Seizing agency: local or global, we have the power
Reflecting on the evolution of local governance in Scotland and how the nation kept its water in public hands, MATT KERR reminds us that grassroots movements can win — and are winning now
The welcome news that Cuba has finally been removed from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list is tempered by the fact that Donald Trump, the man who put it there, is returning to the White House, warns NATASHA HICKMAN
Thanks to impressive progress in Britain with wind and solar generation, clean electricity now costs a fraction of the price of gas — yet the current system keeps bills artificially high to protect fossil fuels, writes TOM HARDY
By spreading race-based conspiracy theories, the billionaire tycoon turned right-wing provocateur has been seriously undermining the case against those who really did let victims of the grooming gangs down, writes SOLOMON HUGHES
Many Western countries are grappling with deep political instability. What are the causes of this, and what could be a possible way forward? asks MARC VANDEPITTE
KEITH BENNETT explains why, despite its present meagre economic outcomes, an honest and fruitful partnership with China is worth pursuing
Nick Wright talks to photographer and author JANINA STRUK
AS I sat through a motion on local democracy and funding at council on Thursday in which opposition members were denied the right to speak, I had some time to think about the state of the place.
I heard fine words about sexy subjects like “powers of general competence” being given to local authorities, and I remembered how when these powers being given to councils was last suggested some 10 years ago by the then Labour administration, the SNP opposition claimed we already had them.
If you hang about on the riverbank long enough, I suppose…
More from this author
Mismanagement, privatisation and EU rules have strangled vital ferry services, leaving Scotland’s island communities stranded and the once-bustling ports of my youth in what feels like terminal decline, laments MATT KERR
Through hospital windows and news bulletins, personal loss opens a window onto the world’s wider suffering as the season, and the year itself, reminds us all why class solidarity matters now more than ever, writes MATT KERR
While farmers win support against inheritance tax changes, refinery workers seeking to save their jobs and community face deafening silence from Holyrood, writes MATT KERR
MATT KERR argues that endless constitutional squabbles and feigned outrage over symbolic slights distract from real issues, as both SNP and opposition parties shirk responsibility for using the powers they already have
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While farmers win support against inheritance tax changes, refinery workers seeking to save their jobs and community face deafening silence from Holyrood, writes MATT KERR
Unwanted, imposed Tory interventions on Scotland fuelled demands for devolution, and today Labour risks repeating past mistakes if Ian Murray seeks to bypass Holyrood on spending, warns PAULINE BRYAN
Decades of right to buy have eroded the social balance of our countryside — and now holiday lets and second home owners from the cities are compounding the crisis, writes DAVE BANGS
The SNP is descending into civil war, but not before dragging their partners the Scottish Greens down to their political level of treachery and neglect, shunning the basic principles of their platform, writes MATT KERR