Doug Gay
@douggay.bsky.social
Theology Lecturer Glasgow Uni, Kirk Minister, Nat. Interests in art, music, ethics, politics, economics; public/political theology. From Galloway now in Govan. Ministry work at Kelvinside Hillhead Parish Church
‘Nobody cares’: the Turkish farmers bearing the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem
‘Nobody cares’: the Turkish farmers bearing the burden of UK’s plastic waste problem
Britain exported 139,000 tonnes of rubbish to Turkey last year, leaving smallholders and poor districts of Adana to cope with the debris, microplastics and toxic smoke
theguardian.com
Complicated forces at work here - communities which took their Kirk’s for granted for decades - most rarely attending and never giving. But also the national Kirk which resisted moves to a more localised system of support and decision making - where communities would pay more but have more say.
Scotland's Churches Trust@scotchurchestrust.bsky.social · 2d agoRead more about this community buyout of a historic Scottish church in The Courier here 👇 www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/news/5550... (2/2)
Business Rate avoidance is rarely reported in MSM. Here is one scheme declared unlawful by the Courts. Its promoters claim it resulted in loss of £500m revenue to local councils. It involves shuffling boxes with redundant contents in unoccupied properties. The enablers face no penalties.
City of London wins appeal over business rates scheme that costs it £35m a year in lost revenue
localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Behind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
Inside Britain's university crisis
As teaching staff face job loss, their bosses have netted pay rises and bought advice from a “vampiric” management consultancy, writes Prof. John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter
democracyforsale.substack.com
Since Sep 2022, I've been building a website where you can find out who owns rural Scotland. Today I am publishing the latest update (July 2026) which contains ownership information on 5050 landholdings covering 5.9 million hectares (14.7 million acres) or over 77% of rural Scotland 1/2
Siblings Brian Souter and Ann Gloag. Billionaire brothers James and Sandy Easdale. Stephen and Peter Bond. These are the three sets of siblings who own or founded a huge amount of Scotland’s transport network. Here is all you need to know 👇
The people who own and profit from Scotland's public transport network
thenational.scot
The most dynamic countries are surging ahead with high-speed rail. Others, like Britain, are stuck in the station | Christian Wolmar
The most dynamic countries are surging ahead with high-speed rail. Others, like Britain, are stuck in the station | Christian Wolmar
Around the world, these trains have boosted economies, development and prestige. The costs of missing out are high, says transport writer and author Christian Wolmar
theguardian.com
“The UK squandered our oil and gas wealth – we cannot repeat the same mistake with renewables”
Scotland’s wind industry is booming. China and Wall Street are cashing in
An investment vehicle managed by JP Morgan and state-backed firms from France, Norway and China own Scottish wind farms which have paid tens of millions in dividends this decade.
theferret.scot
NEW COURSE FOR 2026-2027 Join us for our 20-credit, year-long Pastoral Practice for Church Leaders Course. Full details regarding the course and how to apply can be found on our website at: www.trinitycollegeglasgow.co.uk/pastoral-pra...
Back at Westfield opencast #Fife #MiningLandscapes were under glorious skies for ‘Dances with Time’ a taster workshop with Land Artist Winston Plowes. A tantalising glimpse of work developing here. To view the finished pieces and participants gallery nip to 👉 www.mining-landscapes.org/blog
It's based on the shared premise that the people of Scotland are a sovereign people which is the common base of understanding even if different folk want Union or Independence
Before I started as a Research Fellow at Scottish Gov I spent a happy week reading government files at the National Archives and writing a draft constitutional convention that might be acceptable to SNP types (and the majority of No voters) voluntaryunion.com
Crisis? What Crisis?
the website for the Act of Voluntary Union
voluntaryunion.com
A deeply destructive and inexpert management consultancy class has emerged whose sole purpose is to shrink Anglosphere universities and to undermine their future - all the better to secure more work. democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
Inside Britain's university crisis
As teaching staff face job loss, their bosses have netted pay rises and bought advice from a “vampiric” management consultancy, writes Prof. John Heathershaw of the University of Exeter
democracyforsale.substack.com
Bookmaker closing shops blames higher betting taxes. So that's working, then www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Betfred to shut 132 shops after gambling tax hikes
The bookmakers says it had 'no choice' after rises in gambling tax, national insurance and wages.
bbc.co.uk
New from me: Until recently, the gap between comfortably-off and just-getting-started could plausibly be crossed in a decade or two of hard work. Growth in asset prices means that’s no longer true: even a lifetime of striving doesn’t offer a realistic prospect of feeling you’ve “made it”.
Is this still a thing @gerryhassan.bsky.social ? Burnham/Haigh ‘devolution’ agenda feels incoherent and patchwork to me - isolated from HOL reform and with no clear roadmap for all England forum - disjointed incrementalism which will produce bizarre anomalies…
labour.org.uk
Just one gold AK-47 away from it being indistinguishable from Saddam's palace
Dom Ervolina@dominicervolina.com · 7d agoDeputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino posted this video of the Oval Office and it somehow looks even more embarrassing than I realized
I just signed the @stoprosebank open letter Letter to the Rt Hon Miatta Fahnbulleh MP. Sign here and ask her to #StopRosebank or fail the very first test of the UK's climate leadership: actionnetwork.org/petitions/op...
Open Letter to the Rt Hon Miatta Fahnbulleh MP
Our new Secretary of State for Energy faces the first big climate test for Andy Burnham's new government -- whether or not to approve new North Sea oil & gas developments. Sign the open letter asking ...
actionnetwork.org
In fact Odysseus would have been here long before now but it seemed to his mind more profitable to go to many lands acquiring stuff. For Odysseus 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘧𝘪𝘵 over and above mortal men nor could anyone else alive rival him at this. — ‘Alive That Time’ by Anne Carson www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v2...
Anne Carson · Poem: ‘Alive That Time’
lrb.co.uk
The diminishing returns from North Sea oil and gas will flow to a shrinking subset of firms and workers By contrast, the future of the clean energy system can be one of growth and the distribution of benefits across the country Manchesterism for energy www.chathamhouse.org/2026/07/why-...
Why Burnham should back Britain's new clean energy system, not more North Sea drilling
Renewables and electrification could help the new prime minister deliver on his promise to distribute economic benefits across the UK.
chathamhouse.org
🔴NEW: Far right group Knights Templar International, whose frontman Jim Dowson has a long history of involvement with far right groups, is now supporting Scotland’s new wave of night patrols. Our latest: www.theferret.scot/jim-dawson-funding-vigilante-scotland/
Where is the university ethics committee that has stepped up to the plate and said "There's no ethical way to use Generative AI"?
Good to see @benjudah.bsky.social’s piece on anti-kleptocracy picked up in Playbook. Subscribe to Arguably to read it now: www.arguably.uk/p/dirty-mone...
#BBCNews - Israeli settlers set fire to mosques, cars and farm land in West Bank, Palestinians say www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Israeli settlers set fire to mosques, cars and farm land in West Bank, Palestinians say
The latest attacks come two days after a clash between settlers and Palestinians near the village of Tal, which left four Palestinians and two Israelis dead.
bbc.co.uk
Investors in UK companies reap record dividends. Dividends to UK shareholders taxed at lower rates than wages. No national insurance paid. Unlike the USA, UK doesn't have withholding tax on dividends to foreign investors. Those holed-up in offshore tax havens escape tax altogether.
Record dividend payouts as banking and mining flourish
Total payouts, which include special dividends, climbed 2.5 per cent in the year to the three months analysed, but regular dividends soared 7.4 per cent.
thisismoney.co.uk
Cities dismantled their tram networks to become “motor cities of the future”. The result? You could travel further within 30 mins via public transport in 1957 than you can in 2026. Cities are seeking billions to rebuild networks. Incredible piece of work this.
The Exchange@theexchangeleeds.bsky.social · 2w agoIf you stood on Briggate at 8am on a weekday in 1957, and stood there again in 2026, in which year could you reach more of the city in half an hour? Samuel Bancroft has crunched the numbers. Since the 1950s, Leeds has got bigger - but the city has effectively shrunk.
It is beyond ridiculous – it is crass, smug, and astonishingly self-regarding – for failed politicians like Anas Sarwar to describe their acceptance of titles, honours and ministerial office as acts of reluctant and humble service, writes Andrew Tickell ✍️ 👉 www.thenational.scot/politi...
