Well, that was a terrifying glimpse into Sunak's "Patriotic Future" - a dystopian and authoritarian nightmare for everyone who isn't absolutely loyal to the regime.
Very telling that the "threats" to the UK according to Sunak are leftists, environmentalists, pacifists, migrants, peaceful protesters, democrats, those who human rights and (specifically) Scottish nationalists.
Not the far right, climate change deniers, polluters, pro-genocide militarists, racists and xenophobes, authoritarians and anyone in favour of stripping you of human rights.
My column in this week's @Common_Weal newsletter is directed at the Scottish Government's new and returning Cabinet Secretaries. For each of you, here are the Common Weal policy papers that should be at the top of your In Tray.
Yesterday I was at the Parliament to give evidence to the Finance Committee on a governing framework for Commissioners - a slightly arcane topic but one pretty fundamental to how our democracy might be changing without us realising it. I warned about the risk of government pushing responsibility away from elected Ministers and onto appointed Commissioners, for example.
An intense session but one that was received well by the Committee.
Of the three former (and soon to be former) Prime Ministers quoted in this article, the one with the most morally defensible position (as weak as it is) is the one who himself ordered extrajudicial drone strikes on British citizens.
It works by taking our 2021 proposal to reform Council Tax into a tax on the market value of homes and extending it to the market value of land as well.
(Right now, Council Tax is charged on a manor house, but not the larger estate)
For rural councils especially, a land tax could become a significant part of their budget. At the rate we suggest here, five councils would raise revenue equivalent to more than 50% of their current Council Tax revenue.
I've written up some thoughts on the Land Reform Bill for Bella Caledonia
Some potential for some steps forward...but I worry, once again, about the amount of power ScotGov is claiming instead of building better local democracy.
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My article in this week's @common_weal newsletter.
If, according to a new research paper, the cost of a Universal Basic Income could be less than the cost of the poverty it eliminates, then bringing in that UBI becomes a moral imperative.