Library

This report forms Common Weal’s response to the first stage of the Scottish government’s review of building energy standards and is part of our ongoing work on energy and housing policy.We argue that the Scottish government should introduce passive standards for new buildings in Scotland while existing buildings should be retrofitted to the maximum technically […]

This response to the Scottish Government’s consultation on the future of energy in Scotland calls for a publicly owned energy company to generate and deliver energy to the people of Scotland.Our response states that a publicly owned energy company must be founded on four core principles.1) It must have the ability and mandate to create […]

Peter Ryan examines the expansion of data collection and its use as a tool for the manipulation of elections.Several recommendations are made which will help safeguard our democracy against unfair or malicious influence from companies or foreign states.

Scotland is not well served by the UK’s National Grid and the current system restricts the development of Scotland’s renewable energy potential and leads to high charges for Scottish consumers.The paper has been written by Iain Wright who has more than 35 years of experience working in the energy sector in both Scotland and Ireland […]

In the second paper of a series examining the Sustainable Growth Commission’s report, Common Weal looks at Fiscal Policy and provides an alternative prospectus based on ensuring wellbeing and equality for the people of Scotland.The quest for GDP and GDP Growth is not sustainable in a finite world and this should also be recognised by […]

Common Weal launches a major new campaign supporting the proposal that an independent Scotland should have its own currency by day one of independence.Common Weal believes that an independent Scotland needs its own currency. This is the core message of a major new campaign to influence and add to the discussion around what independence should look like […]

An update to the study published in early 2017, this paper examines trends in polling on the question of Scottish independence to look at shifts in attitudes amongst groups such as the developing trends based on voter age, income, gender and nationality.

Common Weal’s intervention in the debate surrounding Andrew Wilson’s Growth Commission, offering a substantial critique to keeping the Pound Sterling post-independence.

The constitutional question over Scotland’s place in the United Kingdom was not resolved by the results of the 2014 independence referendum. In addition to the ongoing debate around independence at least two political parties – the Liberal Democrats and Scottish Labour – currently support constiutional reform for the whole of the UK along some kind […]

This paper discusses the principles on which an independent Scotland should found the writing of a formal constitution as well as the method by which such a constitution could be determined by the people of Scotland via citizens’ assemblies and a referendum.An example constitution for Scotland is included for the purposes of opening such a […]

A study group comprised of members from Common Weal Inverness and InverYes undertook a detailed reading of the report published by the Sustainable Growth Commission and have collated their thoughts, opinions and recommendations ahead of attending the National Assemblies.

The Paper outlines how PFI/PPP’s inbuilt formula leads to high risk of failure amidst huge private profits.