Our Scottish Future

Join former UK Prime Minter Gordon Brown and the Our Scottish Future team for conversation and debate with interesting individuals, smart thinkers and people with new ideas about how we can build a more cooperative UK. Our Scottish Future fights for a better Scotland within a reformed UK, and for a more cooperative UK.

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20 episodes
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English

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S1 · E20
Feb 19, 2024 · 57 min
Bringing Positive Change to the Community with Katie Kelly
Positive change is possible in Scotland, and it's happening. New podcast with former East Ayrshire local authority leader Katie Kelly on how the council there helped to build vibrant communities. Political consensus needed to promote this brilliant work across Scotland. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E19
Jan 23, 2024 · 47 min
Scotland's Schools: The Next Pisa the Puzzle with Lindsay Paterson and Melvyn Roffe
In the wake of disappointing PISA results, Our Scottish Future Director Eddie Barnes is joined by two experts in Scottish education: Lindsay Paterson, Emeritus Professor of Education Policy at the University of Edinburgh and Melvyn Roffe, Principal of George Watson's College. Listen as they dive deep into Scotland's PISA results; why do they need to improve and how can they improve? This engaging and informative conversation covers multiple areas of Scottish education policy, including the Curriculum for Excellence. Eddie begins the podcast as a pessimist, but by the end is an optimist! Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E18
Nov 4, 2023 · 51 min
A Little Less Conversation: Closing Scotland's Implementation Gap
*LINK TO VIEW SLIDES REFERENCED* The recording of the presentation of the new report from Our Scottish Future. Titled, "A Little Less Conversation: Closing Scotland's Implementation Gap", the report argues that the successes of devolution has been stymied in recent years by a combination of “too much politics, too much government, a failure to cooperate, and a centralised political culture”. It praises several successes under the Scottish Government but concludes that Ministers too often “govern by press release”. The panel consists of report author, Jamie Gollings, OSF Chair, Prof Jim Gallagher and former civil servants Philip Rycroft and Lucy Hunter Blackburn. 📈 Link to slides: https://ourscottishfuture.org/closing-scotlands-implementation-gap-slides/ 👉 Read the full report here: https://ourscottishfuture.org/wp-cont... Follow us on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/scottish_future Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E17
Sep 14, 2023 · 1 hr 1 min
Scotland's NHS under the microscope
Our Scottish Future's Eddie Barnes is joined by Alex Neil, former Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Helen Puttick, health reporter at The Times and Professor David Kerr, head of the OSF health commission and professor of cancer medicine at Oxford University, to discuss Scotland's NHS and how it can be improved. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E16
Aug 10, 2023 · 29 min
The Robin Harper Interview
Eddie Barnes interviews Robin Harper. They cover; Harper's headline news making decision to resign from the Scottish Greens -the party he once led as the first Green MSP in the Scottish parliament- to climate change and the future of the UK. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E15
Jul 28, 2023 · 24 min
Pump Up The Volume
Heat pumps. You've heard a lot about them, but what actually are they? Are they a solution to our energy troubles? Are the Scottish government's lofty goals deliverable? Our Scottish Future's Eddie Barnes speaks with Dr Peter Wood, an Associate Lecturer at The Open University in Scotland, a researcher in sustainability, and a trade unionist to find out more. You can read Pete's blog on the topic here: https://ourscottishfuture.org/pump-up-the-volume/ Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E14
May 12, 2023 · 52 min
Scotland's Drug Deaths with Annemarie Ward and Stevie Wishart
The Our Scottish Future podcast is looking at key policy areas in Scotland to ask why things aren't working, and what we can do to fix them. This week we look at the scandal of Scottish drug related deaths. More than 1330 suffered a drug related death in the last year, 3.5 times higher than in the rest of the UK. Why? What's going wrong? How should our governments sort it? Two leading Scottish activists - Annemarie Ward of the charity FAVOR UK and Stevie Wishart - set out their views. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E13
Apr 21, 2023 · 50 min
How excellent is the Curriculum for Excellence? With Aveek Bhattacharya, Emma Seith & Dr Neil McLennan
Welcome to our revamped podcast! Rather than provide a running commentary on recent political events, we want to use this podcast to discuss policy and specifically policy implementation. How can we do things better? This week, Our Scottish Future Campaign Director Eddie Barnes discusses education and the Curriculum for Excellence. He is joined by a stellar cast including: Aveek Bhattacharya, research director of the Social Market Foundation. Emma Seith, senior journalist at the Times Education Supplement. Dr Neil McLennan, former teacher and education expert. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E13
Mar 30, 2023 · 43 min
Fast Start or False Start for Humza Yousaf? With Willie Rennie MSP, Jenny Marra & Philip Rycroft
Our Scottish Future Chair Prof Jim Gallagher fills in for Eddie Barnes this week and is joined by former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP, former Scottish Labour MSP (and proud Dundonian) Jenna Marra and former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft. They discuss the challenges facing new First Minister Humza Yousaf, rebellious party backbenchers, SNP party unity, if there is a plan for Scottish independence and much more! Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E12
Mar 24, 2023 · 55 min
What Awaits The Next First Minister? With Prof Jim Gallagher, Lucy Hunter Blackburn and Lucy Dunn
This week’s Our Scottish Future podcast looks ahead to the challenge facing the new SNP leader and First Minister who will be elected next week. What should their priorities be? What do they do about independence? And how should they cooperate with the UK Government? OSF’s Eddie Barnes is joined by three leading experts to discuss this and more: OSF chair Professor Jim Gallagher, former civil servant and education expert Lucy Hunter Blackburn, and the Spectator’s social media editor Lucy Dunn. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E11
Mar 17, 2023 · 1 hr 2 min
Scotland's democratic health with Prof James Mitchell, Johann Lamont and Donald Cameron MSP
This week Eddie is joined by James Mitchell, Professor of Public Policy at Edinburgh University and one of Scotland’s foremost experts on devolution and public reform; the former leader of Scottish Labour, Johann Lamont, who was Labour’s representative on the cross-party Commission on Parliamentary Reform; and Donald Cameron MSP, the Scottish Conservative Party’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution. They discuss whether Scotland’s democratic institutions hold the government to account, how we want our democratic institutions to work, their shortcomings and how we fix them. They consider these questions in the context of the SNP leadership campaign and ask whether the big change at the top might provide a reset which allows the question of Scotland's democratic health to be debated and discussed. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E10
Mar 8, 2023 · 40 min
The Fallout Continues with Prof Jim Gallagher and Cllr Molly Nolan
Prof Jim Gallagher and Cllr Molly Nolan discuss the continuing fallout from Nicola Sturgeon's decision to quit office. They set out their opinions on the first few hustings events involving the three candidates and all the various issues that they have been discussing from the apparently doomed bottle deposit scheme, to the place of religion in the modern secular society, and the concept of an independence readiness thermometer in George Square in Glasgow. 2f2c772f2a42f21d09ac1f616b9f6b6577fd06bf Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E9
Feb 28, 2023 · 45 min
Scotland's Shaken Kaleidoscope with Kirsty McNeill and Philip Rycroft
Kirsty McNeill and Philip Rycroft join Eddie to chat about the extraordinary couple of weeks we've seen in Scottish politics since Nicola Sturgeon announced that she would be stepping down as FM. They examine where the turmoil in the SNP leaves Scottish politics and our wider constitutional debate - and how this moment represents an opportunity to take Scotland forward. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E8
Oct 7, 2022 · 55 min
Making Change Happen with Eitan Hersh [LIVE EPISODE]
On Wednesday 6th October we were joined by renowned US political scientist Eitan Hersch, author of "Politics is for Power", for our online event event "Making Change Happen". We talked to Eitan about how to turn yourself into an effective activist, what it means to be part of a community and the role of young people in making change. Our new chair, Kirsty McNeill, was also on hand to talk about how we can all get involved in listening to people across Scotland about the change they want to see. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E7
May 18, 2022 · 19 min
Playing to win with Ruairidh Macintosh
In this week's podcast, Eddie Barnes speaks to Ruairidh Macintosh, the author of our report on Scotland's video games industry. Globally, the video games industry is now worth $200 billion - a figure that is set to double by 2028. Scotland accounts for a disproportionate share of the UK-wide industry, with Scottish based firms punching well above their weight. Yet Scotland’s gaming sector now risks being left behind as American, Chinese and Japanese giants dominate the market. He talks about our proposals to help turn Scotland’s gaming sector into a global superpower. Click the link to read Ruairidh's report Playing to Win. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E6
Mar 31, 2022 · 36 min
Buses with Dr Pete Wood and Mark Ross
In this week's podcast, Eddie Barnes speaks to two experts in sustainable transport, Dr Pete Wood and Mark Ross, the co-authors of our report on reforming Scotland's bus network, which was released earlier this week. They chat about their proposals, which include maximum £2 bus fares, as well as Scotland's ferries row and the nationalisation of Scotland's rail network. Click the link to read Pete and Mark's report Cheaper Journeys, Faster. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E5
Mar 17, 2022 · 51 min
Gordon Brown on the Cost of Living Crisis [LIVE EPISODE]
On Wednesday 16th March, Gordon Brown sat down with an online audience to share his plan to tackle the looming cost of living crisis and reveals why any solution must be rooted in better cooperation between governments. Next month, when gas bills are set to rocket, households across the UK will be plunged into the deepest cost-of living crisis since the 1970s. We urgently need a plan to deal with this crisis. For 13 years in government between 1997 and 2010, Gordon Brown steered the UK economy back to growth, slashing child and pensioner poverty. At this event, he shared his plan to tackle this economic crisis and took questions from our audience. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E4
Mar 8, 2022 · 16 min
Joining up with Lisa Nandy MP, Sarah Boyack MSP and Prof Jim Gallagher
On Friday 4th March, Our Scottish Future and the Scottish Fabians held a joint event near the Scottish Labour conference, joined by Lisa Nandy MP (Shadow Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities), Sarah Boyack MSP (Scottish Labour Spokesperson for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture), and Professor Jim Gallagher, the Chair of Our Scottish Future. We took as our theme the idea of “joining up” – because if we’re going to level up then we need governments to join up. And that’s not just the UK government and the devolved governments, but also local government. How do we get all three working better on an issue that we all agree is vitally important? And how are Edinburgh and London delivering? Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E3
Feb 2, 2022 · 48 min
A United Kingdom with Catherine MacLeod and Andrew Dunlop
Catherine MacLeod was a special adviser to Alistair Darling when he was Chancellor of the Exchequer and is a former political editor of The Herald. Andrew Dunlop was chief adviser to David Cameron and played a key role in the Government's response to the Independence referendum. In this week's podcast, they chat to Eddie Barnes about how we can tackle the social, economic and political disenfranchisement being felt across the UK - and compare Downing Street drinks cabinets. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future
S1 · E2
Jan 28, 2022 · 32 min
Health inequalities with Prof David Kerr
Prof David Kerr is one of the most respected NHS figures in the UK. He is a leading voice in NHS reform and co-author of our report on the UK’s widening health inequalities. In this episode David talks to Our Scottish Future Campaign Director, Eddie Barnes, about growing up in Maryhill, his experiences of NHS reform under the last Labour government, why he considers widening health inequalities to be a breach of human rights, and how cooperation across the regions and nations of the UK can end the national disgrace of health inequality. Thanks for listening! Get the latest by following @scottish_future

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