@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot
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thecommongreen

@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot

Head of Policy and Research -
@Common_Weal
.
Wrote a book - http://tinyurl.com/AllofOurFutures
Used to play with lasers.
All of Us First.

Contact: craig@common.scot

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thecommongreen, to random
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Today marks five years of the Common Weal Policy Podcast and this week saw us hit Episode !

Thank you to everyone who has listened to and supported the show, especially if you've been with us from the start.

Listen to this week's show at: https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-200/

thecommongreen, to Europe
@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot avatar

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.

https://commonweal.scot/ubi-now/

thecommongreen, to random
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I've sent a letter as a constituent to my MP asking them to support the SNP motion for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

https://www.writetothem.com

simon_brooke, to random
@simon_brooke@mastodon.scot avatar

Just had one of those AHA! moments: we should build houses for the homeless, of course we should, that's obvious. But we build them at FIVE HUNDRED YEAR QUALITY. That is to say, designed so that, with minimal maintenance, they will be good homes for 500 years. Yes, obviously that makes them a bit more expensive in the short term. But it means we develop a building industry with the skills to build 500 year homes. But more...

thecommongreen,
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@simon_brooke "Housing First" - that is, giving someone who is homeless a free house for as long as they need it - is a great example of political barriers because it's one of those policies that from an objective policy POV is blatantly obvious because EVERY other possible option is more expensive and leads to poorer outcomes for everyone (including those who aren't homeless) but has little chance of happening due to excuses that are objectively irrational and run DESPITE the evidence.

thecommongreen,
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@simon_brooke Precisely.

simon_brooke, to random
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OK, suppose we reformed the relationship between central and local government in the UK by switching the proceeds of one major tax from central government to local government, which should it be? Switching income tax (£250bn) would obviously benefit richer areas at the expense of poorer. My hunch is that switching VAT (£162bn) would be a better idea.

Comments?
@RichardJMurphy
@thecommongreen

thecommongreen,
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@simon_brooke @RichardJMurphy I believe (though can't quickly confirm) that EU rules prevent devolution of state or municipal sales taxes (VAT has to be the same across the whole of a country) but that wouldn't prevent a calculation of VAT raised in each local authority and some sort of fiscal framework to assign it.

However, post-Smith Commission when the UK tried to do that to Scotland, it proved logistically impossible.

thecommongreen,
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@simon_brooke @RichardJMurphy (Sure, Scotland is no longer currently bound by EU rules, but I don't think it'd be politically possible for pro-EU, pro-Indy parties to support a tax they know they'd have to drop upon independence and EU re-entry.)

thecommongreen, to random
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My article in @TheNational today. If the Scottish Government gives in to lobbying and replaces the percentage-based Visitor Levy with Council Tax style bands, it will amount to a massive tax cut for the very rich.

https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24075867.tourist-tax-scotland-changes-policy-will-benefit-rich/

thecommongreen, to random
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New Policy Podcast!

We're back! This week, I talk to @LesleyRiddoch about her new film, Denmark: The State of Happiness.

https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-195/

thecommongreen, to random
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In times of peace, they mock the pacifist. "What good are you", they say, "when there is no war to stop?"

In times of war, they mock the pacifist. "What good are you", they say, "when we should fight this war?"

thecommongreen, to random
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My article in this week's In Common newsletter for @common_weal and @TheNational

Why is it so hard to find data in Scotland and what could ScotGov do about it?

https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24044046.common-hard-find-data-scotland/

thecommongreen, to random
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Glad to see that my commitment to transparency in Government is rubbing off on others.

Well written FOI btw. Concise, specific and time-limited. I'll be adding this as an example to my activists' FOI training course.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/correspondence-between-scottish-government-and-craig-dalzell-head-of-policy-and-research-at-common-weal-scotland-foi-release/

thecommongreen, to random
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I have friends who have already been impacted by this. Absolutely unacceptable that any government policy should be announced without due research and evidence. This should be withdrawn until fully assessed.

thecommongreen, to random
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For failing to back the UN ceasefire motion, the UK and US are now complicit in every single war crime and crime against humanity committed as a result of the Gaza conflict.

thecommongreen, to random
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Robin McAlpine

Why we need collective, not individual, solutions to decarbonising heat.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/viewpoint/23969485.heat-pumps-not-answer-must-turn-district-heating/

thecommongreen, to random
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Seeing this image doing the rounds, particularly being linked to complaints about the amount of FOIs being submitted by some individuals.

FOI Requests are a vital part of our democracy. By design, they cannot uncover information that you, as a citizen, do not have a right to see.

The solution is not to limit FOI requests, but to instead take a "Glass Wall" approach and force government to proactively publish all information that, right now, could be uncovered by a properly worded FOI.

thecommongreen, to random
@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot avatar

New Policy Podcast!

This week I talk to Anthony Salamone from European Merchants about the Scottish Government's latest independence White Paper on an independent Scotland's entry into the EU.

https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-193/

thecommongreen, to random
@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot avatar

The UK Government is now proposing that citizens have "a duty to work"

This will absolutely lead to a rise in worker exploitation.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/rishi-sunaks-autumn-statement-to-push-benefit-claimants-into-work-xnnxdwklp

thecommongreen,
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@GlasWolf Or if you're a "job creator" or provide a "vital service" like "generating a passive income from your portfolio".

thecommongreen, to random
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Communities are indeed doing amazing work in land reform. The problem is that just four people currently own more of Scotland than all community-owned land combined.

It's like pointing at the good and worthy work you're doing with your own recycling bin while the oil company next door is creating more pollution than your entire country.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23929897.rewilding-scotland-not-just-green-lairds-capitalists/

thecommongreen, to random
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New Policy Podcast!

This week, I talk to Sophia Georgescu about children's participation in democracy. Political decisions that affect everyone shouldn't be the sole preserve only of "the adults in the room".

https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-192/

thecommongreen, to random
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A substantial majority of the public now opposes grouse shooting in Scotland with even more against destructive "management" practices like muirburn.

https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/23914731.majority-scots-grouse-moor-land-management/

thecommongreen, to random
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When your argument is that the Met Police aren't fashy enough, you're probably on the wrong side of the argument.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67364745

thecommongreen, to climate
@thecommongreen@mastodon.scot avatar

Shell are suing Greenpeace for $8 million in damages after a protest.

The estimated harm caused by emitting one tonne of CO2 is around $1,000. That's about $430 per barrel of oil.

Shell extracted 692 million barrels in 2022.

For that year alone, they owe the planet $413.7 billion in damages.

thecommongreen, to Podcast
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New Policy Podcast!

This week, I talk to Stuart Donald about the inequalities caused by the UK's FPTP electoral system and whether or not there is the political will in Westminster to fix a system that directly benefits the people who control the change.

https://commonweal.scot/podcast/the-common-weal-policy-podcast-episode-191/

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