Analysis
Five things a serious economic strategy would do
The list of things the dreadful Scottish Government economic strategy didn’t do is long. Here are five of them.
Scotland’s economic strategy; both woeful and worrying
The Scottish Government’s ten-year economic strategy has been published. It is a remarkably poor-quality document largely devoid of content, and yet still threatens a significant further lurch to the right in Scottish policy.
Is Scotland taking a different approach to ‘living with Covid’?
The tone of the Covid announcements on either side of the border are markedly different – but on closer inspection there is not much that is different other than a three-week delay in implementation
Did the Scottish Government have no choice over free ports?
Is the investment promised in Scotland if it accepts free ports of a scale that makes the decision impossible? Almost certainly not.
What guarantee is there of ScotWind jobs?
There have been big claims about the jobs to result from the ScotWind sell-off but the reality of the proposed action to secure them tells a very different story
Scotland gives away its energy future
The ScotWind auction has just handed almost total control of Scotland’s energy future to overseas corporations for what looks like a pitifully small sum
Why the Council Tax is unusable
Claims that a substantial Council Tax rise are essential and too damaging to consider are both correct and will continue to be true until it is replaced
Is Scotland on the right climate change path?
The UK Climate Change Committee’s new report to the Scottish Parliament makes sobering reading for those who believe Scotland is a ‘climate leader’
The Covid inquiry looks sound – so why the secrecy?
The remit of the Scottish Government’s Covid Inquiry is pretty comprehensive and its Chair predictable but solid – but information is still being held back and the reasons for this are not clear
Why are care inspections decreasing?
New figures show a new low in the proportion of investigations into care providers – but separate figures show quite the opposite for investigations into the workforce. What is going on?
The least a budget can be
The Scottish Budget is about as stand still as it gets, but bodes ill both for local government and for the prospects of a National Care Service – and Climate Change action
Where are Scotland’s ‘Covid Death Lessons’?
In England an independent Coroner system has produced clear warnings about Covid failures. There is no comparator in Scotland because we do not have an independent Coroner system, so we are in the dark