William Duguid

It’s a lack of will, not consensus, that prevents Council Tax reform — Common Weal The Scottish Government’s failure to reform Council Tax has gone on far too long. It must be a defining mission of the next Parliament to reform it in the only fair way possible.

'The debate on Council Tax reform has gone on far too long. Everyone agrees that things need to change. No-one, it appears, wants to be the one to take the responsibility of making that change happen. This isn’t good enough.'
Dr Craig Dalȝell, via Common Weal

Skye's revolting Crofters by Catherine McPhee

'Words shape how governments act, resources are shared, and futures are imagined. Our culture is not peripheral, it is powerful. Our voices are not distant, they are here, loud and clear. Rural, not remote, is who we are.'
Catherine McPhee quoted by Yes United

Immunity without accountability — Common Weal A Court of Session ruling has declared part of Scotland’s criminal procedure incompatible with the right to a fair hearing. The case is not about a controversial prosecution, but about a deeper constitutional question: how much immunity should public prosecutors enjoy in a modern democracy?

'If the state has the power to prosecute, it must also tolerate structured scrutiny of how that power is exercised.
Independence without accountability is fragility disguised as strength.'
Megan Davidson, via Common Weal

Owen Jones

'Today, there is hope. But brace yourself for what will come next.'
Owen Jones on the aftermath of the Gorton & Denton by-election, via The National
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An offshore oil rig in silhouette on the horizon at sunset.

'What would Scotland look like if Scots saw the McCrone Report?'
Richard Johnston, via The National
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Here I am discussing the Independence Forum/Yes United music/poetry event at Oran Mor on Saturday 14 March at 6pm. We hope it'll lead to something big for the cultural side of the Yes movement.
Tickets, £20+booking fee, from Ticketsource at www.ticketsource.co.uk/independence...
Don't miss out!

'Every means we have for holding public sector bureaucracies to account is being weakened, removed or subverted.'
Robin McAlpine, via Common Weal

Green Party leader Zack Polanski at Manchester Central as votes are counted for the Gorton and Denton by-election (Image: Peter Byrne)

'The by-election result has had one very significant impact on Scottish politics, because for the first time ever, a party not actually opposed to Scottish independence has a non-trivial chance of taking power at Westminster.'
James Kelly, via The National
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Screenshot of a Facebook post about Scottish Labour's 2026 conference in Paisley, showing a rather less than impressive crowd at the event.

'After Manchester, Scottish Labour are like a Dead Man Walking, with the party faithful searching for new ideas ongoing, like latter-day alchemists. Desperately trying to conjure gold from base metals, Scottish Labour stumbles on.'
Mike Small, via Bella Caledonia
bellacaledonia.org.u...

Why regulating social media is now a public health imperative — Common Weal Social media is not a neutral communication tool but a behavioural system engineered to capture attention and shape development. This argues that protecting children online must be treated as a public health imperative requiring structural intervention – not piecemeal regulation.

'Regulating social media use is not a culture war issue, nor a generational panic. It is a public health imperative – and a moral one.'
Megan Davidson, via Common Weal

Offshore wind turbines.

'The current generation of privately owned energy assets will eventually need to be replaced, and fairly soon – perhaps in 25 years’ time. This gives us an opportunity to start planning now.'
Dr Craig Dalȝell, via The National
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A photo of King Charles waving, with his face scribbled over with a marker pen.

'Despite its manifest unfitness for purpose, the House of Windsor is safe for now. The United Kingdom will not abolish the monarchy, because nobody with clout has any courage.'
Claire McNab, via Bella Caledonia
bellacaledonia.org.u...

The public and politics are at right angles; this missing concept explains it — Common Weal Politics used to focus on people’s quality of life - and then it started counting up numbers instead. This more than anything explains the disconnect between people and politics.

'A rising economy is no longer a guarantee that standards of living will also rise, and until we accept that and start focussing on the latter, this political disconnect will just keep getting bigger – with all the harm that comes with it.'
Robin McAlpine, via Common Weal

Reform is setting out to deceive Richard Tice made abundantly clear yesterday where Reform's sympathies lie. The party exists to enhance the well-being of employers and landlords.  It exists to assist the exploitation of workers and renters. And, it also intends to facilitate the end of sustainable human life on Earth. In a speech yesterday, he did,...

'What is a surprise is that many of those voting for Reform will not have noticed how severely it intends to harm their well-being.
They are pursuing a politics of hate, and the hate is aimed at the very people they are seeking to woo.'
Richard Murphy

Prime Minister Keir Starmer delivers remarks at the top of a Cabinet meeting on February 24, 202.

'Labour are putting the UK on a war footing, but where is the media scrutiny?'
Professor Des Freedman, co-director of the Goldsmiths Leverhulme Media Research Centre, via The National
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A plaster cast of two hands standing upright with the pinkies crossed.

'There’s no actual legal recourse if a party of Government starts throwing out the promises they made in order to win power. Just look at the manifesto of Keir Starmer’s leadership campaign compared to what he’s actually done in office.'
Dr Craig Dalȝell, via Common Weal
www.commonweal.scot/...

An elderly person with a worried expression as she looks at an energy bill.

'In a country still marked by fuel poverty, telling households already rationing heat to practise energy “sobriety” can sound less like climate policy than like a polite disregard for material reality.'
Assa Samaké-Roman , via The National
archive.is/YSiYq

A workman in a yellow hi-viz jacket appearing at the top of the internal inspection ladder of an offshore wind turbine. Between the blades of the turbine you can see an array of several other turbines on the horizon, rising from the surface of the sea.

'Incredibly, Scotland has a second chance at energy wealth, yet if we remain with Westminster it'll again be taken from us, and we'll be told we're subsidy junkies who should be grateful for the generosity of the English taxpayer.'
weegingerdug, via The National
www.thenational.scot...

Legal woes The Lesley Riddoch Podcast · Episode

Bumper podcast from Lesley Riddoch and Fraser Thompson.
Legal rammies on Mandelson, Andrew, Lord Advocate and Alba.
Does the Lord Advocate's dual role do Scotland any favours?
Transforming Scotland: community wealth building.
Can SNP sustain its big poll lead?

John Swinney looking thoughtful

'Perhaps the biggest danger of all in this election is for expectations of an improbable single-party SNP majority to be allowed to run away with themselves, and then to be shown up as a mirage when the votes are counted.'
James Kelly, via The National
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Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor, looking excetionally cheesed off. Not quite as much as he's probably going to be, of course.

'Although they might appear to be experts, royal correspondents are really just there to ensure the institution lives on - and amid the biggest crisis the system has ever faced, they will make sure every single finger is pointed at Andrew.'
Steph Brawn, via The National
archive.is/WxumO

A printed circuit board, or some similar piece of technological wizardry.

'The AI backlash is growing fast and gaining victories.
In the last few weeks, three important pieces of news have appeared and overlapped, and they show that something big has shifted in the battle against AI companies.'
Ewan Morrison, via Bella Caledonia
bellacaledonia.org.u...

Douglas Ross bumping his gums about something.

'Given the last week, the biggest threat to the integrity of the justice ­system isn’t coming from the oft-maligned ­social media content creators – but from reckless politicians who should know better.'
PeatWorrier, via The National
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THIS!!!
@indyforumscot.bsky.social and @yesunitedscot.bsky.social with a wee bit help from AFI are putting on a shindig to reignite the cultural indy movement at Oran Mor in Glasgow on Saturday 14 March at 6:00 pm.
Tickets £20 plus fees here:
www.ticketsource.co.uk/independence...

Andrew and King Charles, back when they were speaking to one another

'The royal family has to be honest about what it knew, when it knew it and why it acted as it did, even if the consequences are, in the short term, deeply damaging.'
Richard Murphy, via The National
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What would happen if Britain deported two million workers? What would actually happen if the UK deported two million people in three years, as Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain political party proposes? In this video, I look at the real economics and not the slogans. NHS staffing and social care would collapse Construction and food supply would face massive disruption We'd...

'This is not about immigration policy; it's all about a politics of hate, but let's be clear: it's also about an economics of failure, resulting in a care crisis, NHS collapse, declining GDP, failing public services and serious economic self-harm.'
Richard Murphy

How to make people non-disposable — Common Weal There is a tacit understanding right across politics that some people just count for less than others, and everyone knows it. Only a rethink of our democracy can resolve this.

"No-one in politics does not think large swathes of the population are disposable, both domestically and globally. Different ideologies may make different sets of people seem disposable, but there is always someone who 'doesn't count'."
Robin McAlpine, via Common Weal

Michael Roy

'Whether Community Wealth Building will mark a genuine shift in how the economy works for local people, or simply a new label for old problems, now hangs on how this "quiet revolution" is put into practice.'
Michael Roy, via Bella Caledonia
bellacaledonia.org.u...

Two Little Caracas Videos I hope to write a serious article shortly about the position of Venezuela, which is rather that of a hostage with a gun to their head, attempting to appease a psychopath.But for now here are a cou

'Here are a couple of small videos illustrating that it is a lie that Venezuela is failed, starving or repressive.'
@craigmurrayorg.bsky.social

Marco Rubio at the lectern

"I am obsessed with 'Little' Marco Rubio, because I think he’s a 'plausible' and dangerous emissary of policies that not only give me the creeps, but are not remotely in Europe or Scotland’s best interests."
David Pratt, via The National
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