MAgazine
Three years of learning
Engineering a better parliament
Our politics always seems to solve a problem in the way - because our politicians tend to think in a particular way. We need politicians with a more varied approach to problem-solving if we want to fix our problems.
Private equity ate my cats’ lunch
How private equity ate my cats’ lunch and what it tells us about modern Capitalism.
Moral Outrage - and rightly so
How to lose friends and alienate people
Politicians can't stop convincing themselves that working for commercial interests is actually working for the public good. The contradiction between what they think and what we think is undermining democracy.
Still getting heating policy wrong
The Scottish Government is creating a system which will punish the little guy but let the big guy off the hook. It really ought to be the other way round.
Rolling the dice with housing-again
Will Britain never understand the difference between making housing affordable and subsidising unaffordable housing to prop up the profits of developers? Apparently not...
Rolling the dice with housing-again
Will Britain never understand the difference between making housing affordable and subsidising unaffordable housing to prop up the profits of developers? Apparently not...
Four Ideas for Housing Scotland
Lessons from New York
Democratic Socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani comfortably beat out billionaire-backed billionaire Andrew Cuomo, by 56% to 44% in the final round after vote transfers. Unlike Cuomo, his campaign centred around clearly articulated demands that reflected the needs of the people of New York.
Scotland is not for sale Pt. I
Scotland may not be privatising the public realm with quite the zeal of Starmer’s Labour, but it is happening constantly nonetheless. A vision for a public good-driven democracy is needed.
The Ocean Can’t Wait - Scotland Must Lead the World
A new piece of legislation currently passing through the Scottish Parliament would make Scotland world-leading on environmental protection. If you care about the sea, you should back it.
Common Weal Consultation Update - June 2025
An update covering some of the government consultations we’ve responded to so far this year.
Turning the heat up - the right way
A series of new government consultations could lead to a home insulation scheme that actually works. You should support them and ask your politicians to do the same.
This is why the food system is unreformable
Our food system has become a system of corporate exploitation, addiction and early deaths. When every incentive points exactly the wrong way, you can’t tweak the system into shape.
If you want to bid Government up, don’t start by bidding yourself down
As well-meaning as the Greens’ proposals for property tax reform were, they were doomed by dint of their own self-sabotage by minimisation.
Who is fighting your war?
That’s so woke: time for a language of emancipation
The far right pose a threat in Scotland too, and we can’t be complacent by saying ‘independence will save us’ especially if the independence we offer is built on the economics which have given rise to the far right, i.e. austerity and the sustainable growth commission.
Fair Pay For All
The Scottish Government should add a clause to their Fair Work Framework to limit the maximum pay of executives in companies that wish to claim Fair Work accreditation.
It’s Scotland’s Economy - Or Is It?
Scotland is losing billions of pounds a year to profit extraction. Why is the Scottish Government encouraging even more?
