We’re an independent, left of centre Scottish think and do tank. That means we analyse problems and opportunities and produce pragmatic solutions. Then we lobby and campaign to try to get politicians to implement those solutions.
We’ve had lots of victories, perhaps the most visible being that we originally created the concept and the detail for a Scottish National Investment Bank and then fought hard for five years until it became a reality.
We work on things that can make a real difference in Scotland today. For example…
- We’ve done pioneering work on land reform in Scotland.
- We’ve produced a comprehensive, costed Green New Deal underpinned by a transformative green industrial strategy
- We’ve published new strategies to transform local government for the better
- We’ve campaigned for a new housing settlement
- We’ve set out a blueprint for a National Energy Company and shown how it can work
Scotland
Common Weal supports Scottish independence, but we’re not waiting for that to show how Scotland can be a better place today. As such, our strategies have relevance beyond Scotland, in fact our energy proposals have already been taken up by the Welsh Government!
Policy Papers
We publish new policy papers and run campaigns all the time, and you can get involved. Our works involves experts bringing their ideas to the table to create vivid policy ideas, either as part of one of our working groups or working directly with our policy team. We also respond to government consultations and lobby to get our ideas heard.
We do a weekly policy podcast in which Craig, our Head of Policy, talks to an inspiring expert about what ‘better’ looks like and how we get there.
We also have a Big Ideas section that gives short versions of our most important policy work. We understand that not everyone wants all the lengthy detail on everything.
Books
We want to make sure that cost never prevents people accessing our work, so most of our policies and books are available as free digital downloads. For those that can afford and prefer it, we make our publications available in our online shop.
- Direction – A Realistic Strategy for Achieving Scottish Independence (book coming 20th November 2023)
- Sorted – A Handbook for a Better Scotland, pulls all our work together
- Our Common Home Plan – the Green New Deal
- All Our Futures – Scotland’s Aging Population and what to do about it
- The full list in our shop
In the words of our staff
If you want to know more and can’t find it on the website, just send us an email and we’ll get back to you.