Dr Craig Dalȝell
LightNews LightNews
banner
thecommongreen.scot
Dr Craig Dalȝell
@thecommongreen.scot
770 followers 280 following 560 posts
Head of Policy & Research at Common Weal
Wrote a book: tinyurl.com/AllofOurFutures
Main social media at Mastodon: @[email protected]
Donate to CW: https://commonweal.scot/donate/
My personal blog: https://thecommongreen.scot/
Posts Replies Media Videos
thecommongreen.scot
Leaked OBR report confirms electricity consumers will start paying for Sizewell C nuclear plant using a risky PFI-like financial scheme initiated by Boris Johnson and that we'll pay for years before the plant even produces any electricity - if it ever does.

www.commonweal.scot/policies/nuc...
Sizewell C RAB levy In July 2025, the Government made a final investment decision on the Sizewell C nuclear power plant, which will be the first nuclear power station in the UK financed using a regulated asset base (RAB). The RAB model levies an additional charge on consumer energy bills which contributes to the financing costs of Sizewell C and is projected to generate receipts of £0.7 billion in 2026-27, the first full year of the levy, rising to £1.4 billion in 2030-31. Receipts are offset by £0.2 billion of spending on debt owed to private sector investors in 2026-27, rising to £0.4 billion in 2030-31. The main uncertainty associated with this costing is the projected construction costs of Sizewell C during the forecast period. Previous nuclear power plant construction projects, such as Hinkley Point C, have taken longer to build and had higher costs than initially anticipated.
November 26, 2025 at 12:45 PM
thecommongreen.scot
Interesting devolution problem coming.

Reeves' mansion tax "will flow to central government rather than remain with local authorities".

We'll have to see if that applies to Scotland given the ongoing consultation on Scottish Council Tax reform...
The Government has announced the introduction of a new high value council tax surcharge. From April 2028, owners of properties identified as being valued at over £2 million by the Valuation Office (in 2026 prices) will be liable for a recurring annual charge which will be additional to existing council tax liability. There will be four price bands with the surcharge rising from £2,500 for a property valued in the lowest £2 million to £2.5 million band, to £7,500 for a property valued in the highest band of £5 million or more, all uprated by CPI inflation each year. This measure is estimated to raise £0.4 billion in 2029-30. The revenues will flow to central government rather than remain with local government, as is the case for standard council tax.
November 26, 2025 at 12:38 PM
thecommongreen.scot
Today in "Headlines that wouldn't exist if we had a Universal Basic Income".

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
A BBC story with the headline: "I chose my Caesarean date to be eligible for earlier childcare funding" and a photo of the affected family.
September 1, 2025 at 10:18 AM
thecommongreen.scot
How about a little game until then.
A "Merry GERSmas" bingo card containing the following stock phrases on a 3x3 grid: Deficit Income Union Dividend Indyref ★ Estimates Too Wee Too Poor Debt
August 13, 2025 at 9:35 AM
thecommongreen.scot
I couldn't tell you the precise strain, but they are delicious.
Big change from last year when the birds DID take all of this tree's before I could get to them.
(Photo from a week ago)
A vertical photo of a bushy and fruit-laden cherry tree and Craig holding a bowl half full of cherries picked from it.
July 25, 2025 at 8:32 AM
thecommongreen.scot
My front page splash in today's @scotnational.bsky.social.

While the UK Government dithers and debates on taxing wealth more fairly, Scotland could use its devolved powers to tax two large stores of wealth in Scotland.

A reformed Council Tax to tax properties.
And a local Land Tax to tax estates.
The front page of The National on Monday 14th July 2025. The front page splash carries the headline: "Do we need to rely on the UK making move or... Could Scotland lead on the rich paying more tax?"
July 14, 2025 at 7:43 AM
thecommongreen.scot
I remain bitterly disappointed that the SNP's 2021 manifesto promise to hold a Citizens' Assembly on Council Tax reform by the end of this Parliamentary session was broken.

ia800406.us.archive.org/33/items/sco...
Excerpt from the 2021 SNP manifesto Council Tax We are committed to reforming the Council Tax to make it fairer. Cross party talks on a replacement for the council tax were underway, but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. We will ask a Citizens’ Assembly to consider the way forward alongside the question of wider powers for local government.
June 26, 2025 at 12:37 PM
thecommongreen.scot
Surprised by the Hamilton results?

I am.

Everyone forgets that the sofa is also a candidate.

The SNP lost almost 8,800 votes last night compared to 2021. Labour, the victors, lost only 3,600.

#ScottishPolitics
A chart of the Hamilton election results comparing 2021 election to the 2025 by-election. Apart from Reform, the lead parties all lost votes to lower turnout.
June 6, 2025 at 6:48 AM
thecommongreen.scot
Had some fun yesterday introducing another couple of friends to my wee card game Heart Under Blade. This "designing board games" thing threatens to get a bit addictive.

You can try out a digital version on Tabletopia here: www.tabletopia.com/workshop/gam...

#boardgame #boardgames #cardgame
A tableau of cards from the game Heart Under Blade, laid out mid game.
April 28, 2025 at 9:44 AM
thecommongreen.scot
Some fun news arrived last night. My wee card game Heart Under Blade was accepted for publication by Tabletopia and can be played now by anyone for free at tabletopia.com/games/heart-...

More info at thecommongreen.scot/2025/04/11/b...

#BoardGame #BoardGames
A screenshot of the splash screen for Heart Under Blade on Tabletopia.
April 25, 2025 at 6:54 AM
thecommongreen.scot
If you're a fan of RSS, you can get @thecommonweal.bsky.social daily briefings sent directly to your feed.

Just add www.commonweal.scot/daily-briefi... to your RSS reader.

No ads. No paywall. Just All of Us First.
(Though we don't mind a donation if you can! www.commonweal.scot/donate)
A screenshot of the Common Weal Daily Briefings page.
March 19, 2025 at 11:06 AM
thecommongreen.scot
The "promise" of carbon capture utilisation and storage is essentially the fossil fuel companies saying "let us keep doing what we're doing and we'll get a wizard to fix the climate later".

Follow @thecommonweal.bsky.social for more.
March 12, 2025 at 8:55 AM
thecommongreen.scot
Funny how it's all "I hate electric cars and love free markets" until your boss needs a product endorsement.
A screenshot of a long, ramble post by Trump on Truth Social claiming that it's illegal to not buy a Tesla and blaming the current crash in Tesla's stock price on a "leftist" plot and that as a show of support for Musk, he's going to buy one of his cars.
March 11, 2025 at 7:16 AM
thecommongreen.scot
Pleased to say that Common Weal is now on Bluesky.

Give us a follow at:
@thecommonweal.bsky.social
The banner image and title of the Common Weal bluesky page @thecommonweal.bsky.social
January 14, 2025 at 4:10 PM
thecommongreen.scot
The Moon and Venus are stunning tonight.
A photo of a crescent Moon and gibbous Venus hanging together in the almost black twilight.
January 3, 2025 at 5:59 PM
thecommongreen.scot
Festive Wintermas folks. May you all achieve Stage Four.
A comic by @Findchaffy depicting The 4 stages of eating cheese. It features a small white round creature eating cheese while wearing a santa hat. 1) Eating Cheese 2) Still eating cheese 3) Ate too much cheese (creature looks ill) 4) Bit more cheese Craig's platter of various cheeses. He is just about to start Stage One.
December 25, 2024 at 10:19 AM