One in five Britons would consider voting for a new left-wing party, rising to one in three young people and Labour voters. One in five (20%) British adults would consider voting for a new left-wing party founded by Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana.
Let's be more optimistic in he face of some pretty dreary economic news recently. There are always opportunities so lets take a general look.
Since 2024 the Scottish Government has been considering if a site off the coast at Lybster could become a place to store CO₂. There are a few realistic licensing routes being explored for a Lybster in-shore CO₂ store off the Caithness coast.
New requirement for offshore wind developers to pay for skills training in their local communities. Proposals for companies to pay for training for workers to secure thousands of well-paid, good quality jobs in offshore wind for decades to come.
The TRA has published its Statement of Essential Facts in the biodiesel investigation, recommending duties to counter dumping by Chinese exporters. The Trade Remedies Authority (TRA) has [22 August 2025] published its Statement of Essential Facts (SEF) in the anti-dumping investigation into biodiesel imports from China.
Speculation is rife in the media about whether or not the chancellor will make changes to various aspects of tax reliefs on pension and inheritance tax in the next budget in October. What's still speculative about whether the UK Chancellor is considering changes to pension lump sums and contribution relief.
A new specialist team is expected to stop over £350 million in Child Benefit fraud and error over the next five years. The move follows a successful pilot where just 15 investigators stopped around £17 million in wrongful payments in under 12 months.
The UK is buying six Land Ceptor air defence missile launchers, supporting up to 140 jobs across the country and strengthening our national security. UK buying six new Land Ceptor air defence missile systems to bolster national security and defence.
Labour members want progressive change - from scrapping the two-child cap to stopping arms sales to Israel. The leadership is ignoring them.
Proposals to help alleviate workload pressures faced by teachers have been announced by the Scottish Government. Work is underway with councils and teaching unions to create a plan to reduce class contact time for teachers, which is supported by increased funding for councils of £186.5 million to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels.
Dr Gwendolyn Kirschner, a researcher at The James Hutton Institute, has won a prestigious postdoctoral prize from the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA) for her work on the control of root angle in barley. She is studying gravity signalling that could help plants to access available resources, like water, via their roots.
Members of the Economy and Infrastructure Committee have confirmed approval of all recommendations outlined in The Highland Council's latest Net Zero, Energy, Investment & Innovation (NZEII) Portfolio report, marking a significant milestone in its commitment to delivering low-carbon energy solutions across the region. Members agreed to commence preparation of an Outline Business Case for the development of solar PV arrays on the Common Good Investment lands at Blarlaith North and South in Tain.
At today's meeting of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee, members discussed a report on the latest update on the Community Wealth Building (CWB) Strategy. The update highlighted significant progress across key areas of economic development aimed at retaining and growing wealth within local communities.
The Highland Council is encouraging community groups and organisations to apply for a share of £300,000 available through the 2025/26 allocation of the Nature Restoration Fund. Chair of the Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee, Councillor Ken Gowans said: "I am very pleased to announce the opening of a new round of the Nature Restoration Fund.
The Highland Council has reaffirmed its commitment to delivering inclusive, low-carbon transport solutions with the publication of its latest Sustainable Transport Team update. The report, presented to the Economy and Infrastructure Committee earlier today, outlines major achievements in active travel, road safety, and public transport improvements across the region.
People who manage areas of Scotland's land and freshwater can apply for a new award that shows they’re protecting nature and helping to tackle climate change. Areas of advanced biodiversity can now be recognised as a Nature30 site which means they are helping meet Scotland’s commitment to 30 by 30 - ensuring that 30% of our land and sea is protected for nature by 2030.
According to this year's Big Scottish Scam Survey, the most common scams were related to energy saving measures. 48% of those surveyed had experienced one of these scams in the last year.
British businesses are under such strain that around 50,000 are on the brink of collapse according to a recent report. Retail is an especially vulnerable sector, with predictions that over 17,300 shops will close this year, costing 200,000 jobs.
CPI inflation jumped 0.2 percentage points to reach 3.8 per cent in July. Worryingly, the rise was driven by the higher cost of essentials with faster price rises for energy (rising from 4.5 per cent in June to 8 per cent in July), petrol (up by 2p per litre in July) and food (4.5 per cent to 4.9 per cent) intensifying continuing cost of living pressures according to the Resolution Foundation today (Wednesday).
More than £6 million of additional funding is being invested in nature enhancing projects through the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). Established in 2021, the £65 million NRF has funded nearly 800 projects helping Scotland's species, woodlands, rivers and seas back on the road to recovery, including planting over 300,000 trees and restoring over 1,800 hectares of urban greenspace in towns and cities.
