While riding the No 3 bus in Glasgow MATT KERR has ample time to dissect the moribund Scottish Labour decline into near oblivion and watch intriguing bus passenger dynamics
Scotland’s public services need tax reform, not cuts
KATE RAMSDEN calls out the SNP’s political choices, citing STUC research showing billions could be raised through progressive taxation to fund vital social work and care — instead, we’re being threatened with more cuts
First Minister John Swinney during a visit to Forth Valley College to meet representatives from the Grangemouth oil refinery and local government representatives following Petroineos' decision to decommission its Grangemouth oil refinery, September 13, 2024
The best wildfire service may begin with the community, argues KOMAL RAJ ARYAL
Dignity is important to all humans, argues the Marx Memorial Library and Workers’ School, but it does not come about automatically. In a less than perfect world, dignity can accompany suffering, but the collective dignity of working people is achieved through acting together to change the world.
The US aim to reshape the existing order in the Middle East needs to be resolutely resisted, argues PAYAM SOLHTALAB
Concessions to Washington by the post-Maduro leadership in Caracas are designed to preserve the core of the Bolivarian Revolution not betray it, argue Roger D Harris, Francisco Dominguez and Mara Paez Victor. How the solidarity movement responds is critical
ALMA EGAN suggests four days out that bring the region’s history of protest to life
ON September 5, the Scottish government’s Programme for Government (PfG) set out its four priorities for the years ahead, one of which is “ensuring high-quality and sustainable public services.”
This was delivered by the First Minister without a hint of irony, despite Scotland’s Finance Secretary, just days before, announcing £500 million cuts to public services.
The phrase in the PfG that “investment in public services is not a cost, but a vital investment in our future health, equality and prosperity,” rings very hollow, yet is one that most activists would completely agree with.
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Unless ministers match reform with investment, the profession and the people it serves will continue to bear the cost, says KATE RAMSDEN
Years of underfunding are eroding Scotland’s local services and deepening inequality in communities, says VINCE MILLS