Scottish policy wonk. Director Reid Foundation, Sec. Keir Hardie Society and SHA Scotland. Historian, ever hopeful for Fulham FC! @davewatson1683 on Threads
Troon, Ayrshire
Joined January 2010
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While some folk are getting excited about directly elected mayors in Scotland, I explain here why mayors (or provosts) are not the solution to proper devolution. We need devolution to local communities, not more centralisation. unisondave.blogspot.com/2026…
Dave Watson retweeted
From aristocracy to ‘assetocracy’ – how wealth has transformed the House of Lords.
Hundreds of peers enjoy extraordinary wealth, new research has found. The wealthiest Lords also attend and speak less.
theconversation.com/from-ari…
Dave Watson retweeted
Cutting ‘red tape’ is nothing but a red herring – and arguably counterproductive. Blaming a moribund economy on too many rules is a hackneyed neoliberal trope – UK needs smarter regulation, not less regulation.
theguardian.com/business/202…
In WW2, Nazi forces utilized a tactic of "pacification" and total destruction against communities, referred to as "martyred villages". Entire towns were also razed to the ground. For the Israel govt to do similar in the occupied West Bank is shocking.
theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
Lula wins fourth term as Brazil president after historic upset over far-right Flávio Bolsonaro. And Vucic out in Serbia. Huge wins for democracy over autocracy. Thank you and well done Brazil and Serbia 👏👏👏.
theguardian.com/world/2026/o…
Former Reform UK MSP Amanda Bland has accused the party's leadership of intimidation, hostility, and treating women like they should be "in another room to eat cake and discuss womanly things" rather than making decisions. Why are we not surprised!
heraldscotland.com/news/2666…
Mail deliveries 'down to once a week' in parts of the Highlands. Vital letters not arriving in time.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c68j…
The Jackdaw gasfield passed the legal test for North Sea drilling – Rosebank will find it much harder.
A landmark 2024 Supreme Court ruling forced ministers to account for emissions from burning fossil fuels.
theconversation.com/the-jack…
Wes Streeting, “There is neither an economic nor a moral justification for our defence sector hiring thousands of workers from abroad when we have one million young people out of work here at home.” Indeed.
heraldscotland.com/politics/…
Dave Watson retweeted
Migration rates to the UK are falling. That might sound politically advantageous for a government that is trying to show it has immigration under control, but it could in fact spell £7 billion of economic trouble for the upcoming Budget. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp…
Dave Watson retweeted
£Billions in wind farm profits paid out to shareholders as public funding for Scotland’s buses and free travel has soared by 72% since before the pandemic — prompting demands to ministers for energy and transport to be brought into public ownership. heraldscotland.com/news/2666…
Parties may disagree about the soul of the nation. But the promises they make at home will be paid for, or broken, abroad and the Budget must target resilience and growth taking that into account.
blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp…
“It’s not about if we play well for 60 minutes or 30 minutes, we need to understand that you need to compete for 90 minutes.” Hard to argue against that. #FFC
theguardian.com/football/202…
Brazil, Israel, Serbia and the US are holding elections within the space of 10 days. Will the authoritarian right cement its global gains, or can pro-democracy forces make a comeback? theguardian.com/world/ng-int…
Three modest but worthwhile measures on banks gambling and online VAT, but savings from the working age welfare budget are possible, but would require upfront spending to help people into work. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c65y…
This is a daft non-story. Redeployment policies make use of staff with experience and expertise even while their posts may change. They are doing work that needs doing. heraldscotland.com/news/2666…
Dave Watson retweeted
YESSSSS THREE POINTS. BACK TO BACK 1-0 WINS!!!!!!!!! #FFC
Great stuff for the Norwegian who has struggled to score goals for #FFC that he has managed internationally. Now the nervous last minutes that every Fulham fan dreads!
Dave Watson retweeted
OTD in 1900, the general election was completed, and Keir Hardie became the MP for Merthyr. The Labour Representation Committee had just been formed. This was the Khaki Election, called to capitalise on the early jingoistic response to the Boer War, which Hardie opposed.
Dave Watson retweeted
How does the UK state pension compare with other countries? A good summary of the complexity of pension provision and the political choices to be made. We set these issues out in more detail in our ‘Future of Pensions in the UK’ booklet.
bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c3gr…
Dave Watson retweeted
Kevin’s review of the new biography of Jimmy Reid. Many will not agree with some of his comments, but he is surely right to say, “The Scottish left needs more of Jimmy Reid’s values, and Brian McGeachan’s book demonstrates this superbly.”
heraldscotland.com/politics/…
