Parks for the planet; are we asking enough of our regional parks?
It’s heartening to see how conversations about national parks have moved on in the last few years. After two decades of scant attention, and despite the sustained efforts of dedicated campaigners, Scotland creating one new national park feels…
Read more‘ History repeats itself, first as tragedy , second as farce’.
Another Council Tax ‘Freeze’? A previous post here commented on the occasional lapse that all parties [ and some leading figures in those parties ] make when it comes to party conference time . Both Labour and Conservatives…
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Conference ‘Policies’ – often a slow burning problem ……
One of the best short letters of the last week was in “ The Guardian “. That letter read [from memory] : “ How will the Tories be able to write policy statements when they have banned cigarettes”.…
Read moreJohn Swinney to Lord Hardie: ‘Ouchy Ouchy …’
The Edinburgh Tram[s] Inquiry In amongst the flurry of interest caused by the publication of the [ a very long 960 single spaced pages] ‘Edinburgh Tram Inquiry’ there are two things that stand out for me . If…
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Can we bridge the Consumer Aspiration Gap?
Today, ‘sustainability’ or ‘sustainable’ is a label plastered all over adverts for clothes, food, cosmetics, appliances, and other products as organisations claim that their sourcing of materials, or manufacturing or distribution process, are environmentally friendly. It is vital…
Read moreA Good Influence?
This CSPP21 Guest Blog is created by Alba MacGillivray, a politics student at the University of Edinburgh . ‘Influencers’ are those who promote products or services on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. In recent years,…
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Our Heating Bills; going through the roof? Or JUST….reaching the ceiling?
We [ whether here in Scotland or throughout the UK] have some of the oldest and coldest houses in Europe . We can see that in the heat leakage data that is published – for example. As will…
Read more![Scottish Budget 2023 – this year [and next?]](https://i0.wp.com/cspp21.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/man-puts-money-bag-scales-opposite-to-building-government-bank-university-budget-funding-normal-168530834.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&ssl=1)
Scottish Budget 2023 – this year [and next?]
Budgets come in 3 forms…. There are the dull [ though we have not had many of those in recent memory]. Those that explode spectacularly [ think Kwasi Kwarteng just a few months ago and the Gordon Brown…
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Guest Post: Dave Watson
Rebalancing the UK Dave Watson is a semi-retired former Scottish trade union policy wonk, now working on a range of projects. “All views are my own, not any of the organisations I work with. You can also follow…
Read moreThe Scottish Budget ; taxes – the price we pay for civilisation?
In 14 days John Swinney, the DFM and acting Finance Secretary, will announce his Scottish Budget for next year. His is not a task many would envy; he has already ‘re-purposed’ some budget heads earlier in the year;…
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Your Money or Your Life
It’s not unusual for the people who run large organisations to occasionally set time aside to think about some fundamental aspects of the organisation and how it operates. It may be an ‘away day’ [or even two days],…
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Latest posts
- Parks for the planet; are we asking enough of our regional parks?
- ‘ History repeats itself, first as tragedy , second as farce’.
- Conference ‘Policies’ – often a slow burning problem ……
- John Swinney to Lord Hardie: ‘Ouchy Ouchy …’
- Can we bridge the Consumer Aspiration Gap?
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