Poverty Myths

By David Eyre In a recent column for The Scotsmani, the former Labour minister Brian Wilson highlights important research from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, showing how people’s attitudes to poverty Continue reading →

Enlisting Government to the Common Weal

This is the first of a series relating to the Common Weal project being developed by the Jimmy Reid Foundation, see more here.  By Jim and Margaret Cuthbert This contribution Continue reading →

Escher Politics

By Mike Small Under pressure from those who feel soiled by sharing a platform with the Tories (though oddly feel no problem in them running our country with no mandate) Continue reading →

Poundland

By Daniel Wylie The recent debate over the currency to be used by an independent Scotland has been drearily familiar.  The Yes camp point to the report of the Scottish Continue reading →

From the Hillman Imp to Tescotown

By Andy Wightman Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the opening of the Rootes Factory in Linwood that made the Hillman Imp. To accommodate the workforce, the small industrial village of Continue reading →

RIC Edinburgh April 2013

Cat Boyd @ Radical Independence Conference April 2013 Alison Johnston @ Radical Independence Conference April 2013 Kevin Williamson @ Radical Independence Conference April 2013

You are absolutely wrong on the Structural Funds, Mr Moore

by Jim & Margaret Cuthbert David Cameron was hailed as a hero by the British media and Westminster after his “success” in EU budget negotiations in February. However, one of Continue reading →

Relentless Egalitaliarism

In what is (slightly comically) known as my ‘spare time’ I am Secretary of the Scottish Independence Convention. We issued a statement celebrating the date being set for Independence Day, Continue reading →

Hard Money

By Callum McCormick Venezuela’s announcement on 8 February of an immediate currency devaluation was neither unprecedented nor unexpected. Despite government officials’ repeated insistence they were not considering it, most Venezuelans Continue reading →

No Evictions for Bedroom Tax

By Mike Dailly [Mike Dailly is the Principal Solicitor of Glasgow’s Govan Law Centre and is a member of the Financial Services Authority’s Financial Services Consumer Panel. He writes in Continue reading →

EU’ve Been Framed

Let’s be clear. There is not a four deep queue in Brussels anxious to indulge the fantasy life of the most semi detached of its membership. Why would there be ?

Patrick Harvie MSP responds to UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement

by Patrick Harvie MSP “George Osborne continues to wage his war on reality, creating ever greater poverty and inequality in our society and backing the wrong fuel for our energy needs Continue reading →

The taxing question that dare not speak its name: What should Scotland do?

by Kevin Williamson Next year, hopefully, the Independence debate will move out of the intellectual shallows of a Labour-SNP Punch-and-Judy Show and begin to put flesh on the bones of Continue reading →

We don’t need to count on oil to balance the books

by Ian Bell The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) advises that a country cannot depend forever on a diminishing resource. This is insightful. The institute also counsels that if you Continue reading →

RADICAL INDY CONFERENCE 01: Scotland and Big Money

In the run up to the first Radical Independence Conference on Sat 24th November Bella will be focussing in on some of the ideas to be discussed and some of Continue reading →

Tax Haven Toolkit

No, it’s not a DIY guide to looting your country’s wealth but an activists kit to present the case for Tax Justice to folk in your own community.  When a swimming Continue reading →

The city has no interest in closing tax havens

Although this article by Peter Geoghegan asks if a London government carrying out austerity measures should be doing something about offshore tax evasion we’re re-publishing it on Bella because it Continue reading →

Scotland Unchained

By Mike Small People quite rightly point out that a Yes or a No vote shouldn’t be cast solely on the exquisitely attractive option of permanently ridding this country of Continue reading →

The Lady is for Turning

By Mike Small The Scottish Labour leader, Johann Lamont last night delivered a speech that has put her on the front pages of every newspaper and set the Twitterati alight, Continue reading →

The Dark Side of the Green Economy

By Jeff Conant Why some indigenous groups and environmentalists are saying no to the “green economy.” Everywhere you look these days, things are turning green. In Chiapas, Mexico, indigenous farmers Continue reading →

Front-runner in 2012 Letter Of The Year Olympics?

This concise thoughtful letter by Labour MP, Michael Meacher, was first published in The Guardian two months ago (2nd May 2012) but is still doing the social media rounds. Its Continue reading →

Dimes, Dollars, Quarter Bills …

By Joe Necchi Cash payment is wrong according to David Gauke. They want to talk about money? So let’s start to talk about money. Let’s not talk about the tenner Continue reading →

Ewan Morrison Essay: Dead Malls On Living Land

By Ewan Morrison I’m standing before a vast crumbling structure surrounded by broken security fencing; A Danger-Keep-Out sign lies crushed and rusted on the tarmac of what was once an Continue reading →

Just Say No

By Mike Small The start of the No campaign came after a month-long trail of visceral criticisms of the Yes Scotland launch. With a gushing media presence at the ready Continue reading →

Wall Street Journal on The Economics of Scottish Independence

We’re not in the habit of reprinting articles from the Wall Street Journal but we’ll make an exception for this one.  The article below was published on 3rd May by Continue reading →

The Poverty of Imagination *

By Tom Jennings The UK’s soporific slide deeper into fiscally-imposed structurally-readjusted barbarity, without much in the way of disturbance to putative social peace, has now been thoroughly punctured. First the Continue reading →

I Am the Evidence

By Andy Wightman There is a programme on Radio 4 called The Unbelievable Truth in which panellists compete to see how many nuggets of truth they are able to hide Continue reading →

Bella Caledonia presents: “The Very Bastards Of Creation 2012 Awards”

“The Scots are the very bastards of creation.” John Wilkes, the great English radical, reformer, and 18th Century Member of Parliament for Middlesex “The noblest prospect which a Scotchman ever Continue reading →

What do Fred the Shred and Sir David Tell us About Scotland?

By Gerry Hassan This is not another article on football. The Rangers crisis has filled the airwaves and media this week. For the second time this year Scotland has gone Continue reading →

Cameron visits Edinburgh

A government we didn’t elect presiding over an economy we don’t control.