CJ ATKINS takes a closer look at Trump’s recent spate of red-baiting speeches and asks why the authoritarian president is running scared
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Free bus travel – fanciful idea or radical ambition?
The Scottish Labour Party announced at its conference in March its plan to introduce free bus travel across Scotland. PAT RAFFERTY assesses the feasibility of the idea
RADICAL FUTURE: Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn (right) and Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard
JOHN McINALLY sees little chance of change at Westminster, and calls on the left to get serious about building a real alternative
With the centenary of the UN Slavery Convention upon us, ROGER McKENZIE argues much needs to be done to rid us of all its contemporary manifestations
SEVIM DAGDELEN says European Nato states are escalating ever closer to direct conflict with a nuclear power, and sacrificing welfare states built up over a century to finance it
CLAUDIA WEBBE says the horrific price British patients will pay for this NHS deal is now clear — and there’s time to get out of it, if MPs will only force the issue
KENNY MacASKILL says the lines between party, government and Civil Service in Scotland have been blurred and we need a thorough investigation into how
MUCH has been made of Richard Leonard’s keynote speech at the Scottish Labour Party conference in March when he announced a Labour government would introduce free bus travel across Scotland. His proposals have been dismissed as a fanciful idea by some and a radical and bold ambition by others.
In considering whether an alternative, free, municipally provided bus service is financially viable, we need to consider the basic running costs versus the present subsidy and the case for common ownership.
In 2017-2018 Scottish bus companies received £298 million in subsidy from local and central government, yet neither the Scottish government or travelling public have any real say on how, where or when buses are run.
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