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.)
2/ The Mossmorran just transition plan was said to be “in progress” in February 2025 (as were many of the other policies). Given that neither Kate Forbes nor John Swinney seem to know anything about the plan, it looks very much like “in progress” should have read “no progress”.
November 20, 2025 at 1:38 PM
2/ The Mossmorran just transition plan was said to be “in progress” in February 2025 (as were many of the other policies). Given that neither Kate Forbes nor John Swinney seem to know anything about the plan, it looks very much like “in progress” should have read “no progress”.
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.
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.
3/ This is the final paragraph of the conclusion section. 🤯
November 13, 2025 at 7:10 PM
3/ This is the final paragraph of the conclusion section. 🤯
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.
This is what the Scottish Fiscal Commission actually said:
November 13, 2025 at 12:12 PM
This is what the Scottish Fiscal Commission actually said:
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.
3/ It won’t happen again, says Angus Robertson. Well that’s okay then. Nothing to see here. Because nothing is Angus Robertson’s responsibility.
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
3/ It won’t happen again, says Angus Robertson. Well that’s okay then. Nothing to see here. Because nothing is Angus Robertson’s responsibility.
2/ And despite telling parliament last week that he had never been invited to a board meeting, it now emerges Angus Robertson had in fact been invited on three separate occasions.
November 12, 2025 at 8:32 AM
2/ And despite telling parliament last week that he had never been invited to a board meeting, it now emerges Angus Robertson had in fact been invited on three separate occasions.
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”
5/ And last week, John Swinney told parliament the Scottish Fiscal Commission had *confirmed* that the majority of taxpayers in Scotland are set to pay less than they would elsewhere in the UK this year, and that this was the *judgement* of the independent SFC.
November 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
5/ And last week, John Swinney told parliament the Scottish Fiscal Commission had *confirmed* that the majority of taxpayers in Scotland are set to pay less than they would elsewhere in the UK this year, and that this was the *judgement* of the independent SFC.
4/ At successive budgets the Scottish Government has *never* caveated its flagship tax commitment by acknowledging that it was uncertain and depended on SFC forecasts. It was always presented as a straightforward and unambiguous fact.
November 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
4/ At successive budgets the Scottish Government has *never* caveated its flagship tax commitment by acknowledging that it was uncertain and depended on SFC forecasts. It was always presented as a straightforward and unambiguous fact.
3/ The SFC forecast for 2025-26 does still imply that the majority of Scottish taxpayers will pay less tax than they would elsewhere in the UK this financial year, but it carries a significant health warning about making definitive statements based on the forecast.
November 11, 2025 at 8:40 PM
3/ The SFC forecast for 2025-26 does still imply that the majority of Scottish taxpayers will pay less tax than they would elsewhere in the UK this financial year, but it carries a significant health warning about making definitive statements based on the forecast.