100 Days of Solid Ideology
The coalition is 100 days old. And what a hundred days it’s been. They’ve ended the huge waste of building new schools. They’ve said they’ll end detention of children of…
Make Renewables a Charitable Purpose and Reap a Community Windfall
There’s been a lot of attention paid to community owned renewables in Scotland, with the Dancing Ladies of Gigha generating power and saving money for the community. Many other mainland…
Greens need to get out of the Comfort Zone to win
In the 2009 Rectorial election at Edinburgh University New Labour grandee George Foulkes was on his way to defeat by Iain Macwhirter. Foulkes couldn't escape the consequences of voting for…
A Big Tent we’d all feel at home in
I had the pleasure to attend “The Big Tent” Festival at the weekend. The Big Tent is Scotland's environmental festival, which attracted 10,000 people over the weekend. Despite having meant…
Climate Conspiracy comes to Edinburgh Council
So Edinburgh Tory Councillor Cameron Rose has decided to start a climate conspiracy blog. I’ve had a look around and I can’t see any qualifications Cllr Rose has for a…
How the left won the argument on inequality… and where it got us…
People's politics are very often located very deep in their psychological makeup. I am someone who finds it very hard to see the worst in human character. I am therefore…
How Stirling Albion and FC Barcelona Show the Way Forward for Football
Football is probably closest to our opiate of the masses. There’s plenty of social commentary on how football reflects our society. I’m certainly intrigued by how it grew in significance…
Why we need to re-write the Planning Act
Portobello has just emerged from its latest fight. This time it was with developers determined to turn the area into a hub for rubbish collection from Edinburgh and beyond. The…
Caroline Lucas’ Maiden Speech: A new Leader for Progressive Politics
Last week Caroline Lucas made both her maiden speech in the House of Commons and the front page of The Independent newspaper this week. Her speech was a brilliant account…
How The Scottish Parliament Can Make Fair Votes a Reality
There’s one pressing issue that faces the UK now. That is the response to recession from the Westminster government. As other contributors here have pointed out, the current approach is…