News & Articles
Scots charged extra to access Scotland’s energy
There is an ongoing and serious injustice impacting Scottish energy consumers and The Westminster Government does not give a damn. That injustice is called 'Electricity Standing Charges' and it's essentially a tax that is added to your electricity bills just to connect you to the grid.
It is time the UK apologised to Scotland for Brexit
Scotland told the UK not to Brexit - but they didn’t listen. We are now supposed to cheer as the UK gov limps slowly back - while trying not to admit that they got it wrong.
They have now announced that the UK is to rejoin the Erasmus study programme - in 2027. Great. It is good news that young people's prospects will improve a little.
But are we supposed to crack open the champagne and forget all the years of sneering refusal to treat Scotland's remain vote as if we were an equal partner in the Union?
What can an independent Scotland learn from Estonia?
Estonia has a population of 1.4 million and the landmass is a bit more than half of Scotland’s, so it has a very low population density. It is one of Europe’s most forested countries with more than half covered by trees, where wolves roam freely. The wolf is the national symbol of the country.
It has also become famous as a digital-first state where you can do everything from making a dental appointment to getting divorced by mobile app.
It has also fostered an enviable tech sector - Estonia has produced 10 ‘unicorns’ - start ups valued at $1 billion - Scotland has produced just three.
Scotland needs independence to channel its energy
When we launched our “Stop the Scottish Energy Bill Rip-Off” campaign back in September, we said something very simple: Scotland is an energy-rich nation being treated as an energy cash cow. The UK system is built to protect investors’ returns and to funnel Scotland’s cheap power south while Scots customers are charged more to access the grid that carries our energy.
UK Gov deserves little praise for ending disgraceful two-child benefit cap
The UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves is finally lifting the child benefit cap from April next year. This was driving children in lower-paid, larger families deeper and deeper into unacceptable poverty and deprivation. The news that the chancellor has finally lifted it should make a small change. But it is too little and too late and nowhere near enough to fix this.
What an independent Scotland can learn from Finland
Finland has a population of 5.6 million, similar to Scotland, but its land mass is about four times Scotland’s size. Finland is a member of the European Union, and it is the only Nordic country to use the Euro. Unlike Scotland, it has a place at the EU’s top table, the Council of Ministers, where it plays a highly influential role.
How the UK’s energy policy hurts Scottish business
Scotland is an energy-rich nation, yet Scottish businesses face the highest energy costs in the developed world. That simple fact is holding back growth, investment and jobs.
England can keep the House of Lords - as part of an independent English Parliament
Labour have decided to put the decision to get rid of the Lords in the hands of the Lords - we wonder what the outcome of that will be?
In one more betrayal to add to more than a century of broken promises, Keir Starmer has just announced that instead of abolishing the unelected Upper House, he will form a committee. Of members of the Lords, to consider the issue. The Lords committee will take at least a year and probably much, much longer to debate its own future.
There is a new path to independence opening up - Let's take it
By Gordon MacIntyre-Kemp
A perfect storm is coming for the Union, one it won't survive. There will be many twists and turns on the road but even as we head into the most unpredictable Holyrood election in history - it seems very likely that the SNP will be the largest party and be able to form the next Scottish Government. Regardless of what you personally think of the SNP - without an SNP led Government, independence is off the agenda for a long time.
UK gov lies about Scottish Water exposed
The UK’s former environment secretary risked “misleading the public” by repeatedly attacking Scotland’s water quality and insisting it was inferior to England’s, a watchdog has ruled.
Believe in Scotland reported last month that UK Environment Secretary Steve Reed stated - wrongly - that publicly owned Scottish water was performing worse than England’s scandal-hit private firms. His lies were platformed unchallenged by Channel Four News - which did not fact-check or correct the misleading claims.