Stu Mackinnon

Next parliament ‘needs committee to examine effectiveness of government’ Holyrood needs a committee specifically tasked with examining the effectiveness of the next Scottish government, MSPs are being urged. Sarah Davidson, chief executive of Carnegie UK, said that after M...

Some of our arguments written up here:
www.ireland-live.ie/news/scotlan...

Finance and Public Administration Committee | Scottish Parliament TV

.@carnegieuk.bsky.social chief executive @sarahdavidson.bsky.social giving evidence to the Scottish Parliament Finance and Public Admin committee on 'legacy' issues for the next term: www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/fina...

Thomas Piketty: 'European countries have achieved unprecedented levels of prosperity and social well-being' COLUMN. To win the cultural and intellectual battle, Europe must staunchly defend its model, writes the economist in his column, dismantling the narrative of a 'declining' continent.

"All too often, the European debate becomes mired in outdated indicators that are completely unsuited to considering the future and social well-being in an era of climate change." - Thomas Piketty

www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/a...

Julie Skentelbery - 03/02/2026 - BBC Sounds Daytimes with Julie Skentelbery, where Cornwall comes to talk. Call: 0808 100 1039.

I talked to BBC Cornwall today about intergenerational fairness and our wellbeing research: www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/... (about 1:41)

Renewing Britain means rethinking how we measure progress There must be less focus on the money going in and more on the difference being made, writes a former Scottish government DG

We expand on some of these arguments here: www.civilserviceworld.com/news/article...

No, the public is not irredeemably ignorant But there is a disconnect between economists’ metrics and people’s perceptions

Enjoyed this a lot by @sarahoconnorft.ft.com
www.ft.com/content/320c...

At @carnegieuk.bsky.social we'd likely argue that this is about finding out what matters to people, and measuring that.

Toot toot!

I'm completely on the Scotland six nations hype train, and that's a good thing given as I'm going to 4/5 of our matches.

Crossing the Rubicon in Rome next weekend - bad time to be a glass of red wine.

What are your top recommendations in Dublin, Cardiff and the Italian capital?

Hey this is cool. At @carnegieuk.bsky.social we've put all of #LifeInTheUK Index data in a neato dashboard. This means you can examine how people are living in lots of different ways.

Learn more about why we did this and how it works in this webinar:

Great to be in Belfast today

Living Well in Scotland – Wellbeing Mapped - Carnegie UK Our new interactive wellbeing map, drawn from our  Life in the UK Index, offers a deeper insight into what matters to people across Scotland’s regions. Rooted in what over 1,000 people in Scotland tel...

At @carnegieuk.bsky.social we've been mapping our wellbeing data. Check out this new blog looking at wellbeing across Scotland:
carnegieuk.org/blog/living-...

Promotional graphic for Carnegie UK's Tracking our collective wellbeing: launch of the Life in the UK dashboard webinar. The webinar takes place on Monday 26th January from 10-11am.

📊 Our new #LifeInTheUK data dashboard is live!

We’re hosting a launch webinar on Mon 26 Jan, 10-11am.

Book your place & explore the data with us: carnegieuk.org/event/tracki...

At @uofgpolicy.bsky.social Stop Start conference today. Only getting slight flashbacks from doing exams in Bute Hall.

Labour should honour pledge on business rates and build from scratch The party was right to identify problems with the system, but in government has lacked the courage to introduce fundamental reforms

@pjtheeconomist.bsky.social good on rates: www.thetimes.com/business/eco... Rates are devolved as well and you have to wonder why we've not seen fundamental reform in Wales or Scotland either. "Arcane workings" of NDR system is a feature not a bug

Opinion | Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Unhappiness

Neat to see the NY Times reflect on the Social Progress Index:
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/14/o...

Council tax - revaluation and reform: key findings summary This report summarises key findings from research on the design and impact of potential reforms to Scotland’s system of council tax.

As the Scot Gov reveals tax and spending plans, worth checking out this new-ish @theifs.bsky.social paper looking at how a revaluation might work in Scotland: www.gov.scot/publications... With the Greens, Glasgow CC, and Edinburgh CC all agitating for reform, could this be the year?

‘It’s just a bomb’ The true story of two strangers and an extraordinary act of courage

I still love the FT and I thought this was the most brilliant journalism by Ravi Somaiya: www.ft.com/content/cd59...

Call for time limits on public inquiries as costs soar MSPs have recommended changes as they revealed almost £260m has been spent on Scotland's public inquiries since 2007.

This a good call: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... Though I think coverage should reflect that it is the Finance AND Public Administration committee

There aren't any levers A dead metaphor is killing the government's ability to get things done

"Every time I pull a lever" says the Prime Minister.

This dead metaphor is killing his ability to get things done.

There aren't any levers. There's only leadership.

howtorunacountry.substack.com/p/there-aren...

Six wealthy areas in London and south-east given green light for sharp council tax rises UK government move aims to compensate for funding shift towards poorer areas

This does feel like a sort of boiling the frog approach to council tax reform www.ft.com/content/c28e...

I don't work on business rates any longer, but if I did I'd point out the state of the Scottish assessors' website is indicative of a wider problem: www.saa.gov.uk

New snappy report from @futuregovforum.bsky.social about the Green Book: www.futuregovernanceforum.co.uk/wp-content/u...

Absolutely

Here is some footage

I'm working on the Moments of the Year script as I watch and Glasgow are making me very grateful for the free spot we left open on the list in case something happened this weekend.

Excuse the language but this was the old Glasgow Warriors smashing up Toulouse. Did try to get a cassoulet based chant going but to little avail...difficult to rhyme confit

The team that Glasgow Warriors are playing on Saturday. Gulp.

🪞 The lived experience paradox Kirsty McNeill MP, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, speaks to Tom Hashemi.

Excellent interview with @kirstymcneill.bsky.social in the indispensable @policyunstuck.bsky.social newsletter: policyunstuck.castfromclay.co.uk/p/the-lived-... includes some thoughts about lived experience from the perspective of a policymaker.

Starmer came to power promising action — but change is taking longer than his MPs expected Some targets are long-term overhauls, others have been dogged by delays. But ministers failed to focus on delivery early on

"Barber’s theory is that ministers take a year to work out how government works and that by year three, it is too late." www.ft.com/content/368f... < with the Missions approach sunk below the waterline, you might ask change in what direction?

My @carnegieuk.bsky.social colleague, Susan Pitney, is part of this Demos event, sharing the findings from our most recent Life in the UK index. Follow along via the link below. 👇

By popular demand!