MAgazine
War, aid and the movement of people
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.
Care Reform needs more than rights that aren’t protected
The newly published National Care Service Charter of Rights will do little to nothing to improve conditions for carers and the cared for nor does it offer adequate resources, responsibilities or the relationships required to ensure that rights are upheld.
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?
The 35-hour week was never about productivity
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.
May this be the last oil war
The US-Israel war against Iran should be the wake up call the world needs to make sure that it is the last Oil War.
Earth’s Greatest Enemy – an interview with Abby Martin
Golden goodbyes and the two-tier state
Millions in public money are being spent on ‘golden goodbyes’ for senior officials. But the rules are clear for everyone else, why do they change at the top?
Manosphere? We need to do better than name calling
There is clearly a problem with the radicalisation of some young men on the internet, but the picture is much more complex and nuanced than the shouty headlines suggest. The left needs to start engaging with young men with respect and not on the basis of stereotypes.
A Strategy for Deliberative Democracy
Bill Johnston follows up his article from January on building the infrastructure we need to develop a truly deliberative democracy
If politicians can’t, let citizens who will
The failure of the Assisted Dying Bill this week has revealed the limits of the power of parliament to be able to pass important legislation even without the constraints of the party system. For Bills such as these, perhaps power should be returned to the people.
How to solve Glasgow’s derelict buildings problem
Democracy runs on trust – and what happens when it breaks
A regulated economy is one that works for all of us
The “Red Tape” of regulations binds us for a reason. Cutting it too often just makes it easier for some to benefit from the cuts by making us pay for their failures.
A nation that can't take care of itself is a fool
If the economics of precarious supply chains and globalised risk is stuttering, what is the responsible thing for a nation state to do? The same as always – make sure it's people have what they need.
The SNP aren’t making the most of a golden opportunity
Why every war sounds the same
The economics which created our crisis can’t fix it
The latest war-driven global price panic is not an aberration but a constant state of being in the contemporary global economic. It is all so unstable that unless we take a new course, it will fall down sooner or later.