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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Dave Watson retweeted
The combined impact of this Parliament’s tax and benefit changes has been progressive.
ALT Change in annual income in cash terms (left axis) and as a proportion of income (right axis) as a result of tax and benefit policy changes announced this Parliament, by income vigintile: UK, 2029-30
Dave Watson retweeted
UKGov wants AI sovereignty. Sovereignty looks less like a switch and more like a dial. For the UK, the real test will be whether its Sovereign AI Unit gives the country greater freedom to choose and adapt AI technologies as the programme develops. theconversation.com/the-uk-w…
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…
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.
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.
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.…
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…
Dave Watson retweeted
'That's the definition of unpatriotic' - Millionaire Julia Davies calls out wealthy people refusing to pay their fair share of tax.
Dave Watson retweeted
Here is a short presentation on our latest booklet, The Future of Pensions in the UK.
youtu.be/bb9oy0hCurg?feature…
Dave Watson retweeted
AI in the public sector. What it can and cannot do. Accountability “can’t be outsourced to a vendor or an algorithm”. “It starts with treating AI like any other system that touches sensitive information, not as something magical. holyrood.com/inside-politics…
Dave Watson retweeted
NEW: MAGA voters say they're going to the polls to fight “communism”—but when asked what communism actually means, things get awkward FAST.
In The Daily Show's upcoming special “Red Flags,” Jordan Klepper puts Republican voters on the spot with one simple question. Their answers are something else.
These two minutes are worth watching. See for yourself!
Dave Watson retweeted
From aristocracy to ‘assetocracy’ – how wealth has transformed the House of Lords.
Hundreds of peers enjoy extraordinary wealth, new research has found. The wealthiest Lords also attend and speak less.
theconversation.com/from-ari…
Dave Watson retweeted
Cutting ‘red tape’ is nothing but a red herring – and arguably counterproductive. Blaming a moribund economy on too many rules is a hackneyed neoliberal trope – UK needs smarter regulation, not less regulation.
theguardian.com/business/202…
Dave Watson retweeted
Migration rates to the UK are falling. That might sound politically advantageous for a government that is trying to show it has immigration under control, but it could in fact spell £7 billion of economic trouble for the upcoming Budget. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp…
Dave Watson retweeted
£Billions in wind farm profits paid out to shareholders as public funding for Scotland’s buses and free travel has soared by 72% since before the pandemic — prompting demands to ministers for energy and transport to be brought into public ownership. heraldscotland.com/news/2666…
Dave Watson retweeted
YESSSSS THREE POINTS. BACK TO BACK 1-0 WINS!!!!!!!!! #FFC
