Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Scotland faces a looming fiscal gap. Decisions about how to close it are political choices, not fiscal inevitabilities. How the government responds will shape our economic future. We can’t slide into austerity. There is an alternative.
Read our latest blog:
Read our latest blog:
Closing Scotland’s fiscal gap: There is an alternative
Learning lessons from the past to put Scotland’s public finances on a more sustainable path
www.futureeconomy.scot
September 15, 2026 at 11:44 AM
Scotland faces a looming fiscal gap. Decisions about how to close it are political choices, not fiscal inevitabilities. How the government responds will shape our economic future. We can’t slide into austerity. There is an alternative.
Read our latest blog:
Read our latest blog:
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Scotland’s new Programme for Government offers the clearest picture yet of the Scottish Government’s plans for the next five years.
While there was much to welcome, Scotland’s looming fiscal gap was the elephant in the room.
While there was much to welcome, Scotland’s looming fiscal gap was the elephant in the room.
September 15, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Scotland’s new Programme for Government offers the clearest picture yet of the Scottish Government’s plans for the next five years.
While there was much to welcome, Scotland’s looming fiscal gap was the elephant in the room.
While there was much to welcome, Scotland’s looming fiscal gap was the elephant in the room.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
The North Sea is in long-term decline - and climate policy isn’t the reason. New licenses won’t reverse that trend.
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Four reasons more drilling won't save the North Sea
Sustained economic prosperity and energy security will only come from a green transition.
www.futureeconomy.scot
August 27, 2026 at 8:18 AM
The North Sea is in long-term decline - and climate policy isn’t the reason. New licenses won’t reverse that trend.
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
A really helpful overview of the North Sea's future which gets to grips with the real nuts and bolts of the situation. Don't believe the hype. It's corporate owners motivated by profits who are closing down oilfields, not environmental legislation.
The North Sea is in long-term decline - and climate policy isn’t the reason. New licenses won’t reverse that trend.
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Like it or not, Scotland must plan for life beyond fossil fuels.
Great read from @jujupepe.bsky.social👇
Four reasons more drilling won't save the North Sea
Sustained economic prosperity and energy security will only come from a green transition.
www.futureeconomy.scot
August 27, 2026 at 9:35 AM
A really helpful overview of the North Sea's future which gets to grips with the real nuts and bolts of the situation. Don't believe the hype. It's corporate owners motivated by profits who are closing down oilfields, not environmental legislation.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
From the Platinum Lounge bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/08/13/f...
From the Platinum Lounge
The Silly Season is almost over, but it feels worse than ever, a commentariat devoid of ideas or serious thinking, a country that does not have a serious, credible media. It used to be that the ser…
bellacaledonia.org.uk
August 13, 2026 at 3:21 PM
From the Platinum Lounge bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/08/13/f...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
UK faces ‘worst food security crisis in decades’ due to repeated heatwaves
...climate-fueled...
“We can’t look to some of the alternative markets that we might have done in Europe in recent years because they are experiencing the same problems that we are”.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
...climate-fueled...
“We can’t look to some of the alternative markets that we might have done in Europe in recent years because they are experiencing the same problems that we are”.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Heatwaves threaten Britain’s ‘worst food security crisis in decades’, analysts warn
It comes as drought is declared in nearly three quarters of England
www.independent.co.uk
August 11, 2026 at 2:49 PM
UK faces ‘worst food security crisis in decades’ due to repeated heatwaves
...climate-fueled...
“We can’t look to some of the alternative markets that we might have done in Europe in recent years because they are experiencing the same problems that we are”.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
...climate-fueled...
“We can’t look to some of the alternative markets that we might have done in Europe in recent years because they are experiencing the same problems that we are”.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
NEW: Has Scotland's 48% top tax rate really cost the public purse £22 million?
Our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social examines the evidence – and finds the claim is built on extremely shaky foundations.
Our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social examines the evidence – and finds the claim is built on extremely shaky foundations.
Has Scotland’s 48% tax rate really reduced public revenue?
The media should take note: a modelled hypothesis is not the same as definitive proof.
www.futureeconomy.scot
August 1, 2026 at 12:52 PM
NEW: Has Scotland's 48% top tax rate really cost the public purse £22 million?
Our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social examines the evidence – and finds the claim is built on extremely shaky foundations.
Our co-director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social examines the evidence – and finds the claim is built on extremely shaky foundations.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
These were suppose to be lessons not the play book
July 11, 2026 at 3:06 PM
These were suppose to be lessons not the play book
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
For anyone who knows Belfast, the most obvious fact about last night’s pogroms is that they were all in Loyalist areas. Yet the British media has largely failed to mention this. Why?:
open.substack.com/pub/abolishw...
open.substack.com/pub/abolishw...
June 10, 2026 at 5:02 PM
For anyone who knows Belfast, the most obvious fact about last night’s pogroms is that they were all in Loyalist areas. Yet the British media has largely failed to mention this. Why?:
open.substack.com/pub/abolishw...
open.substack.com/pub/abolishw...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Donald Trump is trading stocks the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
May 21, 2026 at 3:53 AM
Donald Trump is trading stocks the right way.
by Ezra Klein
by Ezra Klein
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
BREAKING: The fight over the prices of essentials is out in the open. What you pay for the things you can’t do without is a political question. Affordability in this crisis means facing up to corporations. The supermarkets aren’t thrilled with the cap, even though it’s voluntary.
May 20, 2026 at 10:25 AM
BREAKING: The fight over the prices of essentials is out in the open. What you pay for the things you can’t do without is a political question. Affordability in this crisis means facing up to corporations. The supermarkets aren’t thrilled with the cap, even though it’s voluntary.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
“As this new parliament begins, Scotland stands at a crossroads. One path leads to more of the same. The other points towards economic renewal.”
My new @futureeconscot.bsky.social blog on the the need for fresh thinking in this parliament:
My new @futureeconscot.bsky.social blog on the the need for fresh thinking in this parliament:
A New Parliament for a New Economy
Scotland has a historic opportunity to build a more prosperous future. Now MSPs must seize it.
www.futureeconomy.scot
May 14, 2026 at 12:32 PM
“As this new parliament begins, Scotland stands at a crossroads. One path leads to more of the same. The other points towards economic renewal.”
My new @futureeconscot.bsky.social blog on the the need for fresh thinking in this parliament:
My new @futureeconscot.bsky.social blog on the the need for fresh thinking in this parliament:
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
There absolutely should be sackings at the Electoral Commission over this. A fake party that does no campaigning, will have spent £0, and whose own holocaust denying leader acknowledged is only there to confuse voters, came 7th, only explainable if it did indeed confuse voters.
May 12, 2026 at 10:02 AM
There absolutely should be sackings at the Electoral Commission over this. A fake party that does no campaigning, will have spent £0, and whose own holocaust denying leader acknowledged is only there to confuse voters, came 7th, only explainable if it did indeed confuse voters.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
1/6
SCMP: "The EU’s top trade official used her departing appearance at the EU Parliament to pour cold water on the prospect of an investment deal with China, hinting that new weapons for dealing with Chinese “macroeconomic imbalances” could be on the way."
sc.mp/6ku4s?utm_so...
SCMP: "The EU’s top trade official used her departing appearance at the EU Parliament to pour cold water on the prospect of an investment deal with China, hinting that new weapons for dealing with Chinese “macroeconomic imbalances” could be on the way."
sc.mp/6ku4s?utm_so...
China-EU investment pact belongs in ‘deep freezer’: outgoing trade chief
Sabine Weyand says the 2020 agreement with China is obsolete as Brussels weighs action on ‘macroeconomic imbalances’.
sc.mp
May 7, 2026 at 7:51 AM
1/6
SCMP: "The EU’s top trade official used her departing appearance at the EU Parliament to pour cold water on the prospect of an investment deal with China, hinting that new weapons for dealing with Chinese “macroeconomic imbalances” could be on the way."
sc.mp/6ku4s?utm_so...
SCMP: "The EU’s top trade official used her departing appearance at the EU Parliament to pour cold water on the prospect of an investment deal with China, hinting that new weapons for dealing with Chinese “macroeconomic imbalances” could be on the way."
sc.mp/6ku4s?utm_so...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Wes Streeting having the chutzpah to tell the story about the NHS.
He doesn't tell the bit about how much he's accepted from private healthcare and the risk our NHS is at under this Labour Government.
And most of all, lots of questions about his meetings with Palantir.
#BBCQT
He doesn't tell the bit about how much he's accepted from private healthcare and the risk our NHS is at under this Labour Government.
And most of all, lots of questions about his meetings with Palantir.
#BBCQT
March 19, 2026 at 9:52 PM
Wes Streeting having the chutzpah to tell the story about the NHS.
He doesn't tell the bit about how much he's accepted from private healthcare and the risk our NHS is at under this Labour Government.
And most of all, lots of questions about his meetings with Palantir.
#BBCQT
He doesn't tell the bit about how much he's accepted from private healthcare and the risk our NHS is at under this Labour Government.
And most of all, lots of questions about his meetings with Palantir.
#BBCQT
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
The SNP & Labour are happy blaming each other for the lack of consensus on replacing the utterly broken Council Tax.
The only way to fix it will upset some very, very wealthy people. Both of their parties are quite happy with the poorest paying the price of keeping it in place.
The only way to fix it will upset some very, very wealthy people. Both of their parties are quite happy with the poorest paying the price of keeping it in place.
Shona Robison has admitted "consensus doesn't exist" on how to replace a council tax system that pretty much everyone agrees doesn't work, is hugely unfair and 30 years out of date.
It comes as a leading charity warns it also pushes the poorest Scots further into poverty.
It comes as a leading charity warns it also pushes the poorest Scots further into poverty.
February 26, 2026 at 10:24 AM
The SNP & Labour are happy blaming each other for the lack of consensus on replacing the utterly broken Council Tax.
The only way to fix it will upset some very, very wealthy people. Both of their parties are quite happy with the poorest paying the price of keeping it in place.
The only way to fix it will upset some very, very wealthy people. Both of their parties are quite happy with the poorest paying the price of keeping it in place.
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Vladimir Putin fears peace in Ukraine. An end to the fighting could trigger a crisis in Russia—and even pose a threat to his power: econ.st/4cD52hP
February 19, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Vladimir Putin fears peace in Ukraine. An end to the fighting could trigger a crisis in Russia—and even pose a threat to his power: econ.st/4cD52hP
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Scotland passed the world’s first Community Wealth Building Bill.
Why do we need economic democracy? What are the advantages and areas of potential pitfalls in the bill? And where does Scotland go from here? Read the @futureeconscot.bsky.social paper by @neilmcinroy.bsky.social and I here:
Why do we need economic democracy? What are the advantages and areas of potential pitfalls in the bill? And where does Scotland go from here? Read the @futureeconscot.bsky.social paper by @neilmcinroy.bsky.social and I here:
From Ambition to Action: Scaling Up Community Wealth Building in Scotland
An ambitious agenda for embedding community wealth building across Scotland's policy landscape.
www.futureeconomy.scot
February 18, 2026 at 8:25 AM
Scotland passed the world’s first Community Wealth Building Bill.
Why do we need economic democracy? What are the advantages and areas of potential pitfalls in the bill? And where does Scotland go from here? Read the @futureeconscot.bsky.social paper by @neilmcinroy.bsky.social and I here:
Why do we need economic democracy? What are the advantages and areas of potential pitfalls in the bill? And where does Scotland go from here? Read the @futureeconscot.bsky.social paper by @neilmcinroy.bsky.social and I here:
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
"In place of real politics, it has office politics."
Really good piece by Aditya Chakrabortty
(Includes link to Democracy for Sale's piece about Alan Milburn's massive private earnings and a name check for my @lrb.co.uk scribbling on Labour and the lobbyists.)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Really good piece by Aditya Chakrabortty
(Includes link to Democracy for Sale's piece about Alan Milburn's massive private earnings and a name check for my @lrb.co.uk scribbling on Labour and the lobbyists.)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Behold the incredible shrinking Starmer: the PM who promises more while giving less | Aditya Chakrabortty
It is not just this doomed government but the Labour party itself that is disappearing before our very eyes, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty
www.theguardian.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:16 PM
"In place of real politics, it has office politics."
Really good piece by Aditya Chakrabortty
(Includes link to Democracy for Sale's piece about Alan Milburn's massive private earnings and a name check for my @lrb.co.uk scribbling on Labour and the lobbyists.)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Really good piece by Aditya Chakrabortty
(Includes link to Democracy for Sale's piece about Alan Milburn's massive private earnings and a name check for my @lrb.co.uk scribbling on Labour and the lobbyists.)
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
'Actually, this is brilliant'
In their response to the Anas Sarwar's failed coup d'état the Unionist press have created a new absurdist sub-genre of journalism ...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/11/a...
In their response to the Anas Sarwar's failed coup d'état the Unionist press have created a new absurdist sub-genre of journalism ...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/11/a...
February 11, 2026 at 4:02 PM
'Actually, this is brilliant'
In their response to the Anas Sarwar's failed coup d'état the Unionist press have created a new absurdist sub-genre of journalism ...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/11/a...
In their response to the Anas Sarwar's failed coup d'état the Unionist press have created a new absurdist sub-genre of journalism ...
bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/11/a...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
On Sarwar's empty hot dog roll, the Dark Shit around Josh Simons and The Times Coup that Never Happens bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/09/m...
February 9, 2026 at 2:49 PM
On Sarwar's empty hot dog roll, the Dark Shit around Josh Simons and The Times Coup that Never Happens bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/02/09/m...
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
🚨🚨 #NATO SG Mark #Rutte is to my mind massively undermining European #unity and efforts to build up their #defence and #security in what I see as a statement which only plays in the hands of #Putin and #Trump. 🧵https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-defense-nato-mark-rutte-us-politics-threats-gdp/
Europe can’t defend itself without the US, NATO’s Rutte warns
The EU should stop dreaming of creating a European pillar for NATO and continue to build ties with the U.S. despite Trump, the alliance secretary-general said.
www.politico.eu
January 27, 2026 at 7:43 AM
Reposted by Roddy MacAskill
Macron's response 10K times better than Starmer's
January 17, 2026 at 7:46 PM
Macron's response 10K times better than Starmer's