MAgazine
The case for a bit more stoicism
The one thing we all know is that being in touch with your feelings is good for you. Except the evidence is actually much more in the other direction and it is not clear our obsession with being ‘true to our emotions’ is helping us one little bit.
Still profiting from vulnerable children
Legislation to help children in care is finally with us 11 years late. But it protects more profit-extracting loopholes than it closes.
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.
Four Ideas for Housing Scotland
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.
What Scottish independence could deliver for the welfare state
To truly tackle poverty and build a fairer society, Scotland shouldn't just mimic others—it should be bold, learn from Europe's best, and lead with a Universal Basic Income that both saves money and eradicates poverty.
What I learned from the school that made my children
My last child leaves primary school and it gives me a moment to reflect on what our little rural primary school has achieved. There are lessons to be learned for all public policy.
Scotland is being dragged into an RTS crisis
The switch-off of the system that lets many households keep their electricity running is going to have a disproportionate in Scotland. For many it could be a real disaster.
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.
Why Liam Gallagher is right
It seems that Edinburgh Council has a bit of a snobbery issue—and, somewhat surprisingly, Liam Gallagher isn’t happy about it. Even more surprisingly, he might actually have a point.
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.
