Euan Purchase

Norway, Opinion poll:

Ap-S&D: 27% (-4)
FrP~ECR: 24% (+4)
H-EPP: 16% (+2)
SV~LEFT: 7% (+1)
Sp~RE: 6% (+1)
R~LEFT: 6%
V-RE: 3% (-2)
MDG-G/EFA: 3% (-1)
KrF-EPP: 3% (-2)

+/- vs. 26 May - 31 May 2025

Fieldwork: 28 July - 03 August 2025
Sample size: 1,000

➤ europeelects.eu/norway

For David Against Goliath: Iceland's Support for Baltic Independence “Icelanders tend to support David against Goliath in any dispute.”

There’s a good interview which goes into this fascinating history here; deepbaltic.com/2016/06/17/f...

The first western country to recognise Palestine was Iceland. Just as it was Iceland who first recognised the independence of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Georgia, Armenia & Azerbaijan from the USSR.

In Lithuania, there is a plaque which reads “To Iceland – Who Dared When Others Remained Silent”

Why is Trump doing the welcoming to Starmer at Turnberry, and not vice versa? Trump is the visitor to the country but gets to treat his golf course as a foreign White House.

Top 3 libraries for me are
1) Deichman Bjørvika
2) Dokk1, Aarhus
3) Oodi, Helsinki

What all three have in common is they offer so much more than just books. They are spaces for active citizens and useful tools to help in daily life.

FlightRadar showing a lot of US military aircraft over Scotland right now

Ninth eruption on the Reykjanes Peninsula — beware of hazardous gases - RÚV.is At 4 am, an eruption began along the Sundhnúkur crater row on the Reykjanes Peninsula.Shortly before midnight, an intense series of earthquakes was recorded in the area.The Blue Lagoon and the campgro...

Eruption number nine on the Reykjanes peninsula

It can be looked at in terms of journey times. The Eysturoy tunnel in the Faroes has cut the travel time between the two large towns from around 68 mins to just 35 mins.

The ferries have the issue of lacking capacity, with an aging fleet and unpredictable weather. Subsea tunnels aren’t weather dependent and provide a 24/7 link.

And another big difference - the Faroese expect to pay back the borrowing costs (via tolls) within 15 years, unlike the 30-50 years still expected with PFI contracts.

I've been shouting for years now that Councils have expansive borrowing powers so long as the investment creates a return to pay off the loan. We could build unlimited social houses using that model as well as things like this.

(Harder for schools/hospitals etc, of course - hence the PFI problem)

Shetland eyes Faroes-style tunnels to replace ageing ferries The local council says it is pushing ahead with plans to build tunnels to four outlying isles in the archipelago.

As the article notes, the Faroese funding model of borrowing paid through tolls has delivered 23 tunnels built so far, 4 of which are subsea.

And this isn’t PFI either - the tunnels are owned & operated by the Faroese Govt.

Norway leans in further to student debt forgiveness initiatives Latest scheme designed to encourage graduates to live and work in less populated regions of the country

Starting this year, employed graduates living in Norway's least central zones can have NOK 25,000 (£1,800) of their student debt erased per year - as part of an incentive to encourage skilled grads to live & work there. Aimed at strengthening & decentralising public services.

Zonal pricing is only one part of the equation. Lower energy prices requires change to the infrastructure. But there is absolutely no reason, given our huge renewable resources in Scotland, why we still have a single, UK-wide wholesale energy price. It’s nuts when you really think about it.

UPDATE: Norway puts forward plan to ban social media for under-15s Norway's government has announced its plan for a total ban on social media for children under the age of 15 as part of a bill designed to give children a safer digital upbringing.

There was a time when I’d have been sceptical, but now I pretty much think this is essential and much needed

How Norway Is Proving That Homelessness Is a Solvable Problem - reasonstobecheerful.world/norway-provi...

Norway, Verian poll:

Ap-S&D: 31% (-1)
FrP~ECR: 22% (+3)
H-EPP: 14% (-4)
SV~LEFT: 8% (+3)
Sp~RE: 6%
R~LEFT: 5% (-2)
V-RE: 5% (+2)
MDG-G/EFA: 3% (-1)
KrF-EPP: 3% (-1)

+/- vs. 26-30 May 2025

Fieldwork: 24-30 June 2025
Sample size: 987

➤ europeelects.eu/norway

Denmark, Voxmeter poll:

A-S&D: 22%
I-EPP: 13% (+1)
F-G/EFA: 13% (-1)
V-RE: 11%
Æ-ECR: 9% (-1)
Ø-LEFT: 7%
C-EPP: 6%
O-PfE: 6%
B-RE: 4%
M-RE: 4% (+1)
H-*: 3%
Å→G/EFA: 2% (-1)

+/- vs. 17-22 June 2025

Fieldwork: 23-29 June 2025
Sample size: 1002

➤ europeelects.eu/denmark

Sweden, Indikator Opinion poll:

S-S&D: 37% (+1)
SD-ECR: 19% (-1)
M-EPP: 18% (+1)
V-LEFT: 7% (-1)
MP-G/EFA: 5% (-1)
C-RE: 5% (-1)
KD-EPP: 4% (+1)
L-RE: 3%

+/- vs. 2-25 May 2025

Fieldwork: 04-24 June 2025
Sample size: 1,847

➤ europeelects.eu/sweden

It is a sad spectacle how a majority like Starmer's is a once in a generation opportunity to enact meaningful, radical change for the better, and yet he and his party are pushing through with the most lacklustre, centrist agenda; one balanced on the backs disabled people and "polite" xenophobia.

Timely moment for the start of the Danish presidency

Oslo Life.

#Oslo #Norway #Norge #cityscape #UrbanGaze #architecture #streetart #murals #bicycles #cycling #fuglen #cafes

It should therefore also recognise societal issues which affect everyone; like disability & social care, like building well-functioning modern infrastructure, energy connectivity, community cohesion, etc etc. Look at the whole of society to address inequalities.

In a modern society which is multi-dimensional, and isn’t as clear cut as previous old dividing lines used to be, then the way to improving industrial & societal relations is to have a political system which isn’t stuck in the past.

Why is it healthy? Because collective bargaining is a system that balances conflicts and cooperation; it should be institutionalised and highly coordinated, as a formal means to setting wage growth, improving conditions etc. It should bring folk together to achieve better outcomes, not divide them.

Nobody should be surprised by this. It’s been case for a long time now - and isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it’s just reflective of modern society. And to be honest, the UK becoming less obsessed with social class is probably healthy!

Class no longer main dividing line in UK politics, survey shows

Hello from Tromsø at midnight sun time. (I know it’s not very sunny but you get the idea).

So much for the faster passport control which Starmer promised. No access to the e-gates here at Gardemoen.

I think there’d be an argument for having a new shared airport for Edinburgh and Glasgow if for nothing else, it wouldn’t feel like you’re stepping into a series of large portacabins.

It’s not all free from controversy; Lynetteholm will be a man-made peninsula which aims to tackle 3 main challenges - climate/flood protection, housing shortage, & space for infrastructure. Space for 20k homes, with 1/4 public housing. But there’s been some resistance due to greenwashing concerns.