@DavidsonMagnus

Personal account - views all mine.

 Thurso, Caithness
Joined June 2014
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2.6KMedia
A few people unhappy with the power in the glens statement, but the site was R&D with electricity as a ‘byproduct’, but it was grid connected and DFR exported 600GWh in 15 years. Fine for an experimental reactor at 15MWe. PFR was plagued with some early issues but achieved,
Jamie Stone MP
@Jamie4NorthOct 21
We must not forget that Dounreay helped keep the lights on in the glens. We have the site, the skills and the community to host a small modular reactor. The Scottish Government must move beyond outdated policies and unlock Highland energy opportunities. johnogroat-journal.co.uk/new…

MP calls for rethink over ‘political roadblock’ preventing nuclear development

Jamie Stone has accused the Scottish Government of holding Highland communities back over its ongoing opposition to building new nuclear facilities.

johnogroat-journal.co.uk
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better capacity factors in final years, 80% in its final year which lends support to the idea it should have been let to run a bit longer. A prototype reactor that appeared to come good in later years for export at 9,250GWh. Providing power to the glens…
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So the site was both the centre of UK fast breeder reactor research and development with full lifecycle capability (fuel fab and processing) *and also provided power to the glens.* DFR could power a town larger than Thurso and PFR a city larger than Aberdeen.
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Great work. Headline figures of population growth in Highland over the last few decades are relatively superficial and focussed on the Inner Moray Firth. The periphery continues to depopulate and sustainability is stymied by an ageing population and headline regional numbers.
Peter MacDonald@BlackIslePMDOct 13
On holiday, so took a look at the young family population (via primary school roll) trend across the Highlands. This video is basically just stepping through some pretty concerning data, both on the values and the trends.
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What needs to be done better? A bit of everything. We can look to the past where the state took much more of an interest in energy (hydro and Dounreay), tied housing, the HIDB, and meaningful crofting and land reform. Devolution *should* have sorted this issue once and for all.
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Worth a final caveat that the success of Inverness and the Inner Moray Firth is great and shouldn’t be disparaged. The campus, Nigg, Haventus , airport etc are all great regional drivers. We just need to be a bit more nuanced in appraisal of regional opportunities/challenges.
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The distributional analysis of the 26/27 Scottish budget has some interesting figures in it. This type of work allows the public (not that we should expect much of the public to read this) to better scrutinise changes to government spending decisions.
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See: gov.scot/publications/scotti…

Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027: distributional analysis

Analysis of the estimated impact on household incomes resulting from tax, social security and public spending decisions made in the 2026-27 Scottish Budget and the 2026 Spending Review.

gov.scot
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Around 20% of the current north Highland economy is supported by the nuclear industry and close to one in four jobs. The Highland Council has a pro new nuclear policy. Pretending otherwise whitewashes 70 years of proud nuclear research, development, and generation in Highland.
Dick Winchester 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿@DickWinchesterOct 5
Replying to @AndrewBowie_MP
You Unionists are a pain the neck. Scotland doesn't have a proud history of nuclear power. It has a history of having nuclear power forced on it to feed rUK without Scotland getting any industrial benefit. Never again.
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This isn’t a unionist and nationalist voter issue. Polling shows that the majority of SNP voters and Green voters support nuclear generation in Scotland. It’s a party political issue that appears out of touch increasingly with voting base. The climate crisis is apolitical.
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Magnus Davidson retweeted
Joyce Campbell@armadalefarmOct 2
A year since this area of peatland was restored. Loving how it’s revegetated. We’ve had lots of rain this year, unlike so many areas of the country, which has helped with regrowth and rewetting. Thanks to our funders and supporters. @PeatlandACTION @TheFlowCountry @NatureScot
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Every Gen Z that comes through our office gets a lecture on our generous company pension, told to go on the pension training provided, and let loose with a compound interest calculator. The most basic of lesson not provided in any earlier form of education they’ve had.
BBC News (UK)
@BBCNewsOct 2
'It could cost me £10k but I need the money now': Why Gen Z are opting out of pensions bbc.in/4xXu828

Why Gen Z are opting out of workplace pensions

A growing number of people are opting out of these schemes due to cost-of-living pressures.

bbc.com
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Not the biggest fan of cities but Inverness is the best one and was looking very resplendent today.
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Fisheries, aquaculture, whisky, forestry, renewables, especially curtailed wind, and defence all have specific remote and rural geographical contexts. If Scotland’s rural industries are foundational for an independent state, rural communities need better courting by government.
Andy Maciver@akmaciverSep 25
If the Scottish Government wants to prepare for independence, it needs to double down on our best bits. My thoughts in today's @heraldscotland
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I will say that quangos have a disproportionate impact impact on remote/rural and particularly island communities and without strong remote/rural/island leadership, impending quango reform poses significant risk to communities furthest away from Edinburgh and Holyrood committees.
Stornoway Gazette@SygazetteSep 24
Ewing berates Swinney over quango “exclusion” of islanders trib.al/VlJaIas

Ewing berates Swinney over quango “exclusion” of islanders

​Former Scottish Government Minister, Fergus Ewing, has challenged the First Minister, John Swinney, to drop claims that quango appointments are independent of Ministers.

stornowaygazette.co.uk
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more replies
There is a case for a rationalised Highlands and Islands super quango which pulls together HIE, HIAI, BnG, CNPA, the CC, CMAL, SLC, etc but that’s not being made. And all of this comes separate to concerns on NHS and local authority centralisation.
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Quango reform should aim to deliver better outcomes for communities. It’s early but it looks poor. Previous campaigns, e.g., the 2016 HIE board debacle shows that ministers can be backed down. The elephant in the room is does Edinburgh want concentrated power in the north?
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Syre in Strathnaver, being one of many crofting estates under ownership of Scottish Ministers. These resettled estates have in places reversed the Highland Clearances thanks to a raft of radical land reform measures enacted by a pre-devolution UK Government. Lessons for today?
Andy Wightman
@andywightmanSep 20
"that's not crofts. Unless I am unaware of public bodies that own land that is used for crofting" [Climate Action Committee 17 Sep 2026 09:38] Scottish Ministers own 95,000 hectares of crofting land containing over 1500 crofts (almost 10% of all crofts).
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There was a generational run of land reform policy in a period akin to how long we’ve had devolution and we should really be asking why we’ve not seen more out of Holyrood. We were promised that politicians and ministers in Edinburgh would be better suited to delivering reform.
Magnus Davidson@DavidsonMagnus14 Apr 2024
Crofters Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886. Congested Districts (Scotland) Act, 1897. Small Landholders (Scotland) Act, 1911. Land Settlement (Scotland) Act, 1919. Interesting land reform legislation, delivered in thirty three years. My grandfather’s reference copies for work.
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