CW Magazine Repost Why Andy Burnham won't reform Council Tax either.

Why Andy Burnham won’t reform Council Tax either

Andy Burnham was given a chance to make the most necessary reform of British taxes that he possibly could do. He declined. The reasons he did are the same as the reasons the Scottish Government haven’t reformed Council Tax either.

thecommongreen.scot

Is the SNP's position on oil profits more extreme than Trumps?

See jonworth.eu/forget-it-th...

Forget it. The Caledonian Sleeper is not going to run through the Channel Tunnel

There's a higher chance that Scotland becomes independent, and joins the EU and Schengen, than the Caledonian Sleeper is extended through the Channel Tunnel under the current political framework. Rea...

jonworth.eu

If you haven’t come across @ourpower.scot before watch our chat with Rowan Aitchison one of their activists. youtu.be/_k_LZB8nBfM?...

Our Energy, Our Future, Our Power

YouTube video by Scottish Independence Podcasts: IndyPod Extra

youtu.be

#TheYearInReform Look, it's very simple. Nothing to see here. Move along. Reform UK is a party - sorry - a company built around British Patriotism and being frank with the public, and it is led by straight-talking anti-elite Nigel Farage.

If only there had been some clue, for instance that bit in the IPO investor documents that said that profitability was dependent on technologies that didn't and may never exist or that the value was padded by having the space rocket company buy both Twitter and Grok.

The Associated Press@apnews.com · 2d ago

SpaceX shares are down by half from their June peak as investors worry Musk may have oversold them on its future prospects.

Repost from The National Upcoming battery technology may well finally eliminate the last disadvantage of renewable energy and turn what has been an intermittent power source into a fully dispatchable one.

How to make the sun shine at night

Upcoming battery technology may well finally eliminate the last disadvantage of renewable energy and turn what has been an intermittent power source into a fully dispatchable one.

thecommongreen.scot

My response for @thecommonweal.bsky.social was quoted extensively in the report. Our principle is quite straightforward: If a private company provides a service using public money, it should be subject to the same level of FOI as if the service was being provided "in house" by the public sector.

Andrew Learmonth@andrewlearmonth.bsky.social · 3d ago

Care home providers plead with Scottish Government not to force them to answer Freedom of Information requests, but overwhelming majority of families and carers are desperate for law to apply to the sector www.heraldscotland.com/news/2642982...

never thought short form video would be able to capture a type of humor i can only describe as “the far side-esque” but this comes close.

There may actually be a not-insignificant chance that a candidate in the Clacton by-election ends up with zero votes. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Clacton by-election ballot list costing four times more

The list of 34 candidates standing in the Clacton by-election is nearly a metre long.

bbc.co.uk

Important, because Farage's defence for not declaring Harborne's £5m 'gift' has always been very specific: he did not decide to stand until 3rd of June. Turns out this deal was struck mid-May (confirmed by RefUK) and facilitated by Farage's other big donor, convicted felon 'Posh' George Cotrell. 🧐

European Heart@bexbitchley.bsky.social · 4d ago

@mrjamesob.bsky.social @sturdyalex.bsky.social @pimlicat.bsky.social www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/nigel-farage-reform-leader-deal-george-cottrell-5gfrcrmb0

Two Common Weal policy papers that he should probably read to help here: 1) Foundations for Freedom - Essentially, how to write a modern constitution (Elliot Bulmer has also done bespoke work for a UK and English constitution using these principles). www.commonweal.scot/policies/fou...

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 4d ago

Devolution plans strengthen case for written UK constitution, says Burnham

Scotland could bring energy into public ownership, costing you exactly the same as it will to not do it. Here's how: www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

The Ferret@theferret.scot · 4d ago

🔴 NEW: 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. Our latest: https://www.theferret.scot/scotland-wind-china-wall-street/

The Solipsism of the Tech Bro "I think therefore I am", but I'm the only one who can. So I built a robot buddy, to be my only fan. #Poem #Poetry #AI #Techbro #Dystopia

The Scottish Government's First Homes Fund may well have a better case than the 2021 pilot where only 1/3rd of it went to people who couldn't afford to buy a house without it. But I wouldn't know. The FOI response I got was almost entirely redacted. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2642600...

Inside SNP’s £500m First Homes Fund secrecy row - and who pays

SNP ministers are under fire for redacting the full risk assessment and value-for-money case for their £500m First Homes Fund, raising fresh…

heraldscotland.com

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”.

CW Magazine Repost The most powerful person in the King's Court isn't the King but the Jester - for sometimes, no-one else dare speak truth to power.

Don’t bin the court jester, face them instead

Some political commentators have decried the upcoming electoral battle between Nigel Farage and Count Binface as a farce that is demeaning to our democracy. Instead, we should see it as speaking truth to power where no-one else would.

thecommongreen.scot

A "pragmatic" response to the climate emergency would be to drop everything to deal with the emergency. Anything less is climate denial. Like...the "pragmatic" approach to dealing with your roof being on fire isn't to start burning the gas stove because it's also dinner time.

The National@scotnational.bsky.social · 6d ago

Andy Burnham has left the door open for future North Sea drilling as he confirmed he told Donald Trump 'we can’t ignore' the resources there

Ah yes. The famously landlocked nation that is <checks notes> Côte d'Ivoire.

Reuters@reuters.com · 6d ago

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference reut.rs/4x9eTCW

I've been seeing a lot of people responding to this with "there ought to be a law," but importantly, we haven't needed a law for this sort of thing because no prior president wanted to be known as a leader who would literally kill people in their hour of need for not voting for him

Seth Masket@smotus.bsky.social · 7d ago

This is honestly one of the most shocking images coming out of this administration and that’s saying something

The Palestine Action proscription litigation is still *not* over. Appeal to Supreme Court is on.

Joshua Rozenberg@joshuarozenberg.bsky.social · 6d ago

The co-founder of Palestine Action has been granted permission to appeal to the Supreme Court against a ruling by the Court of Appeal that then then home secretary had acted lawfully when she proscribed Palestine Action under the Terrorism Act 2000 last year. rozenberg.substack.com/p/palestine-...

"It turns out ADHD isn't "real", it's just that our toxic consumer-capitalist socio-economic framework shaped a bunch of folks' brains in different and potentially harmful ways." "So, are we going to undertake the societal and economic shifts required to prevent that harm?" "No."

mcc@dryad.technology · last wk.

It was never going to stop at trans people.

Climate breakdown doesn't affect everyone equally! The risks are higher for workers that have to pick their poison: risk their health or go unpaid. Just look at the riders in Bordeaux, continuing to work & inhale toxic fumes as wildfires rage nearby.

Contrary to some recent viral images, there are some good physics reasons against building an aqueduct from Inverness to London.

England isn’t going to steal Scotland’s water

Contrary to some recent viral images, there are some good physics reasons against building an aqueduct from Inverness to London.

thecommongreen.scot

Jamelle Bouie: "Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk’s Racist Commentary?" Musk's racist radicalisation - he is promoting remigration + openly endorsing violence against anybody who opposes it - still tends to be seen as a peripheral bolt-on to his techno-utopianism. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/o...

Half the planet is having a massive fight about how to correctly interpret an Ancient Greek poem but go ahead, close some more humanities departments.

They also must not skirt this by doing what they're doing in the US - spinning up private fossil fuel power plants and further cooking the planet.

Ian Fraser@ianfraser.bsky.social · last wk.

Data centres could have to pay hundreds of millions of pounds in deposits before they’re allowed to connect to the UK’s electricity grid, says Ofgem. The regulator said the projects would have to hit key milestones to keep their place in the grid connection queue.⚡

Defining the Right to Grow Old The UN has started the early stages of what could become an international treaty on protecting the rights of older people. Scotland should be ready to help shape it, as well as to make sure that we live up to it.

Defining the Right to Grow Old

The UN has started the early stages of what could become an international treaty on protecting the rights of older people. Scotland should be ready to help shape it, as well as to make sure that we live up to it.

thecommongreen.scot

ScotWind should be seen as a defining failure of successive SNP administrations (and Green supporters) who insisted it would be formative to Scotland’s reindustrialisation. Reports of £6 billion less activity than expected is only the latest confirmation.

'Disaster': ScotWind to deliver £6bn less to Scotland as spending shifts overseas

A landmark offshore wind programme hailed by Scotland's former First Minister as a "truly historic" opportunity is now set to deliver…

heraldscotland.com

The conclusion of a century-long quest 😲 Our VLT obtained firm evidence that Betelgeuse, a red supergiant star in the Orion constellation and one of the most famous stars in the night sky, is not alone! 🔭 🧪 1/4