A stronger regulator for Scotland’s water future: a puff piece for a costly, failed system. We do not need an economic regulator to run a public water service. This is the English model that has been a disaster. Not needed here. www.holyrood.com/news/view,a-...

A stronger regulator for Scotland’s water future

If we do this well, most people will never think about WICS, other than to know and to trust that customer interests are...

holyrood.com

We set out the case for partly devolving immigration here. reidfoundation.scot/2024/11/devo...

Jimmy Reid Foundation@reidfoundation.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Elderly 'neglected' by staff shortages in home care. Exacerbated by UKGov immigration policies, which are adding additional strain onto an already vulnerable system. It is estimated that more than a quarter of care workers in Scotland are migrants. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2571006...

Hot of the presses - DTAS launch their manifesto based on five pillars for change dtascot.org.uk/news-item/dt... @dtascotland.bsky.social @democraticfinance.bsky.social

While this was being discussed yesterday afternoon, I was at a Rom Romeha Board meeting. Most of the young members of the Roma community in Glasgow have very good competency in English, speak their family's mother tongue at home, converse in Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian with their friends and

Maggie Chapman (she/her)@maggiechapman.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Nigel Farage and his cronies are a broken record with an imperial hangover that won’t shift. Reform is setting a deeply racist agenda with their only real policy focused on punishing migrants and people of colour. 1/5

This video of Chicagoans intervening to save a man from being abducted off the streets by ICE is making the rounds on Instagram. Community action works. Source: www.instagram.com/reel/DPZL2AL...

There is "limited availabity" for the Festival of Writing and Storytelling with the @ionacommunity at Iona Abbey for the week 11 - 17 Oct (due to a late group cancellation). £846 full board, and £423 concessions. I'll be present, alongside 4 women authors: iona.org.uk/event/festiv...

Festival of writing and storytelling (LIMITED AVAILABILITY)

Join our festival of writing and storytelling. Develop your literary skills and enjoy fireside readings and storytelling.

iona.org.uk

'Alarming statistics' bring fresh focus to pension provision. A workplace pension is a huge help towards retirement savings. For many, the minimum contributions won’t provide adequate income in retirement – and too many may be completely unaware of this. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2551436...

'Alarming statistics' should bring fresh focus to pension provision

Root causes of inadequate pension provision are difficult to tackle

heraldscotland.com

What a fine gesture by the English archaeologist of the Calanais Stones, Gerald Ponting. This is what it looks like to have respect for a community where you have been a guest. If visiting the Isle of Lewis, its community museums are a must, not least at Ravenspoint. app.scotsman.com/story/529238...

‘Why I am taking an ancient axehead back to Hebrides after 40 years’

For Gerald Ponting, an expert in the archaeology of the Outer Hebrides, it is time to take the little axe home.

app.scotsman.com

Question over Scottish bank's £34m backing of collapsed firm. The purpose of an investment bank is to take higher risk. “We have always said that some failures will be inevitable, and our strategy is based on the entire portfolio over the long term.” www.heraldscotland.com/news/2542759...

Question over Scottish taxpayer-owned bank’s £34m investment in collapsed firm

Taxpayer-owned bank chiefs have said there is a question over the future of a £34m investment in a Scottish company that has ceased trading

heraldscotland.com

In a summer of anti-migrant rallies, flags and nationalistic rhetoric, observers warn there is a lack of government voices pushing back. www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

‘A dangerous moment’: the emboldening of Britain’s far right

In a summer of anti-migrant rallies, flags and nationalistic rhetoric, observers warn there is a lack of government voices pushing back

theguardian.com

On Israel reportedly uprooting Palestinian olive groves - aje.io/8y47ao - even the draconian Hebrew laws of war laid down in early biblical times forbade the wielding of the axe against them.

Cancelled, delayed, depressed: a trip into the reality of the railways. ScotRail has much to do, but one journalist having one bad trip is not the measure. ScotRail among the most reliable operators in the UK, with 99% of services arriving within 15 mins. www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

Cancelled, delayed, depressed – a trip into the reality of Scotland’s railways

Fifteen years ago I did a round-Scotland trip by train for The Herald to see how good or bad things were, speak to passengers and get a sense of…

heraldscotland.com

Roz Foyer: This is why we need to talk -not stand and shout hate. “There is nothing noble about standing beneath a banner that reads: “Kill ’Em All, Let God Sort ’Em Out”. That is not community protection, that is the expression of fascism on our streets.” www.heraldscotland.com/politics/hol...

This is why we need to talk - not stand and shout hate

This wasn’t an organic movement of ordinary people seeking answers, albeit it may have included some; it was a carefully organised attempt by…

heraldscotland.com

Israel’s plan for massive new West Bank settlement would make a Palestinian state impossible. The proposed development would effectively cut the West Bank in two, as intended. Previous US Presidents have opposed but Trump has given it the green light. theconversation.com/israels-plan...

Israel’s plan for massive new West Bank settlement would make a Palestinian state impossible

The proposed development would effectively cut the West Bank in two.

theconversation.com

EconomicsInTen@economicsinten.bsky.social · last yr.

On this day in 1857, Thorstein Veblen was born. He was the economist that showed us how the 'leisure class' showed off with their 'conspicuous consumption'. Have a listen to our podcast all about him to find out why he is still so relevant today. #EconSky open.spotify.com/episode/6Nvy...

Ed Miliband won’t give renewables-rich Scots cheaper bills. The Scottish Government should be fighting for zonal pricing & listening to community protests across the Highlands about more wind farms than Scotland or the grid can handle. But they're not. Why not? www.thenational.scot/politics/253...

Lesley Riddoch: The SNP must take up zonal pricing fight – why aren't they?

THE Daily Mail headline says it all: “Ed Miliband ‘abandons zonal electricity pricing’ plan that would charge people in southern England more…

thenational.scot

Our July Briefing covers Preventative Spending. We examine where it has been applied and consider why it has not been more widely adopted. We conclude that it requires prioritised investment, structural and cultural reform, and local decision-making. reidfoundation.scot/2025/07/prev...

Welcome to post-growth Europe. With limited land and no more empires to exploit, ageing populations, major climate concerns and electorates demanding ever-stricter barriers to immigration – the conditions for economic expansion may no longer exist. theconversation.com/welcome-to-p...

Welcome to post-growth Europe – can anyone accept this new political reality?

An expert in public policy asks if it will ever be possible for political parties in Europe to be honest about the limits of growth – and still get elected.

theconversation.com

Shona Robison urges Labour to tax rich to fill £5bn gap. The Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) forecast that the higher Scottish rate of income tax would raise around £1.4 billion more than if Scotland had retained the same tax policy as the rest of the UK. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2529140...

‘Political cowardice’: Robison tells Reeves to tax high earners

Shona Robison says Labour could avoid welfare cuts by adopting the SNP's tax on higher earners.

heraldscotland.com

Nearly 1,000 Britons will keep shorter working week after trial. All 17 British businesses in a six-month trial of the four-day week said they would continue with an arrangement consisting of either four days a week or nine days a fortnight. www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Nearly 1,000 Britons will keep shorter working week after trial

All 17 businesses in six-month pilot to continue with either four-day week or nine-day fortnight

theguardian.com

Bullying, harassment and discrimination of Disabled people in the workplace. TUC report finds that workplace cultures present major barriers. 49% reported bullying or harassment. 39% had been subjected to disability-related mistreatment. www.tuc.org.uk/research-ana...

Bullying, harassment and discrimination of Disabled people in the workplace

Disabled workers face persistent and widespread barriers in the workplace, despite longstanding legal protections. Our research findings consistently highlight the systemic nature of discrimination, i...

tuc.org.uk

Appearing on BBC Question Time tomorrow night. A bit woozy after being stung in tongue by a wasp I almost swallowed while cycling. Spent this afternoon in A&E Ninewells - straight in no queues. Hopefully back to full speed by tomorrow night.

I find it staggering (as a non-defence person) that we are doubling down on buying/leasing US tech that we can't control independently. There seems to be this weird groupthink that assumes the US will go back to 'normal' after Trump.

Caroline Lucas@carolinelucas.bsky.social · last yr.

The increasing normalisation of nuclear weapons is deeply dangerous & sends message to all other countries that security depends on acquiring weapons of mass destruction. Oh & the bombs are owned & use controlled by US alone. What could possibly go wrong?