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13th march 2024
Back in 2009, when the country was still fulminating over MPs playing fast and loose with their expenses, David Cameron commented that if that was the public reaction to some falsified expense claims, just wait until the lobbying scandal hit the fan. Except it never did. Even the most egregious examples, and there have been a few, are always adjudged to fall within the ‘rules’. Which begs the question, who made the rules so accommodating? In particular, those that enable the ‘revolving door’ of government – industry insiders seconded into government to shape policy, with civil servants leaving to take senior roles in industry. It serves to blur accountability and obscure where the real power lies. Listening to Corinna Hawkes (a global expert on food systems) speaking with such optimism at the recent Good Food Nation conference about Scotland’s potential to transform its food system (and so much else besides as a consequence), it was nonetheless notable how many of the agrifood trade bodies, for whom the prospect of such a fundamental change is anathema, were in attendance too. Are Ministers sufficiently alert to the threat of ‘institutional capture’ of our policy-making by lobbyists? Unless they are, we’re beaten before we start.
In the most recent briefing…
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On the ground
Read moreJohn Wheatley was a socialist politician from the Red Clydeside era of Scottish politics. He lived in very different political times from today and although he’s often described as the founding father of social housing, one can’t help wondering how he would feel about his name and reputation having been appropriated by the housing behemoth, Wheatley Homes. Wheatley’s apparent disregard for the concerns of tenants on the Wyndford Estate in Glasgow whose homes they propose to demolish without even having carried out an environmental impact assessment, was laid bare in The Scottish Parliament recently. And all in the great man’s name.
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On the ground
Read moreScotland’s food system seems riven with contradictions. We extol the virtues of our world class food producers but yet have large swathes of the population who cannot afford to put food on their table. Our supermarkets and agrifood industry have shaped our diets in ways that have resulted in a public health crisis of obesity, diabetes and numerous preventable diseases. And yet we seriously talk about wanting to become a Good Food Nation. So how to turn that tide of ill health and begin to junk the junk food? The answer is slowly, one kitchen table talk at a time.
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On the ground
Read moreClimate change suggests that the long term prospects for Scotland’s skiing industry are pretty grim but that doesn’t mean that skiing is necessarily finished as a sport in Scotland – at least not in the short to medium term. But Cairngorm, Scotland’s premier resort, has an additional challenge to compound the problem of no snow. The resort is owned and managed by HIE who appear unable to run a cafe let alone a ski resort and the ill fated funicular railway. A community trust wants to have the whole asset transferred to them. HIE won’t engage. What a mess.
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Policy talk
Read moreWhile the professional lobbyist may have garnered a somewhat dubious reputation over the years, the fact remains that the act of lobbying is part and parcel of any healthy democracy. Indeed it’s vital that our politicians are as well informed as possible when it comes to determining national policy. But equally, our politicians must also be able to resist the most powerful of vested interests who have the loudest voices. Writing in the Holyrood Magazine, Andy Wightman, highlights one area of policy – agricultural subsidies – in which the lobbyists appear to have seized complete control of policy.
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Policy talk
Read moreOne of the frustrations of working in the community sector is the lack of clarity on all sides about what is meant by concepts such as community empowerment, community led, community owned and so on. And now, with the imminent and massive expansion of the renewable energy sector – onshore, offshore and infrastructure investment – establishing a common understanding of what community energy, community benefit and community wealth all mean becomes a priority of the highest order. Some high level thinking has been developed by a number of community sector interests. Now it’s time to seek the devil in the detail.
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Policy talk
Read moreCapitalism is essentially Darwinian. It’s survival of the fittest and few tears are ever shed for the business that goes under. In truth though, however much some would like to pretend otherwise, the vast majority of our sector doesn’t fit that mould. Trading income may be critical but it is the social purpose and the asset lock which sets us apart. And in these challenging economic conditions, some of Scotland’s intermediaries have increasingly found themselves supporting those who are struggling – and even on occasion, mounting a full scale rescue. If your organisation is in trouble, help is at hand.
Featured anchor organisation:
The Stove Network
The Stove Network brings together people who believe in the value of arts and culture and want to be involved in or support making creativity part of the place they live. Its membership consists of a diverse group of artists and other active citizens, including café-owners, wild food chefs, video artists, DJs, local businesses and retirees. The Stove has run a number of very successful projects with high levels of community engagement. It’s the only artist-led Community Development Trust in the UK and in 2016, was awarded the Scottish Regeneration Award for Creativity in Regeneration. One of the Stove’s most…
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