Scottish policy wonk. Director Reid Foundation, Sec. Keir Hardie Society and SHA Scotland. Historian, ever hopeful for Fulham FC! @davewatson1683 on Threads
Troon, Ayrshire
Joined January 2010
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While some folk are getting excited about directly elected mayors in Scotland, I explain here why mayors (or provosts) are not the solution to proper devolution. We need devolution to local communities, not more centralisation. unisondave.blogspot.com/2026…
LibDem’s not quite as deadly as poor Nige says, “On the day of the King's Speech, Farage missed his chance to process with the other party leaders to the Lords, and rather than queue with the rest of us, he shoved me out of the way to barge past.”
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwg7…
Detectives in Scotland have joined international law enforcement in targeting online gangs which groom and coerce children into acts of self-harm. One convicted in Scotland already. Some very sick people out there.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6vg…
Under a new "offsets policy" overseas companies that win UK defence contracts will have to invest benefits back into the UK up to the same contract value, such as jobs, apprenticeships and skills. Not entirely new and other countries do it, but welcome.
heraldscotland.com/news/2668…
70 years ago the Suez crisis exposed British relative decline. Today, the Iran conflict could be doing the same for the US. Suez showed Britain had lost the leeway to behave like a superpower. The US is not Britain of 1956, but similar factors at play.
theconversation.com/70-years…
Dave Watson retweeted
Dumfries and Galloway College generated £142.1m in total annual benefits for Scotland in 2024/25, according to a new report. Equates to a return of £12 for every £1 received in public funding. Reinforces the importance of colleges and the need for funding
holyrood.com/news/view,dumfr…
If British Library reading rooms become ‘co-working spaces’, what, exactly, is a national library for?
The plan to generate revenue from areas currently used by the public is causing bitter dispute, and raises fundamental questions.
theguardian.com/commentisfre…
Dave Watson retweeted
#budget26 more must be done to bring down energy bills, invest in Scotland’s industries and deliver the economic change workers were promised.
With an expected £600 million allocated to Scotland, the Scottish Government must now urgently rethink its public sector cuts agenda.
Neil Mackay: “There’s only one group we should be competing with, and they own mansions, private jets and super-yachts. They don’t worry about rent to pay or kids to feed. Make billionaires scarce.”
heraldscotland.com/politics/…
A Scots neo-Nazi fight club (Caledonia Club in Stirlingshire) hosted a Canadian far right activist who threatened to rape the wife of a politician and reportedly described the holocaust as “hilarious”.
theferret.scot/scottish-neo-…
Starlink disruptions in Ukraine: what Musk’s alignment with US geopolitics means for Europe. European leaders worry that Musk’s control of Starlink gives him too much power over their security. They are right and the Chancellor hinted at change yesterday.
theconversation.com/starlink…
EU’s new Arctic strategy signals shift in its geopolitical mindset.
The EU has unveiled its first Arctic strategy since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
theconversation.com/eus-new-…
Healey’s trade-off appears to be small reliefs now in exchange for “fresh hope” in the future. Here’s what experts made of the chancellor’s first budget.
theconversation.com/budget-2…
Dave Watson retweeted
Increasing bank taxes was the right thing to do, but we need a broader conversation about how we tax wealth not work.
Four decent chances missed. Having three quarters of possession means nothing if it is largely passing around the back. Anderson showing why he is not first choice at CB. Need to see runs and faster play in the second half. #FFC
Dave Watson retweeted
Fat cat bank bosses earn more in two days than typical workers do in one year as calls grow for windfall tax mirror.co.uk/news/politics/b…
Dave Watson retweeted
SNp Westminster leader Dave Doogan said in a debate in July 2024 that standing charges should be scrapped.
But now that it is actually getting done, he is criticising the move by the UK Government.
Here is where he said they should be scrapped: hansard.parliament.uk/common…
Wait a minute, on gas prices...
By moving the cost of the standing charge on to the unit rate - has Andy Burnham actually just put up energy bills for the majority of Scots?
We are colder country & have to put the heating on more, the more gas we use, the higher price we pay!
Readers added context they thought people might want to know
In 2024 Dave Doogan MP called for standing charges to be rolled into the unit price saying it would reduce usage lower bills cut carbon emissions and infrastructure costs. The government is now moving gas standing charge costs to the unit rate.
hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2024-0… bbc.co.uk/news/articles/… heraldscotland.com/news/26676771.…
Clever budget making sensible use of limited cash. Short-term help for those who most need it, paid for from those who don’t. He could have done more on both, but a clear vision of support for workers, jobs and innovation. As ever more in the detail. bbc.co.uk/news/live/cq62y5xn…
Dave Watson retweeted
Today, alongside @FoEScot, we launch the new report from the Just Transition Partnership: 'Let's Go Public'.
For too long has public money funded energy, transport & retrofit programmes that remain in private hands.
It's time to take back power; it's time for public ownership.
Dave Watson retweeted
Lessons from the creation of Police Scotland. “Too often, public-sector reform is judged by what it saves, how it reorganises and how efficiently it claims to operate, rather than by whether the public gets a better service.” heraldscotland.com/politics/…
Dave Watson retweeted
Public libraries are doing more for their communities, but they need support. Public libraries are trusted local institutions with an impressive record of adapting to changing social needs.
theconversation.com/public-l…
