When the UK Government announces new spending on the NHS, schools, or transport, it often sounds like the whole UK will benefit. In reality, many of these announcements apply to England only — and any financial benefit for Scotland usually arrives later, indirectly, and can be spent on completely different priorities.
As the UK continues its drive towards net zero, one of our closest neighbours is taking a rather different approach. Norway has announced plans to extend the life of one of its major North Sea oil fields, arguing that Europe will continue to need oil and gas for many years to come.
Brent crude oil has fallen back below $80 a barrel, even though the final details of the Middle East peace agreement have yet to be completed. For many people this seems strange.
For years, politicians, developers, and commentators have insisted that the UK’s housing crisis is simply a matter of “not building enough homes”. And while that’s partly true, it misses the deeper, more uncomfortable reality.
If you listen to UK politicians, you’d think the housing crisis is a natural disaster: unfortunate, inevitable, and largely beyond policy control. But look abroad and a different picture appears.
For nearly 15 years, the global economy lived in an extraordinary monetary environment with near‑zero interest rates, quantitative easing, and central banks acting as shock absorbers for every crisis. That era is now ending and the clearest evidence comes from two central banks that once defined low‑rate policy - the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Bank of Japan (BoJ).
Prime Minister secures major jobs and energy investment at G7 to deliver growth and security at home. £1.3 billion in new investment secured from leading companies in France and India to back clean energy and AI projects in the UK.
For years, Aberdeen’s Union Street has been held up as the great test of whether Scotland can revive its hollowed‑out urban cores. Every few months brings another announcement, another funding pot, another ministerial visit promising that this time — finally — the Granite Mile will turn the corner.
A press release from Highlands and Islands set us digging - see it at the bottom of this article. Something strange is happening in Scotland’s salmon industry, and it’s not the kind of thing you’ll find in a government press release.
Retailers join government plans to bring plug-in solar panels to UK homes, helping families save money on bills. B&Q and Currys join government plans to bring plug-in solar to UK homes.
Millions of homeowners could benefit from faster planning decisions, as 2 new AI tools are unveiled to modernise England’s planning permission system. New AI prototype that aims to halve decision times for routine planning applications is now being tested in three English counties.
When Council Tax replaced the deeply unpopular Community Charge, or Poll Tax, in April 1993, it was intended to provide a stable way of funding local government. More than thirty years later, it is still with us.
When Council Tax was introduced in April 1993, few people imagined it would still be funding local government more than thirty years later. Britain was a very different country.
CPIH: 3.0% (unchanged from April) CPI: 2.8% (unchanged from April) Monthly inflation for both measures: 0.2% What’s driving inflation now Transport was the biggest upward force — annual inflation jumped to 6.8%, the highest since 2022. Air fares surged 10.3% month‑on‑month.
Statistics have been released (16 June 2026) on the destinations of 2024-25 school leavers from Scotland’s publicly funded schools nine months after the end of the school year. Among 2024-25 school leavers, 93.5% were in a positive follow-up destination (including Higher Education, Further Education, Employment, Training, Personal Skills Development and Voluntary Work).
Every election, whether it is a by-election or a general election, we hear familiar promises from politicians of all parties. "We will revive our high streets." It is a message that resonates with many people.
The proportion of young people going into education, training or work nine months after finishing school is the joint highest since records began. Additionally, the level of young people from deprived backgrounds going into positive destinations is the highest it has ever been.
Vacancy levels are falling in Scotland, and the decline is even sharper in the Highlands. The latest labour market data shows a clear cooling in vacancies across the UK, and rural regions like the Highlands are feeling the slowdown more intensely.
Global monetary policy is no longer moving in sync. The Bank of England is holding, the ECB is tightening, and the Bank of Japan is normalising — not because they disagree, but because each economy is facing a different kind of inflation.
Oil drifting under $79 might look calm, but the fundamentals underneath are anything but. Current data shows demand is weakening, supply is unstable, and geopolitical risks remain elevated — a combination that makes a sudden move in either direction entirely plausible.