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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 25/09/2026

This week's Common Weal Magazine. Support our crowdfunder - www.commonweal.scot/crowdfunder Graph of the Week - Since Thatcher, workers have lost enormous wealth. This week's articles: 1) Megan - Why are we cutting the study of Scotland? www.commonweal.scot/articles/why...

SINCE THATCHER, WORKERS HAVE LOST ENORMOUS WEALTH
There was a dear, marked change in how much of society's wealth different groups were getting. From 1982, workers became continual net losers while corporations became more and more dominant. The pattern is very clear and very marked, but tracking only the change masks the effect. If workers in 1985 lost wealth year after year, the assets they were able to accumulate would reduce and so less would be passed on to the next generation - and so on. It is not just the share of the economy which matters but the impact of the cumulative loss.
And it is enormous. If the average pattern from before Thatcher had been maintained, workers in Britain would have earned £23 trillion more than they did. That is £23,000,000,000,000. Had that money been invested in people and their lives over that period, it would have been transformative. There is every reason to believe that nothing explains the crisis in our democracy more than this loss. Yet it is seldom discussed in politics.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 18/09/2026

2) Megan - Why are we so good at creating work? www.commonweal.scot/articles/why... 3) Robin - Invest in Meatspace www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag... 4) Megan and Rory - You'll dae what yer telt www.commonweal.scot/articles/you...

A stock photo with the word "Jobs" in colourful letters

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 18/09/2026

This week's Common Weal Magazine! Subscribe: www.commonweal.scot/subscribe Support our Crowdfunder: www.commonweal.scot/crowdfunder 1) Craig - Borders are easy, but not simple www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag... GOTW Who is funding political parties? www.commonweal.scot/visuals/partyfundiing

EACH PARTY'S FUNDING SOURCES TELL YOU A LOT ABOUT THEM
Basic data about where Britain's political parties get their money is largely unsurprising but still tells us a surprising amount about each party. The thing to look for is 'what is different about the funding of this party's big donors?'. Reform is very dominated by super-rich individuals where only Labor at gets any trade union money. But Reform gets no corporate donation which are the Tory's speciality (though both Labour and the Lib Dems get a share). Meanwhile the SNP is particularly reliant on public funding which relates to number of politicians.
If you were to guess their positions only from this information you'd imagine Reform follows the whims of rich people, the Tories are the party of corporate Britain, Labour is mixed but has to keep its trade unions happy, the Lib Dems are small and mixed while the SNP is dominated by the interests of its own elected politicians. This is probably not far from reality, which suggests that a party is heavily shaped by its sources of funding.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 14/09/2026

Common Weal has launched a crowdfunder! Getting a 2nd Indyref is one thing. Convincing currently undecided people that we've done enough earn their vote by showing how an independent Scotland would work is another. So we're building a Prospectus for a New State. www.commonweal.scot/crowdfunder

Pink text on a blue background of a crowd of people

"Let's shit the dial TOGETHER"

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 12/09/2026

For the UK-based #Oldhammer folks. I have a few classic models up on eBay if anyone is interested. www.ebay.co.uk/usr/craidalz #Warhammer #Warhammer40k #WH40k

A classic 2nd edition "Screamer Killer" Carnifex in a red and bone colour scheme.

A classic 2nd edition "Screamer Killer" Carnifex in a red and black colour scheme.

A partially assembled WFB Snotling Pumpwagon with crew.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 11/09/2026

This week's Common Weal Magazine! Subscribe to the Magazine at: www.commonweal.scot/subscribe Donate to support it and everything else we do: www.commonweal.scot/donate 1) Craig - Burnham hasn’t changed the game, but he has taken to the field. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

Graph of the Week

A bar chart of countries ranked by number of local governments per 100,000 people.
France - 50
Austria - 23
Spain - 16
Italy - 13
Germany - 13
Norway - 7
Finland - 6
Belgium - 5
Sweden - 3
Netherlands - 2
Denmark - 2
Scotland - 0.6

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SCOTLAND IS ALREADY VERY CENTRALISED
Scotland is very centralised. It is not straightforward to compare local government structures in different countries because they vary widely (from France's dispersed Commune model to Germany's powerful regional Lander). Almost all have some variation on a three-tier model, with national government, a regional government structure and municipal councils of some sort. Scotland is unusual in having unitary authorities with no municipal level councils.

But a straight head count shows the problem. Scotland has the lowest number of local authorities per 100,000 population of almost any comparator, and compared to particularly de-centralised states like Italy, Spain, Austria and France, we're centralised by a factors of ten plus.
This does not tell the whole story because there are many other variances such as geographical size of local authorities, level of power each has, rate of participation in elections. But in all of these measures, Scotland compares poorly. Before we engage in another round of centralisation, government should explain how being so centralised already has made things better.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 07/09/2026

Also for WFB, a mostly complete Snotling Pump Wagon. www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15826075...

A Warhammer Fantasy Battle classic Snotling Pump Wagon with a group of Snotling crew.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 07/09/2026

And 2 Tau XV15s www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15826076... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15826079...

A Warhammer 40k Tau Stealth Suit model XV15, metal model unpainted on a base.

A Warhammer 40k Tau Stealth Suit model XV15, metal model unpainted without a base.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 07/09/2026

Any UK-based Oldhammer fans out there? I was doing a clear out at the weekend and rediscovered some old 40k models I picked up back in the '90s that I'd like to pass to someone who can use them. 2 Tyranid Carnifexes www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15826091... www.ebay.co.uk/itm/15826092...

A Warhammer 40k 2nd edition Tyranid Carnifex painted red and black in a style similar to the box art of the time.

A Warhammer 40k 2nd edition Tyranid Carnifex painted red and bone in a style similar to the official art of the time.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 04/09/2026

3) Megan - When aid becomes a tool for migration control. www.commonweal.scot/articles/whe... 4) Robin - Scotland is cutting its own throat. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag... Graph Of The Week - Bond Yields

Image - Six graphs showing critically rising bond yields in the USA, Canada, Japan, UK, France and Germany

Text:
A lack of trust in major economies - and their Governments

A 'bond yield' is best thought of as the rate at which a nation can borrow money. The more reliable the nation, the stronger its economic fundamentals, the more stable a government is believed to be (along with its economic and fiscal policies) and the less indebted it is, the lower its borrowing rates will be and visa versa. At the moment the world is in a bond sale flurry as investors try to dump government bonds. But what is noticeable is how high bond yields have risen. The only two times in recent decades that they have been this bad are in 2007 and at Covid.

These indicate an apparent lack of confidence in the Western governments and there is reason to fear this is merited. What is not being said enough is that this is being driven by what seems to be an inability of neoliberal economics to balance the books. Neoliberalism doesn't seem to bring in enough tax to meet spending demands and nor is it generating enough long-term growth to counteract that fact.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 04/09/2026

This week's Common Weal Magazine! Subscribe to the Magazine at: www.commonweal.scot/subscribe Donate to everything we do: www.commonweal.scot/donate 1) Megan - Scotland has a population problem. www.commonweal.scot/articles/sco... 2) Craig - The PfG 2026. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

A stock photo of the rear of a businessperson in a suit looking in horror at a falling stock line.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 28/08/2026

3) Megan on decentralising Scotland. www.commonweal.scot/articles/sco... 4) Craig again on regulating data centres. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

A stock photo of the inside of a data centre under construction.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 28/08/2026

In this week's @thecommonweal.bsky.social Magazine: 1) Robin on the politics of plenty. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag... 2) Craig on why the Scottish National Investment Bank is apparently failing. www.commonweal.scot/articles/mag...

A stock photo of a plastic cup overflowing while more brown liquid - possibly cola - is being poured into it.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 12/08/2026

Remember folks. When viewing the eclipse this evening, follow ALL safety protocols. Do not become tomorrow's Google search record.

Two maps of the continental USA.

The lower one is dated April 8th 2024 and shows the track of the solar eclipse on that date.

The upper one shows a density map of google searches for "eyes hurt" between April 3rd and April 10th 2024. The areas of greatest density are clustered around the track of the eclipse.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 11/08/2026

Cheers folks. For more on this, my policy paper on how this would all work can be read here: www.commonweal.scot/policies/goo...

Good Houses for All: How Scotland can build unlimited homes - without subsidy

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 03/06/2026

A coalition of African trade unions are challenging World Bank assumptions that the energy sector should be private sector led, instead calling for public ownership and the demarketisation of the sector. Similar to what we've been asking ScotGov to do too. www.tuedglobal.org/bulletins/b-...

A screenshot from the linked article with the headline: African Trade Unions to World Bank: It’s Time to Reclaim & Restore Public Energy Systems

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 30/05/2026

Fish-day or Fri[fish]ay, according to my instance. ¬_¬

A google search asking "how many days of the week have a fish in them?"

The completely wrong but overconfident AI answer is, in full:

Only one day of the week has the word "fish" in it: Fish-day (Friday).Here is the breakdown:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Fri[fish]ay
Saturday
Sunday
(Of course, if you are asking about traditional days for eating fish rather than the spelling, Friday takes the prize there too!)

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 03/03/2026

This one goes out to Starmer for supporting another illegal war and to SNP members in Aberdeen right now campaigning for Starmer to remove oil profiteering taxes.

A chart of heating oil prices for Scotland showing a dramatic spike from around 75p/litre yesterday to 95p/litre today - the shock the result of the US's illegal war against Iran.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 21/12/2025

Scotland loses more than £1 in every £20 it makes to outwards profit extraction. More than £277 billion was extracted in this way between 1999 and 2021 (the latest year we have data for). www.commonweal.scot/policies/pro...

A scatter plot showing that the level of Scotland's outward profit extraction (-5.45% of GDP) is much greater than comparable groups of countries such as the Eurozone (+0.8% GDP - it is a profit importer) or the group of most indebted nations (-2.74%)

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 26/11/2025

Leaked OBR report confirms electricity consumers will start paying for Sizewell C nuclear plant using a risky PFI-like financial scheme initiated by Boris Johnson and that we'll pay for years before the plant even produces any electricity - if it ever does. www.commonweal.scot/policies/nuc...

Sizewell C RAB levy

In July 2025, the Government made a final investment decision on the Sizewell C nuclear
power plant, which will be the first nuclear power station in the UK financed using a
regulated asset base (RAB). The RAB model levies an additional charge on consumer energy
bills which contributes to the financing costs of Sizewell C and is projected to generate
receipts of £0.7 billion in 2026-27, the first full year of the levy, rising to £1.4 billion in
2030-31. Receipts are offset by £0.2 billion of spending on debt owed to private sector
investors in 2026-27, rising to £0.4 billion in 2030-31. The main uncertainty associated
with this costing is the projected construction costs of Sizewell C during the forecast period.
Previous nuclear power plant construction projects, such as Hinkley Point C, have taken
longer to build and had higher costs than initially anticipated.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 26/11/2025

Interesting devolution problem coming. Reeves' mansion tax "will flow to central government rather than remain with local authorities". We'll have to see if that applies to Scotland given the ongoing consultation on Scottish Council Tax reform...

The Government has announced the introduction of a new high value council tax surcharge.
From April 2028, owners of properties identified as being valued at over £2 million by the
Valuation Office (in 2026 prices) will be liable for a recurring annual charge which will be
additional to existing council tax liability. There will be four price bands with the surcharge
rising from £2,500 for a property valued in the lowest £2 million to £2.5 million band, to
£7,500 for a property valued in the highest band of £5 million or more, all uprated by CPI
inflation each year. This measure is estimated to raise £0.4 billion in 2029-30. The
revenues will flow to central government rather than remain with local government, as is the
case for standard council tax.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 01/09/2025

Today in "Headlines that wouldn't exist if we had a Universal Basic Income". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A BBC story with the headline: "I chose my Caesarean date to be eligible for earlier childcare funding" and a photo of the affected family.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 13/08/2025

How about a little game until then.

A "Merry GERSmas" bingo card containing the following stock phrases on a 3x3 grid:

Deficit
Income
Union Dividend
Indyref
★
Estimates
Too Wee
Too Poor
Debt

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 25/07/2025

I couldn't tell you the precise strain, but they are delicious. Big change from last year when the birds DID take all of this tree's before I could get to them. (Photo from a week ago)

A vertical photo of a bushy and fruit-laden cherry tree and Craig holding a bowl half full of cherries picked from it.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 14/07/2025

My front page splash in today's @scotnational.bsky.social. While the UK Government dithers and debates on taxing wealth more fairly, Scotland could use its devolved powers to tax two large stores of wealth in Scotland. A reformed Council Tax to tax properties. And a local Land Tax to tax estates.

The front page of The National on Monday 14th July 2025.

The front page splash carries the headline:

"Do we need to rely on the UK making move or...

Could Scotland lead on the rich paying more tax?"

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 26/06/2025

I remain bitterly disappointed that the SNP's 2021 manifesto promise to hold a Citizens' Assembly on Council Tax reform by the end of this Parliamentary session was broken. ia800406.us.archive.org/33/items/sco...

Excerpt from the 2021 SNP manifesto

Council Tax
We are committed to reforming the Council Tax to make
it fairer. Cross party talks on a replacement for the
council tax were underway, but had to be postponed
due to the pandemic. We will ask a Citizens’ Assembly
to consider the way forward alongside the question of
wider powers for local government.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 06/06/2025

Surprised by the Hamilton results? I am. Everyone forgets that the sofa is also a candidate. The SNP lost almost 8,800 votes last night compared to 2021. Labour, the victors, lost only 3,600. #ScottishPolitics

A chart of the Hamilton election results comparing 2021 election to the 2025 by-election. Apart from Reform, the lead parties all lost votes to lower turnout.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 28/04/2025

Had some fun yesterday introducing another couple of friends to my wee card game Heart Under Blade. This "designing board games" thing threatens to get a bit addictive. You can try out a digital version on Tabletopia here: www.tabletopia.com/workshop/gam... #boardgame #boardgames #cardgame

A tableau of cards from the game Heart Under Blade, laid out mid game.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 25/04/2025

Some fun news arrived last night. My wee card game Heart Under Blade was accepted for publication by Tabletopia and can be played now by anyone for free at tabletopia.com/games/heart-... More info at thecommongreen.scot/2025/04/11/b... #BoardGame #BoardGames

A screenshot of the splash screen for Heart Under Blade on Tabletopia.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 19/03/2025

If you're a fan of RSS, you can get @thecommonweal.bsky.social daily briefings sent directly to your feed. Just add www.commonweal.scot/daily-briefi... to your RSS reader. No ads. No paywall. Just All of Us First. (Though we don't mind a donation if you can! www.commonweal.scot/donate)

A screenshot of the Common Weal Daily Briefings page.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 12/03/2025

The "promise" of carbon capture utilisation and storage is essentially the fossil fuel companies saying "let us keep doing what we're doing and we'll get a wizard to fix the climate later". Follow @thecommonweal.bsky.social for more.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 11/03/2025

Funny how it's all "I hate electric cars and love free markets" until your boss needs a product endorsement.

A screenshot of a long, ramble post by Trump on Truth Social claiming that it's illegal to not buy a Tesla and blaming the current crash in Tesla's stock price on a "leftist" plot and that as a show of support for Musk, he's going to buy one of his cars.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 14/01/2025

Pleased to say that Common Weal is now on Bluesky. Give us a follow at: @thecommonweal.bsky.social

The banner image and title of the Common Weal bluesky page @thecommonweal.bsky.social

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 03/01/2025

The Moon and Venus are stunning tonight.

A photo of a crescent Moon and gibbous Venus hanging together in the almost black twilight.

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Dr Craig Dalȝell @thecommongreen.scot · 25/12/2024

Festive Wintermas folks. May you all achieve Stage Four.

A comic by @Findchaffy depicting The 4 stages of eating cheese.

It features a small white round creature eating cheese while wearing a santa hat.

1) Eating Cheese
2) Still eating cheese
3) Ate too much cheese (creature looks ill)
4) Bit more cheese

Craig's platter of various cheeses. He is just about to start Stage One.

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