Category Archives: Uncategorized

Listen to Mhairi Black – basic income is a non-starter

What price happiness? What counts as work? What’s a fair wage? What’s the value of security, or care, or art? The answers are unlikely to be provided by tiny-scale basic income pilot schemes in Scottish local authorities.

Looking for role models? Try a nun instead of a pop star

NOT all heroes wear capes, and not all potential role models have the arrogance to think of themselves in such terms. But in a world of clickbait headlines and emoji verdicts – where humans are increasingly reduced to good or bad, hero or villain, thumbs-up or angry frown – isn’t it time we admitted thatContinue reading “Looking for role models? Try a nun instead of a pop star”

Radical thinking is needed to solve the elderly care crisis

FOR richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health – the promise seems straightforward enough. But how many of those tying the knot truly consider how much their lives would change if one spouse ended up as the full-time carer of the other? And just how much poorer they might be as a result? “NobodyContinue reading “Radical thinking is needed to solve the elderly care crisis”

Fear of terrorism should not prompt us to arm every police officer

HOW do you stop two neds stabbing each other? Don’t skip to the bottom of the page looking for a punchline – it’s a serious question. I ask because a member of the Scottish Police Federation (SPF) is grappling with this problem. Indeed, it sounds like Chris Thomson might, in the course of his duties,Continue reading “Fear of terrorism should not prompt us to arm every police officer”

It can’t be right that abuse victims pay a child support tax – but what’s a fair solution?

THE doubts and fears associated with leaving an abusive relationship could fill this whole page. Where can I stay? Will I be safe? What belongings can I take with me? Who can I trust to tell? Where children are involved, the anguish and uncertainty – as well as the urgency – is compounded. It’s probablyContinue reading “It can’t be right that abuse victims pay a child support tax – but what’s a fair solution?”

Sometimes special school is the perfect place to nurture talent

While special schooling may have held back children with physical impairments in the 1970s, mainstream schooling may have the same effect today on those with conditions such as autism and ADHD.