MAgazine
Too late for gambling regrets Gordon
Gordon Brown is right that the gambling industry has become a money-printing blight on our society worth billions of pounds and should be taxed. Pity it was him that caused this to happen in the first place.
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.
Money for nothing is why we’re screwed
The expectation that every investment must automatically offer enormous returns has bent global economic policy round its fingers. But guaranteed returns are why the West is in so much trouble.
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.
Don’t grandstand, plan
Many people would like the First Minister to take a stand with Donald Trump. This is not an effective stance - and there are much more effective actions which can be taken.
Want to get on a train? Time for philosophy
The underpinning philosophies of how to govern are not abstract or obtuse. Rather they are the battlefields on which the future of public service will be fought.
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...
Scotland has no controlling intellect
Why does it feel like things in Scotland aren’t designed to work? It’s because they’re not designed to work by a person who cares, they’re designed to make profit by a bunch of people who don’t.
Hysteria at Glastonbury: The intersection of music and politics
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.
Protest is not a threat to Democracy - Protest protects Democracy
The UK Government’s attempt to ban Palestine Action is a risky overreach that threatens to further quash the kinds of protest that protect rather than threaten democracy.
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.
Seamless services? Only on better foundations
Politicians often talk about seamless public services but don’t want to tackle the underlying problem - public sector data is a mess and it makes our services grind against each other where they should click.
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.
If we don’t get ahead of the game we lose
The chattering classes continue to chatter but fail to reach conclusions. But more chatter is a luxury we can’t afford; we need answers, we need action and we need some savvy.
Common Weal Consultation Update - June 2025
An update covering some of the government consultations we’ve responded to so far this year.
Why a Scottish Currency Can’t Wait: Lessons from Keynes
German economist Jan Frederik Moos explains that the Scottish Government’s current position on an independent Scotland’s currency is simply wrong. Monetary independence is no the final stage in independence, it is the first.
Loch Lomond is a right, not an opportunity
To help the politicians understand why their actions over Flamingo Land have made so many people so angry, Tam Brotherstone explains what it really meant to a working class boy like him. It mean freedom, peace and tranquility - if only for a night.
