Category Politics

Thoughts on politics

The World’s Largest Landowners

Do you ever wonder who the world’s largest landowners are? Maybe because I was born and live in Scotland, a country where ~70% of the land is owned by 1,125 owners, that this question interests me so much. OK, so… Continue Reading →

City of Edinburgh Councillors and twitter: 2022

City of Edinburgh Councillors and twitter: 2022 Some years ago, in the interests of openness and democracy, I compiled a list of all the City of Edinburgh Councillors with a Twitter account, as that one is now out of date… Continue Reading →

Some thoughts on COP26

The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow ends tomorrow, and I feel the need to jot down a few thoughts. To start with, let’s be clear, COP26 is going to be an abject failure because… Continue Reading →

The Climate clock is ticking

The Climate clock is ticking, we are running out of time, we have to get to net zero in less than seven years. The time for action is NOW!

Road safety and the definition of insanity

So far, this week there have been three serious crashes in Edinburgh (and it is only Friday) which is not good news. Then on seeing a tweet this morning my heart sank further. The tweet spoke of influencing “culture change… Continue Reading →

City of Edinburgh Councillors and twitter: 2020

City of Edinburgh Councillors and twitter: 2020 Some years ago, in the interests of openness and democracy, I compiled a list of all the City of Edinburgh Councillors with a Twitter account, as that one was some what out of… Continue Reading →

How to undermine a Bill with loopholes

Following on from my last blog post, I decided to take a look at the “Pavement Parking Standard Response” from the Tory MSPs and this is what I found. It is clear example of Orwellian double speak, their proposed amendments… Continue Reading →

Call for a pavement parking ban in Scotland

The Transport (Scotland) Bill is currently making it way through the Scottish Parliament, among its provisions are clauses which aim to ban pavement parking in Scotland, which is long overdue. However, there are a few loopholes which need closing. Therefore… Continue Reading →

Asking the candidates where they stand on Active Travel (updated)

With the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections being held on Thursday 5 May 2016, I have decided that it is time to ask the candidates where they stand on Active Travel. In the past I have made a few suggestions as… Continue Reading →

Let Scotland lead the rest of the UK by moving to presumed liability for vulnerable road users

The UK was the first country in the world to require drivers of motor vehicles to have insurance. When the Road Traffic Act (1930) introduced compulsory third-party insurance, it was intended to provide a means of assured compensation for the… Continue Reading →

The politics of cycle clothing

I was at the Cycling Scotland conference and tried to do a bit of live tweeting. Derek MacKay MSP stated in his speech that he prefers not to be photographed in hi-viz, to which I tweeted: #csconf15 @DerekMackayMSP is a… Continue Reading →

The Volkswagen scandal – who has really been harmed?

The Volkswagen scandal (aka #dieselgate), where the VW motor group was caught cheating pollution emissions tests in the US, has been rumbling on for some time now. The media are having a field day, drivers are starting to believe they… Continue Reading →

A Quick chance for more cycle cash in Scotland?

Spokes the Lothian Cycle Campaign group is always on the look out for opportunities to increase the funding of everyday cycling in Scotland. So when they spotted that the Scottish Government is about to receive a £213m boost as a… Continue Reading →

Pesticides and reporting on the EU

I was irked this morning by the way the BBC Radio 4 Today programme was reporting the changes in pesticide regulations. It was the way that the report was phrased that particularly annoyed me, it was as if only British… Continue Reading →

Every Kilometre Cycled Benefits Society

We know that the health benefits to society from cycling outweigh negative impacts by up to a factor of 20. We know that cities with higher levels of cycling are more attractive places to live, work and do business. I… Continue Reading →

« Older posts
-->

© 2006 - 2025 the ubiquitous blog

Up ↑

the ubiquitous blog