Barney Higgins
@barneyhiggins.bsky.social
Wary, interested, blessed.
Reposted by Barney Higgins
I don't know who needs to hear this, but an economy controlled by a handful of oligarchs isn't a "free market."
August 19, 2025 at 4:44 PM
I don't know who needs to hear this, but an economy controlled by a handful of oligarchs isn't a "free market."
This is great, well worth reading through to the end.
Enough people said they wanted to see the final slide deck, so I took the time to put it on my non-teacher github so I could share it. I didn't end up getting in trouble. I ended up being encouraged by a colleague to share it with my dept chair, and he liked it
authorblues.github.io/lecture-slid...
authorblues.github.io/lecture-slid...
August 18, 2025 at 11:51 PM
This is great, well worth reading through to the end.
Gillian's consistent message of focusing on policy is incredibly important. Too often, actual policy gets lost under a sea of sound bites. That lets politicians away with forgetting manifesto commitments after election day and slipping damaging policies through under the radar.
We need to make people believe that not only those at the top of the tree can thrive.
We can do that by bringing people together behind the causes we champion.
Causes that make working peoples lives better; like a 4-day working week, better paternity pay and free public transport.
We can do that by bringing people together behind the causes we champion.
Causes that make working peoples lives better; like a 4-day working week, better paternity pay and free public transport.
Green House Think Tank invited all candidates in the Scottish Green Party’s co-leadership election to respond to our Questions for Candidates.
Unpack the thinking behind each candidacy, from their reading of current crises to their proposals for party action.
www.greenhousethinktank.org/scottish-g/
Unpack the thinking behind each candidacy, from their reading of current crises to their proposals for party action.
www.greenhousethinktank.org/scottish-g/
August 18, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Gillian's consistent message of focusing on policy is incredibly important. Too often, actual policy gets lost under a sea of sound bites. That lets politicians away with forgetting manifesto commitments after election day and slipping damaging policies through under the radar.
"I would also make a point of providing support and solidarity to those too frequently at the sharp end of unacceptable behaviour...
We have lost far too many great volunteers, particularly women, as a result of this atmosphere of negativity. That cycle needs to be broken."
This. Thank you.
We have lost far too many great volunteers, particularly women, as a result of this atmosphere of negativity. That cycle needs to be broken."
This. Thank you.
It should be fun to be a member of the @scottishgreens.org! If we're to be a radical democracy membership must be enjoyable.
My thoughts on how to make our party stronger, grow our membership and bring in the funds we need to provide more support for branches:
rossgreer.beehiiv.com/p/a-radical-...
My thoughts on how to make our party stronger, grow our membership and bring in the funds we need to provide more support for branches:
rossgreer.beehiiv.com/p/a-radical-...
A radical - and enjoyable - party democracy
The Scottish Green Party needs to be easy and fun to get involved in.
rossgreer.beehiiv.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:38 PM
"I would also make a point of providing support and solidarity to those too frequently at the sharp end of unacceptable behaviour...
We have lost far too many great volunteers, particularly women, as a result of this atmosphere of negativity. That cycle needs to be broken."
This. Thank you.
We have lost far too many great volunteers, particularly women, as a result of this atmosphere of negativity. That cycle needs to be broken."
This. Thank you.
Reposted by Barney Higgins
Did you spot JD Vance in the background HATING every minute of progress being made? ~AA
August 18, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Did you spot JD Vance in the background HATING every minute of progress being made? ~AA
Reposted by Barney Higgins
This is important for Starmer & Europe to get right. Holding Trump to a process which respects & stands with Ukraine & is not appeasement of Putin & reward for his aggression.
August 18, 2025 at 7:21 PM
This is important for Starmer & Europe to get right. Holding Trump to a process which respects & stands with Ukraine & is not appeasement of Putin & reward for his aggression.
UBI would be a catalyst for economic changes that would benefit so many people. UBI would empower communities and individuals to get involved in politics, in art, in volunteering, in starting new businesses. It would fix the broken tax system, cut inequality, reduce rents, and boost economic growth.
"Defying common misconceptions, the results from more than 160 global studies of Universal Basic Income report positive effects on entrepreneurship, education outcomes, and wellbeing, with no detriment to people’s willingness to work."
True story. Start UBI!
www.themandarin.com.au/297523-preve...
True story. Start UBI!
www.themandarin.com.au/297523-preve...
Prevention or patch-up? Universal Basic Income could be the productivity force multiplier
Universal Basic Income trials worldwide reveal stronger education outcomes, increased entrepreneurship and sustained work effort, with big implications for Australia.
www.themandarin.com.au
August 18, 2025 at 6:50 PM
UBI would be a catalyst for economic changes that would benefit so many people. UBI would empower communities and individuals to get involved in politics, in art, in volunteering, in starting new businesses. It would fix the broken tax system, cut inequality, reduce rents, and boost economic growth.
We have to ask why such misconceptions are still so common? I suspect it's because a Citizen's Income would empower poor people to make choices that would threaten the interests of those who extract most profit from the current system. So silly. Everyone could live well if everyone worked together.
"Defying common misconceptions, the results from more than 160 global studies of Universal Basic Income report positive effects on entrepreneurship, education outcomes, and wellbeing, with no detriment to people’s willingness to work."
True story. Start UBI!
www.themandarin.com.au/297523-preve...
True story. Start UBI!
www.themandarin.com.au/297523-preve...
Prevention or patch-up? Universal Basic Income could be the productivity force multiplier
Universal Basic Income trials worldwide reveal stronger education outcomes, increased entrepreneurship and sustained work effort, with big implications for Australia.
www.themandarin.com.au
August 18, 2025 at 6:46 PM
We have to ask why such misconceptions are still so common? I suspect it's because a Citizen's Income would empower poor people to make choices that would threaten the interests of those who extract most profit from the current system. So silly. Everyone could live well if everyone worked together.
I love this. Modern economics feels more and more like an exercise in extraction. Corporations extract money from the country's economy in the form of profits, incentives, and tax breaks, and are allowed to do so on the false premise that the money is trickling down, rather than flowing up and out.
If poor people have money, they spend it. That money is then the income for businesses.
David Graeber explained some economics that many politicians seem not to understand.
David Graeber explained some economics that many politicians seem not to understand.
August 18, 2025 at 6:41 PM
I love this. Modern economics feels more and more like an exercise in extraction. Corporations extract money from the country's economy in the form of profits, incentives, and tax breaks, and are allowed to do so on the false premise that the money is trickling down, rather than flowing up and out.
"By offering solutions rather than solely highlighting problems, we can transform how we do politics." ~Gillian MacKay MSP.
So many good things here from @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social. Not just good lines, but a lot of solid, clear, ambitious, actionable policy direction.
So many good things here from @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social. Not just good lines, but a lot of solid, clear, ambitious, actionable policy direction.
Responses from candidates for Leader of the Scottish Green Party
Responses from Scottish Greens Leadership candidates to the Questions Green House Think Tank is asking of potential Green Leaders
www.greenhousethinktank.org
August 18, 2025 at 6:15 PM
"By offering solutions rather than solely highlighting problems, we can transform how we do politics." ~Gillian MacKay MSP.
So many good things here from @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social. Not just good lines, but a lot of solid, clear, ambitious, actionable policy direction.
So many good things here from @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social. Not just good lines, but a lot of solid, clear, ambitious, actionable policy direction.
Reposted by Barney Higgins
Voters are poorly-served when elected representatives oversimplify complex arguments and amplify reactionary, inaccurate narratives. But complex problems require complex solutions, and communicating complexity in a way that people can get behind is more challenging than just getting people wound up.
August 18, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Voters are poorly-served when elected representatives oversimplify complex arguments and amplify reactionary, inaccurate narratives. But complex problems require complex solutions, and communicating complexity in a way that people can get behind is more challenging than just getting people wound up.
Reposted by Barney Higgins
Collaboration and communication are the most important tools we have available to us if we want to challange the terrible norms of global politics.
Stamer's government keeps calling the situation in Gaza ‘intolerable’ and yet continue to tolerate it.
Recognising the state of Palestine is a bare minimum that governments across the world can do to help bring an end to the genocide.
All 4 @greenparty.org.uk MPs have signed this letter.
Recognising the state of Palestine is a bare minimum that governments across the world can do to help bring an end to the genocide.
All 4 @greenparty.org.uk MPs have signed this letter.
A *third* of the Commons has called on the PM to recognise Palestine as a state. Never seen anything quite like this.
July 25, 2025 at 7:52 PM
Collaboration and communication are the most important tools we have available to us if we want to challange the terrible norms of global politics.
I was excited about the Your Party project at the beginning, but watching @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social campaigning for the Scottish Greens leadership recently, I see that the SGP already stands for much of what I want from YP should do.
Scotland needs Greens in 2026.
Scotland needs Greens in 2026.
As Greens we talk a lot about green jobs and a just transition, but many of the communities we represent don't know what that means.
We need to put communities at the forefront of decision making and ensure that workers have jobs for generations to come.
We need to put communities at the forefront of decision making and ensure that workers have jobs for generations to come.
August 18, 2025 at 4:40 PM
I was excited about the Your Party project at the beginning, but watching @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social campaigning for the Scottish Greens leadership recently, I see that the SGP already stands for much of what I want from YP should do.
Scotland needs Greens in 2026.
Scotland needs Greens in 2026.
Unregulated market capitalism has caused massive and increasing income inequality. Capitalism is predatory; one group's riches can only exist in the context of another's poverty. There are enough resources for all to live well. The problems come from an economic system that incentivises inequality.
🤑Executives at FTSE 100 companies are now paid 122 times more than the average worker.
💷This level of wealth isn't inevitable, and it certainly isn't deserved.
➡Scottish Greens would introduce salary caps and pay ratios to reduce scandalous levels of inequality.
💷This level of wealth isn't inevitable, and it certainly isn't deserved.
➡Scottish Greens would introduce salary caps and pay ratios to reduce scandalous levels of inequality.
August 18, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Unregulated market capitalism has caused massive and increasing income inequality. Capitalism is predatory; one group's riches can only exist in the context of another's poverty. There are enough resources for all to live well. The problems come from an economic system that incentivises inequality.
This is spot on. Fear and division thrive on scapegoat politics and simplistic narratives that have nothing to do with the complexities of real world challenges. Organising around hope is much harder, but that's what we need. What are we for? What can we do? What will we build?
Every seat won by the Scottish Greens next May is one less for Reform, but we will fail if we just run as the 'anti-Reform' party.
We need to give people something to vote for. We need to bring back hope to Scottish politics.
rossgreer.beehiiv.com/p/can-greens...
We need to give people something to vote for. We need to bring back hope to Scottish politics.
rossgreer.beehiiv.com/p/can-greens...
Can Greens be the challenge to Reform in Scotland?
People are right to be angry - the system is rigged - but it’s billionaires we should be angry at, not immigrants
rossgreer.beehiiv.com
August 18, 2025 at 12:42 AM
This is spot on. Fear and division thrive on scapegoat politics and simplistic narratives that have nothing to do with the complexities of real world challenges. Organising around hope is much harder, but that's what we need. What are we for? What can we do? What will we build?
This podcast is really something @neweconomics.bsky.social
I'd not heard of Marshall Ganz before. This guy just has so many good, clear ideas, so many great lines as well. NEF's podcast is one of my best discoveries in recent weeks.
I'd not heard of Marshall Ganz before. This guy just has so many good, clear ideas, so many great lines as well. NEF's podcast is one of my best discoveries in recent weeks.
Can organising save American democracy with Marshall Ganz
Hannah Peaker is joined by Marshall Ganz
neweconomics.org
August 15, 2025 at 6:39 PM
This podcast is really something @neweconomics.bsky.social
I'd not heard of Marshall Ganz before. This guy just has so many good, clear ideas, so many great lines as well. NEF's podcast is one of my best discoveries in recent weeks.
I'd not heard of Marshall Ganz before. This guy just has so many good, clear ideas, so many great lines as well. NEF's podcast is one of my best discoveries in recent weeks.
Reposted by Barney Higgins
Something to remember always 👇
August 15, 2025 at 9:10 AM
Something to remember always 👇
📌
This sluggish growth story is getting old. Blaming specific policy measures like NICs, or global uncertainty that is out of our hands, doesn't cut it.
Our governing economic institutions, that set the tone for how our economy functions, are failing. They need a serious re-think 1/5
bit.ly/3V1JZeO
Our governing economic institutions, that set the tone for how our economy functions, are failing. They need a serious re-think 1/5
bit.ly/3V1JZeO
UK economic growth slows to 0.3% between April and June
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made growing the economy a priority - but many economists and politicians are concerned that it is not improving fast enough.
www.bbc.co.uk
August 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
📌
"...a robust policy, grounded in plausible revenue estimates and implemented without theatrics, can survive scare stories."
"This is an argument for an investment in information. Without it, ministers are left defending abstractions against fiction."
Hollie Wright for the New Statesman on why the latest battle over "non-doms" shows the government needs more data on wealth
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Hollie Wright for the New Statesman on why the latest battle over "non-doms" shows the government needs more data on wealth
www.newstatesman.com/politics/eco...
Rachel Reeves was right about non-doms
And the right-wing press was wrong.
www.newstatesman.com
August 15, 2025 at 3:39 PM
"...a robust policy, grounded in plausible revenue estimates and implemented without theatrics, can survive scare stories."
Reposted by Barney Higgins
My latest article is out in the a Journal of Medieval History (open access). It examines depictions of viking activity in the Sagas of Icelanders and the perceived moral implications of raiding in pre-/post-conversion settings. Quickest proofs turnaround ever...
Víking Across Conversion: Depictions of Víkingar in the Sagas of Icelanders
Vikings commonly feature in the Íslendingasögur (Sagas of Icelanders). The words víking (the act of raiding) or víkingr (a raider) appear over 180 times across the forty-some texts of the corpus. H...
www.tandfonline.com
August 11, 2025 at 9:55 PM
My latest article is out in the a Journal of Medieval History (open access). It examines depictions of viking activity in the Sagas of Icelanders and the perceived moral implications of raiding in pre-/post-conversion settings. Quickest proofs turnaround ever...
@bsky.app is really pretty good, in the sense that using it has actively added value to my life in various ways. In comparison to other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the hellsite, Bluesky has genuinely allowed me to connect with people of interest to me and to learn new things.
August 14, 2025 at 4:16 PM
@bsky.app is really pretty good, in the sense that using it has actively added value to my life in various ways. In comparison to other platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and the hellsite, Bluesky has genuinely allowed me to connect with people of interest to me and to learn new things.
This is fucking obscene. Thank you
@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social for this article. It hurt to read it, but it's so important. This is what I call journalism.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social for this article. It hurt to read it, but it's so important. This is what I call journalism.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
A flirty Meta AI bot invited a retiree to meet. He never made it home.
Impaired by a stroke, a man fell for a Meta chatbot originally created with Kendall Jenner. His death spotlights Metaâs AI rules, which let bots tell falsehoods.
www.reuters.com
August 14, 2025 at 4:05 PM
This is fucking obscene. Thank you
@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social for this article. It hurt to read it, but it's so important. This is what I call journalism.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
@jeffhorwitz.bsky.social for this article. It hurt to read it, but it's so important. This is what I call journalism.
www.reuters.com/investigates...
Though I'm sure it's not the first time it's happened, this is the first time I've seen a politician in such a high-profile position state clear support for universal basic income in the press. Thank you and well done @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social, good luck to you and @ross-greer.bsky.social today.
What matters to voters is what they see, feel and hear in their communities.
I’ll champion a 4-day week, better parental pay, and universal basic income, policies that will transform lives.
We must lead with courage!
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
I’ll champion a 4-day week, better parental pay, and universal basic income, policies that will transform lives.
We must lead with courage!
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Scottish Greens must focus on working-class vote, says leadership candidate
MSP Gillian Mackay says party must broaden appeal beyond middle-class urbanites
www.theguardian.com
August 14, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Though I'm sure it's not the first time it's happened, this is the first time I've seen a politician in such a high-profile position state clear support for universal basic income in the press. Thank you and well done @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social, good luck to you and @ross-greer.bsky.social today.
Thread:🧵Every time someone follows me on Bluesky, I have a quick look at their profile and make a call. Do I think they are a real person? If so, do I feel their intentions in following me are good? If the answer to either of those questions is no, I block them. My profile shows 176 followers...
August 14, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Thread:🧵Every time someone follows me on Bluesky, I have a quick look at their profile and make a call. Do I think they are a real person? If so, do I feel their intentions in following me are good? If the answer to either of those questions is no, I block them. My profile shows 176 followers...
Looking forward to hearing the results of the Scottish Greens leadership election. @patrickharvie.bsky.social has been a force for good in Scottish politics during most of my adult life. I'm hopeful that the new co-leaders will continue to increase the SGP's reach and influence for good in Scotland.
Sometimes I'm asked in interviews why politicians spend time on 'minority issues' rather than the public's priorities. The inference is that minority groups aren't the public, we're some kind of 'other'.
That whole premise needs rejected.
That whole premise needs rejected.
August 14, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Looking forward to hearing the results of the Scottish Greens leadership election. @patrickharvie.bsky.social has been a force for good in Scottish politics during most of my adult life. I'm hopeful that the new co-leaders will continue to increase the SGP's reach and influence for good in Scotland.