Sam Taylor
@staylorish.bsky.social
Runs @theseislands.bsky.social. “cannot stand the awesome reality of Scotland’s energy wealth” - Alex Salmond. Posting in a personal capacity.
Highly significant budget measure on the renewables obligation. Notable that renewables obligation payments flow disproportionately to Scottish generators. Energy bills will be reduced by shifting some of the high costs of Scottish renewables from bill payers to taxpayers.
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
Highly significant budget measure on the renewables obligation. Notable that renewables obligation payments flow disproportionately to Scottish generators. Energy bills will be reduced by shifting some of the high costs of Scottish renewables from bill payers to taxpayers.
Shell spent 18 months trying to sell the CampionWind lease, and found no takers. CES has told Gillian Martin it is one of the most attractive leases. If that lease has a market value close to zero, will people finally stop complaining that ScotWind was sold off “on the cheap”?
November 21, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Shell spent 18 months trying to sell the CampionWind lease, and found no takers. CES has told Gillian Martin it is one of the most attractive leases. If that lease has a market value close to zero, will people finally stop complaining that ScotWind was sold off “on the cheap”?
Gillian Martin told parliament yesterday that she wants Scot Gov to start taking equity stakes in wind farms. This might sound nice, but wind farms are far from one way bets for equity investors. Do we really want Gillian Martin punting taxpayers’ money in this way?
November 21, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Gillian Martin told parliament yesterday that she wants Scot Gov to start taking equity stakes in wind farms. This might sound nice, but wind farms are far from one way bets for equity investors. Do we really want Gillian Martin punting taxpayers’ money in this way?
Discombobulating data for those who believe our fiscal problems can be solved by squeezing high earners further. (Scotland, of course, is an even bigger outlier.)
November 21, 2025 at 7:54 AM
Discombobulating data for those who believe our fiscal problems can be solved by squeezing high earners further. (Scotland, of course, is an even bigger outlier.)
1/ Màiri McAllan’s just transition plan for Mossmorran was one of 19 policies announced in April 2024. Scot Gov had just axed its interim emissions reduction target and the 19 policies were meant to show it was still serious about net zero. Earlier this year I submitted this FOI:
November 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
1/ Màiri McAllan’s just transition plan for Mossmorran was one of 19 policies announced in April 2024. Scot Gov had just axed its interim emissions reduction target and the 19 policies were meant to show it was still serious about net zero. Earlier this year I submitted this FOI:
Invited today to acknowledge the role of fiscal transfers in funding higher per-capita public spending in Scotland, John Swinney could not tell the truth. He deflected by talking about his income tax decisions, which have made a tiny contribution relative to the fiscal transfer.
November 19, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Invited today to acknowledge the role of fiscal transfers in funding higher per-capita public spending in Scotland, John Swinney could not tell the truth. He deflected by talking about his income tax decisions, which have made a tiny contribution relative to the fiscal transfer.
Reposted by Sam Taylor
Asked what happened with respect to the notorious taxpayers claim *specifically in 2023-24*, Shona Robison pulls another fast one by talking about forecasts for entirely different years, and by moving the goalposts with pension contributions (the original claim was pre-pensions).
November 19, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Asked what happened with respect to the notorious taxpayers claim *specifically in 2023-24*, Shona Robison pulls another fast one by talking about forecasts for entirely different years, and by moving the goalposts with pension contributions (the original claim was pre-pensions).
Asked what happened with respect to the notorious taxpayers claim *specifically in 2023-24*, Shona Robison pulls another fast one by talking about forecasts for entirely different years, and by moving the goalposts with pension contributions (the original claim was pre-pensions).
November 19, 2025 at 2:55 PM
Asked what happened with respect to the notorious taxpayers claim *specifically in 2023-24*, Shona Robison pulls another fast one by talking about forecasts for entirely different years, and by moving the goalposts with pension contributions (the original claim was pre-pensions).
Màiri McAllan (then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero & Energy) announced in April 2024 that a just transition plan for Mossmorran would be developed.
Kate Forbes yesterday told parliament she would need to “double check” what has happened to that plan.
Kate Forbes yesterday told parliament she would need to “double check” what has happened to that plan.
November 19, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Màiri McAllan (then Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero & Energy) announced in April 2024 that a just transition plan for Mossmorran would be developed.
Kate Forbes yesterday told parliament she would need to “double check” what has happened to that plan.
Kate Forbes yesterday told parliament she would need to “double check” what has happened to that plan.
1/ 👀 Scot Gov’s “Summary Outline Business Case” for the bond programme identifies one of the key benefits of issuing bonds as “promoting greater fiscal discipline”.
It even characterises this as an offsetting benefit against the possibility of paying higher interest rates.
It even characterises this as an offsetting benefit against the possibility of paying higher interest rates.
November 13, 2025 at 6:55 PM
1/ 👀 Scot Gov’s “Summary Outline Business Case” for the bond programme identifies one of the key benefits of issuing bonds as “promoting greater fiscal discipline”.
It even characterises this as an offsetting benefit against the possibility of paying higher interest rates.
It even characterises this as an offsetting benefit against the possibility of paying higher interest rates.
John Swinney tells parliament he is going to carry on saying the taxpayers claim is true, even though it was clearly false for the last two financial years, and may or may not turn out to be true this year. This is not a First Minister who wants voters to understand the truth.
November 13, 2025 at 12:35 PM
John Swinney tells parliament he is going to carry on saying the taxpayers claim is true, even though it was clearly false for the last two financial years, and may or may not turn out to be true this year. This is not a First Minister who wants voters to understand the truth.
You are not going to believe this… well, actually, you probably are. Shona Robison has just (once again) misled parliament on what the Scottish Fiscal Commission said about the notorious taxpayers claim.
November 13, 2025 at 12:12 PM
You are not going to believe this… well, actually, you probably are. Shona Robison has just (once again) misled parliament on what the Scottish Fiscal Commission said about the notorious taxpayers claim.
On bond issuance plan: John Swinney suggests Scottish independence would be shrugged off by the bond market, with an impact similar to that caused by the Wes Streeting briefing war. Absolutely ludicrous.
November 13, 2025 at 11:46 AM
On bond issuance plan: John Swinney suggests Scottish independence would be shrugged off by the bond market, with an impact similar to that caused by the Wes Streeting briefing war. Absolutely ludicrous.
Can Angus Robertson defend Scot Gov’s latest independence paper with anything other than facile “look at other small independent nations” stuff? No. Of course he cannot.
November 12, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Can Angus Robertson defend Scot Gov’s latest independence paper with anything other than facile “look at other small independent nations” stuff? No. Of course he cannot.
1/ Angus Robertson’s performance yesterday in parliament was absurd. His entire defence for never attending a HES board meeting is that there was no need to, because his civil servants were keeping him fully apprised of what was going on. Well plainly they weren’t.
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
1/ Angus Robertson’s performance yesterday in parliament was absurd. His entire defence for never attending a HES board meeting is that there was no need to, because his civil servants were keeping him fully apprised of what was going on. Well plainly they weren’t.
When Scot Gov whacked up taxes for higher earners, many will have responded by upping pension contributions to shelter some income from the higher taxes. This new “net” argument effectively says that if you sheltered from the whack, the whack never happened. Which is ridiculous.
November 12, 2025 at 7:38 AM
When Scot Gov whacked up taxes for higher earners, many will have responded by upping pension contributions to shelter some income from the higher taxes. This new “net” argument effectively says that if you sheltered from the whack, the whack never happened. Which is ridiculous.
John Swinney has misled parliament and continues to mislead parliament on his government’s flagship tax commitment. There will be no consequences because the Scottish Government’s Ministerial Code appears to exist in theory, but not in practice.
November 12, 2025 at 7:22 AM
John Swinney has misled parliament and continues to mislead parliament on his government’s flagship tax commitment. There will be no consequences because the Scottish Government’s Ministerial Code appears to exist in theory, but not in practice.
This statement from Ivan McKee is disingenuous nonsense. He might just as well have said: “we’re going to pretend 2023-24 didn’t happen, and move the goalposts for 2024-25 and 2025-26”
November 12, 2025 at 6:43 AM
This statement from Ivan McKee is disingenuous nonsense. He might just as well have said: “we’re going to pretend 2023-24 didn’t happen, and move the goalposts for 2024-25 and 2025-26”
1/🚨The last remaining leg on which Scot Gov was standing has today been cut away by the Scottish Fiscal Commission. An SFC factsheet updates its forecasts, on which basis a majority of Scottish taxpayers paid more tax than they would elsewhere in the UK in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
November 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
1/🚨The last remaining leg on which Scot Gov was standing has today been cut away by the Scottish Fiscal Commission. An SFC factsheet updates its forecasts, on which basis a majority of Scottish taxpayers paid more tax than they would elsewhere in the UK in 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Amazed this is the only non-specialist newspaper coverage for the ScotWind story this morning. It’s a significant development because:
(1.) It undermines the “sold off on the cheap” argument from SNP critics
(2.) But also exposes the SNP’s exaggerated rhetoric on renewables
(1.) It undermines the “sold off on the cheap” argument from SNP critics
(2.) But also exposes the SNP’s exaggerated rhetoric on renewables
🔴 Shell has given a 3GW floating wind lease back to Crown Estate Scotland after reportedly failing to sell it on to another renewables developer
www.scotsman.com/news/politic...
www.scotsman.com/news/politic...
Shell hands back ScotWind lease risking £3bn of investment amid 'fierce headwinds'
Shell has given a 3GW floating wind lease back to Crown Estate Scotland after reportedly failing to sell it on to another renewables developer
www.scotsman.com
November 11, 2025 at 1:49 PM
Amazed this is the only non-specialist newspaper coverage for the ScotWind story this morning. It’s a significant development because:
(1.) It undermines the “sold off on the cheap” argument from SNP critics
(2.) But also exposes the SNP’s exaggerated rhetoric on renewables
(1.) It undermines the “sold off on the cheap” argument from SNP critics
(2.) But also exposes the SNP’s exaggerated rhetoric on renewables
1/ SNP position on tax claim becoming increasingly untenable. Scot Gov has no information to demonstrate the HMRC analysis (which shows claim is false) is wrong, and won’t say if it believes the claim turned out to be true or false in 2024-25. And yet Swinney keeps repeating it.
November 10, 2025 at 6:22 PM
1/ SNP position on tax claim becoming increasingly untenable. Scot Gov has no information to demonstrate the HMRC analysis (which shows claim is false) is wrong, and won’t say if it believes the claim turned out to be true or false in 2024-25. And yet Swinney keeps repeating it.
Reposted by Sam Taylor
🚨 For years I’ve been arguing the ScotWind auction was *not* a huge financial scandal and that leases were not sold “on the cheap”. Today, Shell vindicates that analysis by handing back a ScotWind lease agreement to Crown Estate Scotland - literally giving it away for nothing.
November 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
🚨 For years I’ve been arguing the ScotWind auction was *not* a huge financial scandal and that leases were not sold “on the cheap”. Today, Shell vindicates that analysis by handing back a ScotWind lease agreement to Crown Estate Scotland - literally giving it away for nothing.
🚨 For years I’ve been arguing the ScotWind auction was *not* a huge financial scandal and that leases were not sold “on the cheap”. Today, Shell vindicates that analysis by handing back a ScotWind lease agreement to Crown Estate Scotland - literally giving it away for nothing.
November 10, 2025 at 11:06 AM
🚨 For years I’ve been arguing the ScotWind auction was *not* a huge financial scandal and that leases were not sold “on the cheap”. Today, Shell vindicates that analysis by handing back a ScotWind lease agreement to Crown Estate Scotland - literally giving it away for nothing.
Reposted by Sam Taylor
1/ An email obtained by @kathleennutt.bsky.social was presumably leaked by someone incensed by Angus Robertson’s performance before a Holyrood committee last week, in which he adamantly denied - 3 times - that he had ever been invited to attend a Historic Environment Scotland board meeting.
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
1/ An email obtained by @kathleennutt.bsky.social was presumably leaked by someone incensed by Angus Robertson’s performance before a Holyrood committee last week, in which he adamantly denied - 3 times - that he had ever been invited to attend a Historic Environment Scotland board meeting.
1/ An email obtained by @kathleennutt.bsky.social was presumably leaked by someone incensed by Angus Robertson’s performance before a Holyrood committee last week, in which he adamantly denied - 3 times - that he had ever been invited to attend a Historic Environment Scotland board meeting.
November 9, 2025 at 1:01 PM
1/ An email obtained by @kathleennutt.bsky.social was presumably leaked by someone incensed by Angus Robertson’s performance before a Holyrood committee last week, in which he adamantly denied - 3 times - that he had ever been invited to attend a Historic Environment Scotland board meeting.