Category: Policy

In-depth commentary on public policy and institutional reform across government, regulation and the operation of the state.

Malcolm Offord April 8, 2026 No Comments

THE QUALITY OF SCOTLAND’S LARDER has a worldwide reputation and accounts for twenty per cent of the UK’s food &

Drew Augustine April 2, 2026 2 Comments

WHEN I WAS A STUDENT, I had a Voltaire quote pinned above my desk: “Those who can make you believe

Eben Wilson March 30, 2026 No Comments

THE CHALLENGE facing anyone seeking reform in Scotland cannot be underestimated. That’s odd; those claiming to be on the side

Tom Miers March 24, 2026 No Comments

IN THE LAST FEW WEEKS I’ve written articles about how the powers devolved to the Scottish Parliament could be used

Audrey Dempsey March 23, 2026 2 Comments

THERE IS A PHRASE I hear more and more often on the frontline: “I cannot afford to take a job.”

Tom Miers March 17, 2026 No Comments

AT THE TURN OF THE CENTURY Scotland seemed full of possibilities. The new Parliament was, for many, an opportunity to

Brian Monteith March 13, 2026 No Comments

WHAT DO YOU DO about a government that governs not in the clear interests of its own people but to

David Stark March 13, 2026 1 Comment

MARCH 9th marked the 250th anniversary of the publication of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations. To commemorate it, the

Tom Miers March 11, 2026 No Comments

TWENTY YEARS AGO, with the Scottish Parliament newly established, a group of economists wrote about what it should do with

Jonathan Stanley March 9, 2026 No Comments

THE FOUR-HOUR TARGET has survived for decades because it sounds reasonable to people who imagine illness as a transaction. You