The much-trailed UK Strategic Defence Review (SDR) was published yesterday. It was timely for me as I was participating in a European seminar on how Europe should respond to the new strategic situation.
There is a lot of narrative (som…Read more…
Political change has to be more than a slogan
The elections in England ought to be a wake-up call to political parties, particularly about the disillusionment many voters feel about our politics. The warning signs were present in the opinion polls and surveys from ERS; others have highlighted the …Read more…
It’s health inequalities stupid!
Benjamin Franklin famously said that ‘nothing is certain except death and taxes’. Well, it used to be pretty certain that this generation would live longer than the last – but no more. Life expectancy was improving until 2011 when it started to decline…Read more…
Public Private Partnerships – surely not again!
I thought I wouldn’t need to write about PPP ever again. However, as the Chancellor is considering private finance for new infrastructure projects, a new generation of politicians and officials must be reminded of this bonkers idea. A Public-…Read more…
ScotRail: public ownership is not enough
The Herald has been running a series of articles on ScotRail since it was taken into partial public ownership as the ‘operator of last resort’. As is often the case, the headlines don’t always reflect the content, which is generally good, and the…Read more…
Social Murder?: Austerity and Life Expectancy in the UK
Life expectancy has increased in the UK more or less constantly for more than a century. Around 2012, this all stopped, and among poorer populations, it actually went in reverse. In some parts of the UK, the change to premature mortality rates (death u…Read more…
Europe after Trump
I participated in a European foundation workshop last week, which examined the impact of a Trump presidency on Europe. While European leaders politely congratulated Trump and emphasised long-standing links, the policy community is less sanguine.As you …Read more…
Autumn Budget 2024
I am sadly old enough to remember when budget purdah was a thing. Clearly, no more, with relatively few surprises in today’s budget, which hadn’t either been formally announced or at least briefed in advance. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t a massive…Read more…
Great Britain? How We Get Our Future Back
If you are interested in economic policy, I recommend reading Torsten Bell’s new book, Great Britain? How We Get Our Future Back. In it, he provides a detailed analysis of the key economic challenges facing the UK today and proposes policies to r…Read more…
New Local Democracy for Scotland
I was in Edinburgh today, speaking at the launch of the New Local Democracy for Scotland Declaration.Building a Local Scotland is a group of academics, trade unionists, former council leaders, and journalists who have launched a campaign to tackle the …Read more…
Defence Review
The new Labour Secretary of State for Defence has announced a defence review. This is not just a routine action for new governments, but a crucial and urgent step given the changes in threats since the last review. The review, with its broad and …Read more…
Pensions reform – time for action
Pensions reform usually gets little political attention, so it’s good to see the new UK government prioritising it. The Pension Schemes Bill, announced in the King’s Speech, is taking forward measures announced by the previous administration, alt…Read more…
It’s Manifesto Time!
It’s manifesto time. As someone who has drafted and haggled over a few in my time, I enjoy this part of an election campaign while recognising that this makes me a less-than-typical voter. You might think in a snap election that manife…Read more…
Devolution and the quango state
This week is the 25th anniversary of the first elections to the Scottish Parliament. Commentary typically focuses on how the Parliament has performed and how its procedures can be reformed. While I agree with many of the criticisms, the Scott…Read more…
Ukraine and the ‘Johnson thwarted peace’ myth
I was involved in a panel discussion about defence expenditure this week. A trade union activist I greatly respect justified his argument against providing military aid to Ukraine by invoking a Putin-propagated myth. The essence of this conspiracy theo…Read more…
Defence in an Independent Scotland
The Scottish Government has published the latest policy paper in its Building a New Scotland series, An Independent Scotland’s Place in the World. This paper sets out its vision for an independent Scotland’s foreign, defence, and security policy. If yo…Read more…
Defence and security in an uncertain world
Everyone is suddenly talking about defence. Britain’s Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Patrick Sanders, discussed a ‘citizen’s army’. This has sparked nostalgia for National Service in some quarters (which Sanders rejected) and a more serious de…Read more…
Tough political decisions
It could be a long political year if today’s election pitches are anything to go by. Anas Sarwar was making a pitch to Yes voters in Rutherglen. It is a smart move given that despite the SNP’s woes, the dial has barely moved on support for i…Read more…
Scottish Budget 2024-25
There were no big surprises in the draft Scottish Budget published today. I set out the background to the Budget in a briefing for the Jimmy Reid Foundation, and it was always going to be challenging given the economic environment and the appalli…Read more…
Pharmanomics – How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health
If you read one book this year about the economics of health, Pharmanomics by Nick Dearden should be it. The Director of Global Justice unpicks the way Big Pharma does business and rips us all off. This may not be unique in a capitalist society, but in…Read more…