Scotland’s independent think tank
Last week, the UK government sanctioned one of the largest undeveloped oil fields in the UK- the Rosebank field with an estimated 300 million barrels of recoverable oil. A few weeks ago the government made the most significant changes in policy from a UK party with respect to climate change and energy changing commitments on …
On the same day that the First Minister announced his Programme for Government, the British Prime Minister announced an end to the de facto ban on onshore windfarms in England. That the announcement from Rishi Sunak was more material than anything Humza Yousaf had to say about energy shows how low the bar has been …
Where is energy in the Programme for Government? – Stuart Paton Read More »
It is hopefully understood by all politicians in Scotland, if not yet by most of the wider public, that Scotland faces a serious demographic challenge. Our population is rapidly ageing, and our rates of fertility and immigration are currently too low to prevent an impending decline in our numbers. There will soon not be enough …
Domestic policies deter people from moving to Scotland – Roy Leckie Read More »
Migrants’ own decisions are the missing piece in Scotland’s migration puzzle Last Wednesday the Welcoming Committee for Hong Kongers, which is housed within British Future, held an event in Edinburgh jointly with Reform Scotland on the country’s immigration challenges. Emma Roddick MSP, Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees gave a thought-provoking keynote speech explaining that …
How can Scotland attract more migrants – Heather Rolfe Read More »
The well attended All Energy Conference took place in Glasgow a couple of weeks ago- a wide range of keynote addresses, presentations and lots of big pieces of kit covering wind, solar, hydrogen, marine renewables, storage. But not ALL energy – where was the discussion on nuclear? There seems to be a complete lack of …
Humza Yousaf’s first few weeks have hardly been quiet. Last week he added to the cacophony, by teeing up a big change in SNP social policy. The SNP has long trumpeted its universal benefits: free tuition, childcare, prescriptions, baby boxes, plus laptops, school meals, bicycles and bus transport for young people. The First Minister signalled …
Humza Yousaf takes a massive policy gamble – Gordon Hector Read More »
Scotland’s First Minister and Priorities – a request How many priorities can the new First Minister cope with? In plain English a ‘priority’ is something you attend to first because of its importance or urgency. Which means that once you have more than a few, they aren’t ‘priorities’ any more – just another item in …
Citizen-empowering reform of personal data must be a priority – Alan Mitchell Read More »
It was a conversation with my sister about our dad’s death which sparked the initial thought that maybe I could draw attention to an issue that seems to have gone almost unnoticed. She had been just 8 and my other sister 13 when Dad died suddenly one Saturday morning of a massive heart attack. Our …
Change is needed if we are to better support bereaved children – Christine Jardine MP Read More »
Almost all discussions on farming have emphasised the importance of subsidy income support. A typical example was from the chief strategy officer of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) who said that subsidy income accounted for 80% of farm income in Scotland. This estimate must have been based on the officially produced, average Net …
It is possible to farm without subsidies – Duncan Pickard Read More »
The surprising thing about energy is that it is so cheap. This may seem a strange thing to say given the recent high profile cost increases but look at this in context. Oil is currently about $90/barrel (the strange unit of volume used for oil), which is actually down about 20% in the last 3 …
Is there a light that never goes out? – Stuart Paton Read More »