The Common Weal Policy Podcast

Episode 65 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss news of a leaked memo detailing plans to try to delay a second independence referendum by tactics such as offering Scotland additional powers, attacking the reputation of the First Minister and by trying to court European countries to speak against Scottish...

Episode 64 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Common Weal Campaigns Officer Jonathon Shafi speaks to Common Weal Director, Robin McAlpine. They talk about the big issues facing us in the pandemic, the impact on the economy and the latest poll which puts support for independence at a record high. Apologies for the drop in sound quality in this...

Episode 63 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Craig is joined by Campaigner and Activist, Ellen Höfer to talk about their respective articles responding to the Scottish Land Commission's recent Strategic Plan . Ellen discusses the extreme inequality that Scotland experiences with respect to land ownership and how that inequality is magnif...

Episode 62 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon and Craig take a look at the UK's Internal Market Bill which gives the UK Government substantial control over large areas of market regulations covering food, goods and other services. They also discuss the rise of the Welsh independence and the latest White Paper on a roadmap to a re...

You can download the episode directly here. This week, Jonathon Shafi and Common Weal Director, Robin McAlpine, discuss the selling off of Scotland's green and renewable assets as part of the Scottish Government's 'Green Investment Portfolio.' Looking at the implications this will have on jobs, climate and independence, they discuss the alternatives and what we must urgently do...

Episode 60 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast  You can download the episode directly here .  This week, Jonathon and Craig discuss Common Weal's latest policy paper, Warning Lights: Ten Actions for Covid Elimination. This paper describes a localised "traffic light" system of monitoring the state of the virus in Scotland and allows lockdowns to be as tightly located as possible, allow...

Episode 59 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Craig Dalzell is joined by special guest Kairin van Sweeden, Director of the new Scottish think tank Modern Money Scotland. They advocate for a Modern Monetary Theory approach to national finances as well as seeking to give a platform to other forms of heterodox economics theories. Kairin and Craig...

Episode 58 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss the annual GERS report. They talk about what it is, what it isn't and how it relates to the finances of independence. Also discussed is the impact of Covid on future GERS reports and the news that Scottish Government plans to produce a "post-indepe...

Episode 57 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi is joined by Common Weal's Comms Officer Becki Menzies (who was previously on Episode #24 of the Policy Podcast) to discuss the impact of the pandemic on renters and the private rented sector - including current Scottish Government policies which greatly favour landlords over te...

Episode 56 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell answer questions submitted by our listeners and supporters. They discuss Common Weal's structure and funding model, our engagement with Government, how we engage with our activist network and what we think of policies such as the Green New Deal , our Resilient...

Episode 55 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi is joined by special guest Rory Steel from the SNP Common Weal group and the Support SNIC campaign. They discuss the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland's recent rejection of proposals passed overwhelmingly at SNP conference in 2018 to create a Scottish National Infrastructur...

Episode 54 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss a column written by Andy MacIver on how the pro-Union campaign has to change if it wants to win its battle of preventing Scottish Independence. They discuss Andy's eight points and use them to reflect on the position of the pro-independence campaign to...

Episode 53 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell look at why Boris Johnson has chosen this week to deign to visit Scotland and what are the political and economic implications of the policies he is said to be announcing, including the building of a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland. They also discuss is...

Episode 52 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss some of the recent political developments facing the Scottish Independence Movement including the ongoing stalemate around a second independence referendum, the SNP leadership apparently backing away from pushing for independence until the "economic leg...

Episode 51 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi is joined by Lena Swedlow from Common Weal's Youth Group. Lena talks about her introduction to Common Weal, why she got engaged in politics and why more young people in Scotland are demanding that their voices are heard in political discussions. If you're 27 or under and wa...

Episode 50 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell explore the growing tensions between Scotland and the UK Government. Scuffles over the impact of pandemic responses on the Anglo-Scottish border are rapidly becoming a constitutional issue, the UK's refusal to extent the Brexit Transition Period highlights prom...

Episode 49 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Craig Dalzell speaks to Bob Gillespie from Common Weal's Test, Trace, Isolate and Support Group - a group from the Common Weal Locals activist network who decided to get together to raise awareness of and lobby for our Ending Lockdown policy paper. Bob discusses how the group got together and...

Episode 48 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Johnation Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss Common Weal's latest policy paper Resilience Economics which lays down an economic framework for rebuilding our economy after the pandemic. They look at why our pre-pandemic economy failed, who will take us "Back to Normal" if we don't f...

Episode 47 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Johnation Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss Scotland's ongoing efforts to ramp up contact tracing and testing during the pandemic and the importance of getting the strategy right coming out of lockdown. They also discuss some of the different strategies and differences in leadership between the...

Episode 46 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week Craig Dalzell is joined by special guest Simon Brooke. Simon built his own low-impact house and came on to discuss his experience of self-building such houses as well as what Scotland could do to bring power to communities to help them plan, build and run themselves. You can read Common Weal's...

Episode 45 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss Common Weal's latest policy paper, Good Houses for All, which lays out a plan to build an unlimited number of extremely high quality social houses at a fraction of the rent of houses built just now by the conventional market. They also discuss the role...

Episode 44 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell look at the impact of the pandemic on oil. From the shock that led to oil going to negative prices recently through the various reasons that oil consumption has gone down. They then look at the future of Scottish energy under the Green New Deal and ask if there may...

Episode 43 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell look at the impact of the pandemic on food. They discuss failures in the food supply chain in the UK and in the USA that has seen food shortages and queues at food banks stand side-by-side with production surpluses and the dumping of food that can't be sold. Th...

Episode 42 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . This week, Jonathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on global trade and globalisation. The virus has exposed the fragility of global trade and supply lines with various countries scrabbling for limited supplies of vital medical equipment with some like the USA outright d...

Episode 40 of the Common Weal Policy Podcast You can download the episode directly here . Back with the first Common Weal Policy Podcast since the UK Coronavirus Lockdown, Johnathon Shafi and Craig Dalzell discuss the impact that the pandemic is having on Scotland and the UK. Craig describes his own experience with a relatively mild case of Covid-19 and looks critically at the UK and Scottish Gove...