There is a patronising and incorrect presumption that the only way to appeal to working class communities is through racism and xenophobia as opposed to, y’know, offering popular policies that dramatically and materially improve peoples lives

📢 Our new report, Funding Scotland’s Future: Tax Reform for a Just Transition, has made the front page of @scotsman.com. It sets out credible, progressive reforms that could raise £2.3bn a year, support climate goals, and protect those on lower incomes. ⬇️ www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

📣 Join our Co-Director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social at Scotland’s Economics Festival on 20 March with two sessions exploring the future of Scotland’s economy. 🕓 16:50 WHERE ECOLOGY & THE ECONOMY COLLIDE www.tickettailor.com/events/scotl... 🕕 18:20 SHARING OUR WEALTH www.tickettailor.com/events/scotl...

while we’re on the subject of royal family connections to prolific child sex abusers, we should probably ask more questions about the King’s longstanding friendship with Jimmy Savile

Scotland passed the world’s first Community Wealth Building Bill. Why do we need economic democracy? What are the advantages and areas of potential pitfalls in the bill? And where does Scotland go from here? Read the @futureeconscot.bsky.social paper by @neilmcinroy.bsky.social and I here:

We’ve been tracking what comes next to scale impact beyond the legislation. Read our recent report by @miriambrett.bsky.social and @neilmcinroy.bsky.social to find out more: www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 This is a historic moment. The Scottish Parliament has just passed the world’s first Community Wealth Building law - a major milestone in the fight for economic justice.

Yesterday, our Co-Director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social spoke in the Scottish Parliament about how to deliver a just energy transition for Scotland's fossil fuel workers. Read our plan 👇 www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

Being involved in the operations of a sex trafficking pedophile is not ‘sleaze’. It’s criminality. And while we’re at it, adults cannot ‘have sex with underaged girls’. It’s rape.

the vanishingly rare political superpower of being a basically nice and normal-ish dude, it's almost like he's cheating

Poverty is deepening. 🔎 Our #UKPoverty2026 report was launched this morning. People in very deep poverty now make up the biggest group of people in poverty, at 6.8 million people. This is unacceptable for the fifth richest country in the world, and it has consequences.

Great to have our work on private finance and nature featured in the latest @neweconomybrief.bsky.social showing that market-led solutions won’t save Scotland’s woodlands and peatlands. 📖 Dive into our findings👇 www.futureeconomy.scot/publ...

Surprise, surprise. The IFS has crunched the numbers after Reform announced it wants to cut income tax rates in Scotland. "The biggest direct beneficiaries of such a change would be the high-income taxpayers". IFS also warns the policy could cost £2.4bn a year by 2030.

Call me pessimistic but I don’t think additional training, as some Democrats have asserted, will suffice in changing an organisation that exists to terrorise, kidnap, disappear and kill people.

If the 2C threshold is breached, the number of people experiencing extreme heat will increase from 23% of the world population in 2010 to 41% of the projected world population in 2050. “No part of the world will be able to shy away from extreme heat. There is a lack of preparedness across nations.”

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Today's Budget contains some welcome changes on tax, however Scotland's underlying fiscal challenges remain. Read our full response: www.futureeconomy.scot/press/249-re...

“If Scotland wants to maintain its proud social contract, we must confront an uncomfortable truth: most of us will need to pay a little more tax.” My op-ed ahead of this week’s Budget for @scotsman.com:

"Sooner or later, Scotland’s politicians will need to have an honest conversation with the public. If the state is to sustain the services we all rely on, taxes will have to rise. If they don’t, devastating cuts are inevitable.” Writes @lmacfarlane.bsky.social 👇 www.scotsman.com/news/opinion...

Imprisoned hunger striker linked to Palestine Action tells friend: ‘I’m dying’

I hope this is in no way interpreted as any kind of support for Trump’s deranged Greenland plan but given there’s a conversation about the future of Greenland, it should be noted that Denmark has in many ways treated Greenlanders disgracefully.

‘She was a citizen.’ And? If she’d was an undocumented migrant, she also shouldn’t have been shot in the face.

Since last year, Trump admin planned what to do if ICE agents were accused of crimes (even murder): Protect them “no matter what." Trump laid out ways to retaliate: —Refuse to hand over an agent —Charge local officials with “obstructing" —Threaten to cut off more funding led by @swin24.bsky.social

The Department of Homeland Security was awarded $165bn in additional funding under Trump. Last year, roughly 85% of people in migrant custody were held in places profiting from this hell. Geo Group alone received nearly $1bn from such contracts in 2024 - 42% of its revenue.

A uniformed, masked agent of the state executed a woman. This is what authoritarianism looks like, and it goes hand in hand with anti immigration policies. Remember that when political leaders attempt to conceal their rabid racism behind ‘legitimate concerns’.

What next for community wealth building in Scotland? Our new report asks what it’ll take to turn ambition into action. By our co-director @miriambrett.bsky.social & @democracycollab.bsky.social's @neilmcinroy.bsky.social. 📘Download www.futureeconomy.scot/publications... 🎥 Watch Neil's summary👇

60 degrees North in Shetland, feat. Santa, where the midday light was already low and the sun will set at 1457. Happy winter solstice to you all.

📣 What next for community wealth building in Scotland? Our new report asks what it’ll take to turn ambition into action. By our Co-Director @miriambrett.bsky.social, and @neilmcinroy.bsky.social, Global Lead for Community Wealth Building at @democracycollab.bsky.social. 1/13 🧵👇

~ Some personal news ~ Our beautiful wee one arrived, so I’ll be on parental leave over the coming months. Looking forward to catching up with folk when I’m back. In the meantime, the very talented Future Economy Scotland team has an exciting pipeline of work so keep an eye out!

Join us at SNP Conference! Funding Scotland’s Future: Where Next for the Public Finances? 🗓️ Sunday 12th October 🕘 9:15-10:15am ☕️ Food & refreshments! With: @shonarobison.bsky.social MSP David Phillips @theifs.bsky.social Sara Cowan @swbg.bsky.social Chair: FES Co-Director @lmacfarlane.bsky.social

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Who owns Scotland's offshore wind assets? Our new interactive map with @cmmonwealth.bsky.social lets you explore who really owns ScotWind projects – and who stands to benefit Highlights in 🧵 Explore the map 👉 www.futureeconomy.scot/scotwind

Our new report explores Scotland's attempts to attract private finance to meet net zero targets. We model funding options for peat restoration + find private finance could increase costs for projects by 48%. We propose a public-led alternative + policy changes to address non-financial barriers. 👇

Instead of private finance, we need public investment for public goods – plus action on systemic barriers: 📈 Reducing financial uncertainty for landowners 💷 Tax reform 🌱 Fairer land ownership 🦌 Tackling deer numbers 👷‍♀️ Building skills & housing www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

🚨 NEW: We’ve been told for years that private finance will fix Scotland’s nature crisis. Our new research shows why it won’t – and sets out a bold public-led alternative. Highlights in 🧵 Read full report 👉 www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

🚨New survey finds oil & gas workers want decisive action from the UK government, Scottish government and industry to support the transition – but they aren’t getting it. Here’s what workers want: 🧵 www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2547...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇸 NEW: How are Trump’s tariffs impacting Scotland’s economy? In a new blog, our economist @jujupepe.bsky.social explores the latest data, and finds that Scotland's exports are defying expectations – for now. But significant risks lie ahead.

In a world riven by inequality and devastated by climate + ecological crisis, what would it take for "green industrial policy" to empower the working class in Global North + South, and be truly green? New @cplusc.bsky.social report by me and Isabel Estevez (1/3) t.co/78sQQe4d1g

Asylum support is being widely discussed again, but some figures circulating online are inaccurate. Ferret Fact Service checked a viral post and found it Mostly False. Here's why: theferret.scot/claim...

📢 NEW: Scotland faces a stark choice: act boldly to shape the economy, or be shaped by global forces. Read our second report with @mazzucatom.bsky.social and @iipp-ucl.bsky.social on how to rethink the state around a mission-oriented approach: www.futureeconomy.scot/publications...

No doubt Israel is trembling at the thought of political leaders expressing upset at the latest hospital bombing while providing weapons to the very state targeting hospitals as part of an ongoing genocide.

Next year’s Scottish election must move beyond business-as-usual Read our new briefing setting out 11 policy priorities for transformative change👇

NEW: Scotland is at a crossroads of crises. The 2026 election must be a turning point towards transformative action. Our new briefing sets out 11 bold, practical ideas to tackle the country’s biggest challenges. It’s time to move beyond business-as-usual 👇

Our new #ObserverSummer25 is out now🚀 This edition covers civil society demands of unconditional debt relief in #Jubilee2025, IMF's upcoming surveillance review, World Bank's billions to trillions 'fantasy', Sri Lanka, Argentina & the IMF, #FFD4, and more 🔥👇 tinyurl.com/ObserverSumm...

“In an increasingly volatile world, small economies like Scotland face a stark choice: either act boldly to shape markets, or be shaped by global market forces.” Read the latest blog by @lmacfarlane.bsky.social, analysing Alexander Dennis and the erosion of Scotland’s industrial base.

While other countries implement bold industrial strategies, Scotland is using taxpayer subsidies to erode our industrial base and offshore jobs abroad My analysis on the loss of 400 jobs at Alexander Dennis 👇

NEW: Alexander Dennis’s decision to halt Scottish manufacturing isn’t just a casualty of market forces It’s a story of how public money has helped to erode Scotland’s industrial base and offshore jobs abroad New analysis by @lmacfarlane.bsky.social www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/260-mi...

🚨 Uplift is hiring a Senior Political Adviser (Scotland)! 🚨 📍 Edinburgh, Scotland 💼 Fixed-term, 1 year contract 💰 £49,503 - £54,093 🗓️ Apply by 11pm, Tuesday 30th July 👉 Find out more and apply: cdn.prod.website-files.com/65fb154b5e34...

Foster care in England is now a business model. Private equity firms are cashing in on vulnerable kids while carers earn less than £1ph. This is what happens when you turn public care into a market. 📊 @sachahilhorst.bsky.social & @sophieflinders.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

This Palestinian boy is comforting his younger siblings after they were injured in an Israeli attack that targeted a displacement shelter in Gaza City.

As the genocide we’re complicit in rages on, it’s important to remember who the real criminals are: peaceful protesters and a random assortment of musicians.

MPs will vote on proscribing Palestine Action, alongside violent, far-rights group MMC whose leader has charges for acts of mass violence in US. These two groups are not equivalent to one another, yet MPs will have to vote on the list in full. This is a manipulation of parliamentary process.