MAgazine
Why you should Get to grips with data centre politics
The backlash against data centres is only just reaching the UK but it would be a big mistake to mistake this for ‘just more Nimbyism’. Unless you understand what is different about this backlash you will miss one of the most significant things happening in politics right now.
How Scottish politics got stuck in the mud
Guest writer Stuart Donald, author of a recent paper published in Compass and previous guest on the Common Weal Policy Podcast, looks at last month’s Scottish election results through the lens of his research into proportional democracy
Who Watches the Watchdogs?
Scotland’s Information Commission is doing a power of work to keep Government accountable. But there is a vulnerability in the system where the Government may try to defund organisations that become too effective at their job.
Things could get really scary, so why aren’t we preparing?
Is the Western economy on the brink of a worrying collapse? There are different views on this, but there is enough real world evidence to suggest our failure to prepare could be something we seriously regret.
The problem with humans
It is human nature to be wrong, to be petty, to be scared, to be angry. We cannot stop these things from being true so we have to recognise this reality as we built the systems in which we operate.
Be angry – their stability is your chaos
You have heard politician after politician lauding the merits of 'stability', but have you ever stopped to ask what it is they want to be stable and for who? Once you realise the answer, your grocery bill (and starving children) make a lot more sense.
How the Scottish Government drove a wedge between care experts and the cared for
Mark Smith and Marion Macleod from Common Weal’s Care Reform Group discuss their latest academic paper on how the Scottish Government overused the “lived experience” of cared for people to shield themselves from expert advice about the National Care Service.
Don’t imagine dinner, find a recipe
The Scottish Government is constantly getting lost in the long grass between its vague but ambitious aims and its lacklustre actions. The gap between these things can only be filled with a clear plan which contains analysis and objectives.
Why does the Government keep undermining its own policies?
The Scottish Government’s love of “arms-length” companies should be a strong tool for furthering mission-driven governance, but are often used merely to claim credit when things go well but deflect blame when they go badly.
Government must get its hands dirty
Common Weal could offer the incoming Scottish Government all the policy it needs, but its problem isn’t policy. Its problem is that it doesn’t have a theory of how government works so it doesn’t understand why it isn’t working just now.
What freedom can't fix, hope can
Freedom is at times taken to be the ultimate goal of politics, but it is a corrosive idea that looks different from where you start. For a drug addict, the last thing you need is more freedom when what you really crave is peace.
The Case of the Election and the Disappearing Care Service
Nick Kempe looks at the party manifestos and asks why the main parties have retreated so far on their ambitions for care reform and a National Care Service
How Common is your manifesto?
Looking through some of the party manifestos to see where parties have adopted or are aligned with Common Weal’s policies as well as where they are working against them.
How the average person killed politics
The ‘moderate centre’ is where almost all politicians think elections are won, yet new research shows that no-one wants moderate parties. The gap between is exactly where democracy has been dying.
Hold on, wait for it...
Our third economic crisis in rapid succession and an unhinged USA mean the time is ripe for major change. But if it is going to be positive change, the left have some important lessons to learn.
Freedom and the good stuff
There are a series of dogmas about choice and freedom which implies that they are the ultimate goal of human affairs. Well I’ve got a pair of jeans which suggests otherwise…
It's time to be serious – Scotland needs partners
It seems like self-sabotage to have the chance of a major industrial plant in Scotland and to throw that chance away. It is time we were more aware of the reality of our position as a manufacturing nation and recognised that to develop, we can’t start from scratch.
If energy powers get devolved - what then?
Calling for more powers over energy to be devolved is one thing, but what is the Scottish Government’s plan for using them if they get them?
Is there a better way to debate?
While many people see the final debate on Assisted Dying as a great success, I beg to differ. Theatre doesn’t make good policy - so what does?
May 2026: The Age-Friendly Election?
Bill Johnston lays out his hope that the upcoming Scottish election will be an age friendly one, and gives you the tools to help make it happen.