c3ktr

2025-08-27 07:59:08 UTC

Tip for Starmer: When your political rival promises to send vulnerable people to a country they've fled from to face torture and execution - after they've been identified due to the UK's appalling data security - your response should not be "we'll do it better".
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25417270.keir-starmer-open-taliban-returns-deal-reform-set-plans/

2025-08-26 08:48:55 UTC

Farage is all in with the very definition of Wilhoit's Law.
"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."
https://www.thenational.scot/news/25414326.nigel-farage-unveils-plans-opposite-human-rights-act/

2025-07-29 16:23:00 UTC

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Third principle, however:
3) The Minimum Promised Deliverable - This is the least action they can take that will enable them to say that the promise has been fulfilled.
Look at their caveats with caution. If necessary, return to Principle 1) and apply more pressure.

2025-07-29 16:10:59 UTC

Two principles to follow when it comes to getting a politician to do something they don't want to do.
1) "Enough pressure" is the point at which doing the thing is less worse than continuing to not do it.
2) Everything is impossible until the moment that it becomes inevitable.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cdrkj810plvt

2025-07-24 11:34:11 UTC

The easiest, faster, cheapest and most beneficial solution for the problem of asylum seekers working illegally is to stop making it illegal for asylum seekers to work.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/114/907/977/195/159/571/original/052f450c1d46e05f.png

2025-07-21 08:14:39 UTC

"People need to save more for retirement"
Ok. Going to pay us more?
No
Going to reduce utility bills to allow us to save more?
No
Going to reduce house prices to allow us to save more?
No
Going to bring the state pension up to EU norms so we're not at the mercy or predatory private pensions or inflating house prices?
No
A UBI so we can live decently regardless of our circumstances?
Nope.
So what should we do?
You need to save more.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgj84ejd9wo

2025-07-17 09:49:59 UTC

I'd go further on this. No donation without representation.
If you are not a registered voter in an election, referendum etc then you can't donate to any campaign involved in it.
Why yes, this does mean no corporate donations at all and no money from London to, say, a Scotland-only "local" referendum.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/17/mps-to-tighten-laws-allowing-foreign-donations-to-influence-uk-elections

2025-07-11 08:23:51 UTC

Ahh. Feel the benevolence of the UK Government. Graciously allowing Scotland to continue to subsidise electricity bills in the south of England.
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/zonal-pricing-uncertainty-would-hit-35534815

2025-07-01 18:01:00 UTC

UN experts condemn attempts by the UK to proscribe Palestine Action.
“According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.”
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/07/un-experts-urge-united-kingdom-not-misuse-terrorism-laws-against-protest

2025-06-26 08:51:18 UTC

If you have a £20 billion budget for energy upgrades in 2025, then the fastest and most cost effective way to spend it right now isn't to throw it into a nuclear plant that'll take a decade to plan, another to build and will cost twice as much as you planned. Better would be to give one million households a £20,000 voucher for repairs, insulation, solar panels and batteries.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25256747.snps-dogmatic-out-dated-opposition-nuclear-waver/
#UKPolitics #Energy

2025-06-22 09:21:55 UTC

Don't worry folks. If you're in Scotland and you're worried about the direction the UK is going in and would like to consider something else, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office Douglas Alexander believes that you don't have the democratic right to seek independence.

2025-06-22 05:25:08 UTC

So, we give it, what, fifteen years until the report is published that says "the legal pretext for the UK's entry into this war was lacking. Lessons should be learned."?

2025-06-12 13:08:09 UTC

Common Weal Daily Briefing.
The UK Spending Review is setting us up for future failure.
Increasing military spending while reducing the means to prevent war.
Increasing health spending while reducing the means to prevent ill health.
https://www.commonweal.scot/daily-briefings/briefing-zkjf9

2025-06-11 08:29:00 UTC

Today in "Carbon Capture Still Doesn't Work"
The flagship carbon capture project in Iceland is revealed to have not just missed its targets but has failed to capture enough carbon to offset its own emissions. They would have been better off doing nothing.
Something to think about as the UK and Scottish Governments pour money into the Acorn Project.
https://heimildin.is/grein/24581/
#Climate #Carbon #CCUS #Greenwashing #UKPolitics #ScottishPolitics

2025-06-08 09:30:36 UTC

My article in the print edition of The National today. If the UK wants to use the excuse of "supporting jobs" to justify its increase in defence spending then it would be better off investing in just about anything else - including investing in peace.
https://www.pressreader.com/uk/seven-days/20250608/281732685434166

2025-06-07 14:43:24 UTC

They actually came for the trade unionists.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/california-union-president-arrested-ice-raids-b2765547.html

2025-06-06 06:47:07 UTC

Surprised by the Hamilton results?
I am.
But unlike any of the pundits I've seen this morning, I can tell you /why/ we've been surprised.
Everyone forgets that the sofa is also a candidate.
The SNP lost 8,800 votes last night compared to 2021. Labour, the victors, lost only 3,600.
#ScottishPolitics
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/114/635/058/535/059/136/original/e5a699323636a66c.png

2025-06-05 08:14:00 UTC

My challenge to every politician who wants to scrap human rights legislation remains:
Which rights in the ECHR do you, personally, no longer wish to be protected by?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgj8p2pv117o
#UKPolitics #HumanRights #Asylum

2025-05-24 11:46:13 UTC

"The AI company I used to work for has already broken the law on such a level that you may as well make it legal" doesn't strike me as the most defensible argument.
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/technology-uk/article/nick-clegg-work-train-ai-l6xl5djb7

2025-05-19 08:33:58 UTC

This is typical of big business planning in Scotland. If you can't grind a community into burnout through repeated failed applications till they* can't fight anymore or you get lucky once, just complain at a Minister till they override local democracy for you.
*"they" so often being the one or two individuals in the community who hold the whole campaign together.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3wd8jznxq9o

2025-05-08 15:20:58 UTC

There will be questions about US food not meeting UK minimum standards, but there's another angle I don't see talked about enough too.
Will the customs "fast track" for American goods that Trump and Starmer have signed include goods produced using forced convict labour?
https://www.kark.com/news/state-news/hidden-prison-labor-in-us-including-arkansas-linked-to-foods-from-target-walmart/

2024-12-30 10:28:12 UTC

Story: https://www.aibase.com/news/14337
The future of the Dead Internet.
Bot profiles create content which is seen almost exclusively only by other bots, who comment voraciously without understanding a word.
You wish to advertise your product to the remaining humans on the platform but the Company insists that the adverts are presented everywhere. You pay to feed adverts to bots who won't, who can't, click through and buy your stuff. So long as ad revenue exceeds server costs, the Company wins.

2024-12-26 09:27:58 UTC

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Not citizens. Voters registered and eligible to vote in that particular election/referendum. Remember that it's currently possible to vote and be elected to office or even become PM while being a British, Irish /or/ qualifying Commonwealth citizen and in Scotland and Wales there are no citizenship requirements, merely permanent residency.
Need to consider how a ban on corporate donations affects trade unions too. Group solidarity must be more powerful than lone billionaires.

2024-12-04 15:21:40 UTC

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Welp, once again we get a small tweak to Income Tax but no announcement on Council Tax reform or more radical tax reform.
When discussing land reform, I've spent all year being told by ScotGov that it was pointless to discuss land taxes then because they could only do it at budget time.
It's now budget time. They haven't done it. It's clear that they don't actually want to tax the greatest store of untaxed wealth in Scotland.

2024-12-04 15:08:24 UTC

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A pledge of £4.9bn for climate, which exceeds the Greens' red line of not less than £4.7bn (I think I see which party they're courting to get the budget through...)

2024-12-04 14:56:32 UTC

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Robison has u-turned on the second raid of ScotWind funds (meagre though they are: https://commonweal.scot/policies/scotwind-one-year-on/)
No cookie for not doing the wrong thing though.

2024-12-04 14:55:42 UTC

The Scottish Budget announcement is live now
https://www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/meeting-of-the-parliament-december-4-2024

2024-11-26 14:25:50 UTC

Today in "carbon capture still doesn't work" news.
Shell claimed millions in public subsidy and carbon credit income based on promises to capture emissions then just...didn't capture the emissions.
https://www.euronews.com/green/2024/05/07/false-promises-and-phantom-emissions-how-was-shell-able-to-double-its-carbon-credits-in-ca
#Climate #Greenwashing

2024-11-26 09:38:51 UTC

Conservatives: "Why haven't you bought road grit in three years?"
Transport Scotland: "Because we have a huge stockpile and whenever we subcontract gritting, the contractor supplies their own"
Conservatives: "Outrageous"
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24749700.tories-snp-spent-nothing-road-grit-three-years/

2024-11-25 13:52:35 UTC

Story: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgzp0kvegxo
Short story - A number of years ago, someone I know was caught up in this. They (and every other homeowner in the street) were paying £15/year in "service fees" to cut a small patch of communal grass. The leaseholder increased it to more than £15/month.
I phoned up. Got them to confirm that the *only* service provided was the grass cutting. Then asked for itemisation of the bill and terms of the outsourced service contract. And the date of the next tender round.

2024-11-22 10:32:00 UTC

The UK Government is doing everything it can to not say that it would comply with the ICC arrest warrants issued yesterday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9nbjYFkorI

2024-11-21 14:50:48 UTC

So that was an absolute nothing of a Ministerial Statement on the National Care Service Bill. We had been led to believe that they were going to make substantial changes to the Bill but all they did was restate the previously announced indefinite pause holding the Bill back from Stage 2.
For what they could do to start tackling the care crisis now, see: https://commonweal.scot/policies/tackling-the-care-crisis-now/

2024-11-15 08:44:38 UTC

My article in this week's Common Weal newsletter: https://commonweal.scot/power-for-people-not-parties/
Removing the hereditary peers from the House of Lords but handing their power to political parties won't fix the root of the problem and might even make it worse.
Rather than Lords, or even an elected Senate dominated by parties, we need a House of Citizens.

2024-11-13 18:44:03 UTC

Breaking: UKGov admits that it granted the Rosebank licence unlawfully because it didn't consider the climate impacts of burning the oil.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly2dxqd1pyo
#UkPolitics #Climate #COP29

2024-11-12 09:41:40 UTC

Why are we still giving plaudits (and permission) to developers who build houses like there's no climate emergency?
* Car-centric roadway.
* East-West roofs to minimise solar panel potential.
* No solar panels.
* Buildings designed to minimise solar thermal gain - maximising heating bills in the UK region with the highest utility bills.
* Described as "energy efficient" but will be made obsolete by PassivHaus building regs due next month.
* Minimal biodiversity.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24716759.housebuilder-completes-landmark-highland-homes-development/

2024-11-07 09:26:33 UTC

World likely to breach the +1.5C limit set by the 2015 Paris Accords this year.
Every single politician who said "we must do something" and then didn't, this is on you.
Every single politician who still plans to not do something - either change your mind, step out of the way, or prepare your legal case for the inevitable ecocide trials.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1dpnxnvv2go

2024-11-05 09:21:09 UTC

It's still bizarre to me that an island nation runs its coatal rescue as a charity rather than a core government-funded public service.
That said, Dispatches revealed that the royals get rent from the police, fire and prison services too.
Pure Feudal BS. Perhaps charities like this should cancel their royal patronage until rents are removed.
https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/the-royal-family-is-charging-the-rnli-to-launch-their-boats-385225/

2024-10-24 09:20:38 UTC

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In terms of material use, ten "disposable" vapes are about the technological equivalent of a smartphone.
Imagine a phone you threw over your shoulder after making ten calls.
Now imagine the next "disposable" device that uses the same amount of materials.
We shouldn't be banning individual products. We need a comprehensive Circular Economy Bill that bans ALL products that don't fit strict criteria of sustainability, reuse, repair, remanufacture and compostability.
https://commonweal.scot/single-use-policy/

2024-10-24 09:16:23 UTC

Bear in mind that the difference between a "disposable" vape and a "technically rechargeable" one is basically just the addition of a USB port that had to be intentionally removed from the off-the-shelf electronics used to make it.
Selling "technically rechargeable" devices as cheaply as the "disposable" ones they replace won't fix the problem.
https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-ban-disposable-vapes-next-year-crack-down-teen-use-2024-10-24

2024-10-22 08:50:16 UTC

Holyrood continues to treat local government with a level of contempt they'd be the first to complain about if Westminster did it to them instead.
Give local authorities the power to introduce local taxes at will. Perth and Kinross, for example, could raise £33 million per year if Holyrood allowed them to adopt our Land Tax.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24668029.no-money-available-local-government-pay---shona-robison/?ref=rss
#ScottishPolitics #Tax #Budget

2024-10-14 10:47:13 UTC

So the owners of Grangemouth are getting one last windfall when they close up because they get to sell the carbon credits they were given for free by the Government that they'll no longer have to spend for pollution they'll no longer emit.
https://theferret.scot/grangemouth-owners-set-for-6m-closure-windfall/

2024-10-07 13:20:28 UTC

Once again, when it comes to social security I am FAR more concerned about people who need help not getting it than I am about people getting something they don't "need".
Universal benefits reach everyone who need them. Means-testing never does.
https://archive.is/E0lmy

2024-10-05 08:36:50 UTC

My article in The National - already online, in print tomorrow - on why while Common Weal still supports the idea of a National Care Service, we do not believe we will receive one worthy of the name if the current Bill passes either unamended or even if the Scottish Government's currently proposed amendments all pass.
The NCS Bill either needs to be massively overhauled or scrapped and started again.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/24628975.common-weal-wont-support-national-care-service/

2024-10-04 08:04:20 UTC

£22bn would be enough to retrofit around 750,000 homes to passive standards - i.e. effectively zero heating and certainly zero carbon heating. That would reduce carbon footprint by around 6 million tonnes CO2_e per year and would eliminate fuel poverty for those households for as long as they stand.
£22bn invested in these carbon capture schemes will be used to prop up the profits of a dying fossil fuel industry that's doing its damndest to take us all with it.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy4301n3771o

2024-09-29 12:00:22 UTC

An interesting article on the UK and US's illegal occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Chagos Islands. I didn't know that one of the sweetners from the US to the UK on the deal that led to it was the US giving the UK a discount on the purchase of nukes.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckdg7jjlx2go

2024-09-25 14:27:39 UTC

Everyone should have the right and opportunity to work.
No-one should have the obligation to work.
If your existence is predicated on that obligation, your labour is not freely traded.
We need a Universal Basic Income and a Job Guarantee, not the malicious persecution of the sick and vulnerable.
#UKPolitics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y8g5z67lzo

2024-09-25 11:23:54 UTC

Labour members have voted to scrap the winter fuel payment cuts.
The Government will treat this vote as "non-binding" but it will mean going against their own members if they push the cuts through.
#UKPolitics #LabourConference

2024-09-25 10:29:38 UTC

New Consultation Response
We join a number of campaigners and energy companies like Octopus to call on the UK Government to insitute "zonal pricing" of electricity.
If you live near wind turbines etc, you should be able to directly benefit from cheaper tariffs and, on a broader scale, Scotland should be able to attract energy intensive industries to move closer to our supplies.
#ScottishPolitics #UKPolitics #Energy
https://commonweal.scot/policies/review-of-market-arrangements-second-consultation/
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/113/197/718/004/199/054/original/7708ce3f66003a60.png

2024-09-24 14:15:52 UTC

The amount of money lost to fraudulent claiming of means-tested benefits is far less than the amount not given to people who do not or cannot claim for the benefits they are due.
Both could be fixed by bringing in more Universal benefits or a full Universal Basic Income but Starmer is actively against that and would prefer to see innocent people lose their homes when the DWP inevitably screws up and falsely accuses them.
#UKPolitics #LabourConference
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/113/192/931/909/582/042/original/b8d79dffa918c3df.jpeg

2024-09-23 18:53:28 UTC

Once again, failing to prosecute your own war crimes and those of your allies critically weakens your ability to prosecute those committed by your opponents.
#UKPolitics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2l0vzrv25o

2024-09-19 14:07:46 UTC

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With the incoming languages act calling for parity of esteem between English, Scots and Gaelic we /might/ be able to demand public funding of translations. It's certainly a campaign worth mounting. The bill doesn't go nearly as far as the rights of official languages under the EU but it might still be worth a shot.

2024-09-18 09:56:58 UTC

UK Economic Theory in brief:
1) Create a growth-based economy where growth is entirely dependent on consumer spending.
2) Cause a recession to reduce consumer spending.
3) Don't pay workers enough to live on to reduce consumer spending.
4) Cut social security to reduce consumer spending.
5) Pump up rents to suck remaining income into landlords' pockets.
6) Do not, under any circumstances, tax wealth or assets.
7) Blame migrants.
#UKPolitics
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g927qykywo

2024-09-16 09:01:38 UTC

It turns out that debt-fueled land price speculation except this time with "Green Lairds" might /not/ be the solution to land reform after all?
#ScottishPolitics #LandReform #LandTax
https://scottishbusinessnews.net/rewilding-pioneer-in-race-against-time-to-replicate-unique-land-management-model/

2024-09-16 06:35:21 UTC

Realise that this isn't a failure of policy or something "going wrong" in the immigration system. In 2019 an envoy from the UN determined that this result was intentional and that the UK enacted "systematic immiseration" and "destitution by design" on folk like this.
#UKPolitics #Immigration #Poverty
https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/westminster/24583556.hostile-uk-immigration-policies-leave-97-destitute/

2024-09-15 11:35:55 UTC

I'm quoted here, reflecting on why we failed to convince enough folk to support independence ten years ago.
#ScottishPolitics #Independence #Currency
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/sep/15/ten-years-after-the-no-vote-can-scotland-engineer-a-case-for-independence

2024-09-14 06:01:26 UTC

Once again, these are people who by the UK Government's revised criteria are due help this winter but will not get it because moving from universalism to means testing ALWAYS leads to people missing out who shouldn't.
This is not an accident. It is by design.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr54n3r0l50o
#UkPolitics #winterfuelallowance #universalism

2024-09-11 09:27:22 UTC

The House of Lords still doesn't understand how national debt works.
@npub1j79…rc5v covered their latest report well here: https://www.taxresearch.org.uk/Blog/2024/09/10/the-house-of-lords-really-does-not-understand-what-they-call-the-national-debt/
But I'd pick up one additional point. The Lords are still wedded to the idea of the "Dependency Ratio" between workers and pensioners. As we pointed out in our book (https://commonweal.scot/shop/publications/all-of-our-futures-scotlands-ageing-population-and-what-to-do-about-it-in-2021-2045/) this is both completely untrue and corrosively dangerous. Workers are not, need not and should not be solely responsible for "paying for" pensioners.

2024-09-10 18:08:06 UTC

My own MP voted against the attempt to keep winter fuel payments universal.
There are thought to be around 5,000 pensioners in this Local Authority who qualify for but do not claim the Pension Credit that would allow them to also claim WFP.
That's 5,000 who, even by UK Labour Government criteria, qualify for but will no longer receive help to heat their home this winter.
It was never about giving payments to millionaires. It was about ensuring those 5,000 get what they need.

2024-09-10 15:22:24 UTC

BBC reporting that Labour's "savings" budget is premised on people not claiming means-tested benefits that they qualify for. Which is entirely why they are pushing it on pensioners today.
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/113/113/934/524/621/396/original/d1ced4b5d2c986c1.jpg

2024-09-02 14:54:14 UTC

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See my rebuttal here: https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24477307.metro-mayors-like-andy-burnham-not-support-scotland/

2024-09-02 14:54:05 UTC

Doing this wouldn't "break the centralised system". It would consolidate what's left of Scotland's local democracy in an area covering half of the country's population into the office of two people.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/cd8e97be-d51d-455d-80f3-c117923c09dc?shareToken=6642e9ea188db57d1b53e6ec9d4533dc

2024-09-02 10:11:53 UTC

Thanks a lot to the Revive Coalition and to SNP members for having me at the conference on Saturday, and for the positive comments received afterwards.
Our policy papers on Council Tax reform and on a Scottish Land Tax can be read here:
https://commonweal.scot/policies/a-property-tax-for-scotland/
https://commonweal.scot/policies/taxing-land-in-scotland/
https://media.mastodon.scot/media_attachments/files/113/067/396/998/848/599/original/30835088fe4ff0d5.jpg

2024-08-20 11:26:38 UTC

Another day, another positive policy rolled back because they compromised on its launch and didn't push it through to success.
The marginal saving grace is that they're keeping ScotRail in public ownership, at least for now.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvge98qj0e5o

2024-08-07 13:12:32 UTC

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Many thanks. I'm glad it was helpful.