David McWilliam
@scotland-exp
Evidence-led writing on Scotland's economy, institutions and constitutional choices. Beyond slogans towards competence, stewardship and democratic power.
GERS records a real Scottish fiscal gap: £98.3bn in revenue, £123.6bn in spending and a £25.3bn deficit. It is not Holyrood’s overdraft or an independence forecast. The honest argument starts with the baseline, then shows what would change. davidmcwilliam.substack.com/p/gers-what-...
The problem is not that Scotland is small. The problem is that too much of Scotland’s political culture behaves as though smallness is destiny. open.substack.com/pub/davidmcw...
A place can be used as a delivery zone without being given real power. That is the difference between democratic devolution and managed decentralisation. New Scotland Explained midweek bridge piece: When Localism Still Comes from the Centre. open.substack.com/pub/davidmcw...
Tomorrow’s Scotland Explained article is more personal than usual. But the NHS should be personal to everyone. I’m not claiming a unique experience. The wider argument is that the NHS is where Scotland pays the bill for failures in housing, poverty, work, care, prevention and inequality.
Scotland should enjoy the World Cup. But the bigger question is what we build from it. Football creates public value: belonging, health, youth opportunity, local identity and community infrastructure. So why not create a Scottish Football Community Dividend? open.substack.com/pub/davidmcw...