Ali Payne's Avatar

Ali Payne

@alipayne

Trying to figure out life as a (relatively) young widow. Busy with kids, politics, box-sets, baking, Eurovision & Lego. Think tank Research Director @reformscotland.bsky.social

410
Followers
722
Following
20
Posts
07.02.2024
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Ali Payne @alipayne

Research director @alipayne.bsky.social has contributed to @hepi-news.bsky.social's Scottish week reflecting that without an education system firing on all cylinders, the many other problems facing Scotland cannot be fixed

10.03.2026 11:27 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

"why donโ€™t we do more? Is it because dementia & caring affect women more than men? Or because womenโ€™s unpaid labour has long been treated as an inexhaustible resource-natural, expected, & therefore invisible"
Greg Stevenson's powerful piece for #NHS2048
www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/the-...

22.01.2026 08:28 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Top uni boss suggests Scots DITCH free tuition sparking major debate over fees EYEBROWS were raised last week when Edinburgh Universityโ€™s principal suggested some students could pay towards theirย tuition. Unlike the rest of the UK, most undergraduates in Scotland get theโ€ฆ

Research director @alipayne.bsky.social writes for @thescottishsun.co.uk on why the current HE funding system is unsustainable, and why we need a graduate payment.
Up-front fees can be avoided & tuition free-at-the-point-of-use maintained if we act asap. www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/1582007...

20.01.2026 16:37 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

โ€œVaccination uptake is plummeting in rural communities and areas of high deprivation, creating a stark health inequality that threatens to divide our nationโ€™s children into the protected & the vulnerableโ€

A worrying article from Dr Ross Jaffrey #NHS2048

www.enlighten.scot/nhs2048/has-...

26.10.2025 09:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
'This care system is everyone's problem - we all get old' As Scotlandโ€™s care system teeters on the brink, a damning undercover report and personal reflections expose the moral crisis at the heart of howโ€ฆ

โ€œOne day, unless this changes, we could be sitting in our own waste crying alone in a care homeโ€

A really important read from @neilmackay.bsky.social. Social care should be dominating discussions ahead of the election.

www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2551...

02.10.2025 06:44 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

The strikes at some Scottish universities about redundancies today are symptomatic of the broader issues around the unsustainability of Scotlandโ€™s higher education funding structure. Audit Scotland warned in 2019. We canโ€™t keep ignoring the problem.

11.09.2025 16:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

We have news...

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2516953...

@heraldscotland.bsky.social @chrisdeerin.bsky.social

18.05.2025 07:48 ๐Ÿ‘ 5 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 2 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

The Prime Ministerโ€™s statement on immigration today will damage our economy, the NHS, social care and our universities. It ignores the need to boost Scotlandโ€™s working age population.

This sort of divisive language only plays into Nigel Farageโ€™s hands.

Not in Scotlandโ€™s name.

12.05.2025 09:39 ๐Ÿ‘ 487 ๐Ÿ” 193 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 37 ๐Ÿ“Œ 30

See this from the head of Scottish care which represents care providers. Scotland has an ageing population,the best care worker pay in UK(though still not enough)& can't recruit local workers,particularly in rural areas.
bsky.app/profile/drdm...

12.05.2025 12:25 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
'No scare-mongering' Entire Scots elderly care system faces collapse in three months Dr Donald Macaskill runs Scottish Care. It represents the care industry in Scotland and today he tells our Writer at Large that the system is brokenโ€ฆ

This is a hugely important & must-read article in todayโ€™s @heraldscotland.bsky.social from @neilmackay.bsky.social featuring @drdmacaskill.bsky.social

So much change & reform is badly needed, as article stresses. We also cant fix NHS without fixing care

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2506728...

06.04.2025 09:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 3 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

New blog from Johann Lamont who responds to Russell Findlay's 'attention-seeking' education policy, calling for more thoughtful, long-term solutions for Scotlandโ€™s education system and young people.

Read now: www.reformscotland.com/hard-to-get-...

20.03.2025 10:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

If the dreadful news from Dundee University isnโ€™t a wake-up call on the unsustainability of Scotlandโ€™s higher education funding system, then we need to ask ourselves what will be? Tuition 'free at the point of use' can be maintained, but only if we act now
www.reformscotland.com/publication/...

12.03.2025 13:19 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

If we are to maintain university tuition free at the point of use, we need to change the funding system. Read about our proposals for a graduate payment here: www.reformscotland.com/publication/...

11.03.2025 17:18 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Post image

The substantial job losses at Dundee are the latest reminder that the university funding system is unsustainable. Tuition can still be free at the point of use if we consider a graduate payment. Read our chapter in @hepi-news.bsky.social report on HE funding:
www.reformscotland.com/publication/...

11.03.2025 16:53 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
WEEKEND READING: Why Scotland's student funding system is "unfair, unsustainable, unaffordable" and needs to be replaced with a graduate contribution model - HEPI Thanks to the CDBU and to HEPI for the invitation to attend and take part in todayโ€™s discussion.ย  My speech today has been titled โ€˜A graduate contribution modelโ€™. Of course, for UK graduates not from ...

With substantial job losses announced at Dundee University, it is clear that our tuition funding system is unfair & unsustainable, as research director @alipayne.bsky.social set out in a recent speech for @hepi-news.bsky.social
www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/01/18/w...

11.03.2025 14:05 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0

โ€œYet the false notion that men are getting a raw deal as a direct consequence of women being treated more equally has a worrying degree of tractionโ€

Really important & powerful article from @becmcq.bsky.social in todayโ€™s @heraldscotland.bsky.social โฌ‡๏ธ

06.03.2025 07:31 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
โ€˜My heart broke, she was 6โ€™ Inside the secret safe house for child sex crime victims Our Writer at Large gains unprecedented access to the hidden facility where the lives of broken children are put back together again

โ€˜My heart broke, she was just sixโ€™: Inside Scotlandโ€™s safe house for child sex crime victims

I was given the privilege of talking to the bravest young people Iโ€™ve ever met and the staff helping them recover

I tell their stories in @heraldscotland.bsky.social

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2497435...

02.03.2025 10:10 ๐Ÿ‘ 36 ๐Ÿ” 10 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 4 ๐Ÿ“Œ 2
Preview
a man in a suit is standing in front of an untitled spreadsheet page ALT: a man in a suit is standing in front of an untitled spreadsheet page

Todayโ€™s lessonโ€ฆalways make sure your multi-formulae multi-sheet spreadsheet is in fact saved as an excel doc and not inexplicably as a csv one ๐Ÿคฏ๐Ÿ˜ญ

27.02.2025 17:17 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Bridget Jones as a young widow: A WAY memberโ€™s review of Mad About the Boy To mark the launch of the new Bridget Jones movie that shows Bridget as a young widow, we asked Scottish WAY member Alison to preview it for usโ€ฆ

Was on @bbcradio4.bsky.social on the wonderful #BridgetJonesMadAboutTheBoy Every1 grieves differently & has their own experiences but for me so much of the film resonated. Itโ€™s also prompting discussion about young widowhood & childrenโ€™s grief which is good
www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/bridget...

19.02.2025 10:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
Bridget Jones as a young widow: A WAY memberโ€™s review of Mad About the Boy To mark the launch of the new Bridget Jones movie that shows Bridget as a young widow, we asked Scottish WAY member Alison to preview it for usโ€ฆ

Finding myself in Bridgetโ€™s shoes once again, I wrote a review of the utterly brilliant #BridgetJonesMadAboutTheBoy for @widowedandyoung.org.uk. The film is an uplifting mix of raw grief & sadness as well as joy and hope, and how these can coexist

www.widowedandyoung.org.uk/news/bridget...

14.02.2025 20:35 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
WEEKEND READING: Why Scotland's student funding system is "unfair, unsustainable, unaffordable" and needs to be replaced with a graduate contribution model - HEPI Thanks to the CDBU and to HEPI for the invitation to attend and take part in todayโ€™s discussion.ย  My speech today has been titled โ€˜A graduate contribution modelโ€™. Of course, for UK graduates not from ...

Scottish Labour wants to maintain our broke HE tuition funding system- itโ€™s unfair, unaffordable & unsustainable, as I said this recent speech for @hepi-news.bsky.social. It also leaves our colleges underfunded.

www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/01/18/w...

10.02.2025 18:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 0 ๐Ÿ” 0 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

As the ONS publishes data showing alcohol-related deaths in Scotland are at their highest for 15 years, @alastairmacg.bsky.social from @shaapalcohol.bsky.social writes for #NHS2048 on the pressing need for progressive alcohol policy to reduce levels of harm
www.reformscotland.com/nhs2048/alco...

06.02.2025 12:24 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image

Hepatologist & chair of @shaapalcohol.bsky.social , @alastairmacg.bsky.social, has written an important contribution to our #NHS2048 discussion. Read his full article here: www.reformscotland.com/nhs2048/alco...

06.02.2025 08:01 ๐Ÿ‘ 6 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
The Psychology Behind a Knowledge-Based Curriculum
The Psychology Behind a Knowledge-Based Curriculum YouTube video by ReformScotland

Catch up on our fascinating discussion about knowledge based curriculum. In this clip Professor Paterson explains to @chrisdeerin.bsky.social how we learn โฌ‡๏ธ The full event can be watched back on our website
youtu.be/vtM8SUTYJaU

03.02.2025 16:52 ๐Ÿ‘ 1 ๐Ÿ” 1 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Post image Post image

โ€˜My relative was executed for a crime they didnโ€™t commit. We can never bring back the death penaltyโ€™

This was a difficult - painful and intimate - column to write. But I felt I had to speak as calls grow for the reintroduction of capital punishment in Britain

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...

28.01.2025 08:43 ๐Ÿ‘ 71 ๐Ÿ” 19 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 12 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Post image

This is the HQ of Avis Capital. It claims to be one of the largest companies in the UK, with ยฃ58bn in assets and 31% returns promised to investors.

Except it's all a lie.

Here's how regulatory failures are letting international fraudsters create massive fake UK companies.

25.01.2025 09:34 ๐Ÿ‘ 1194 ๐Ÿ” 605 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 38 ๐Ÿ“Œ 46
Post image

Read the latest contribution to our #NHS2048 discussion forum
www.reformscotland.com/nhs2048/a-pa...

22.01.2025 09:13 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0
Preview
How a Knowledge-Based Curriculum Could Transform Scottish Education - Reform Scotland Reform Scotland, the independent, non-partisan think tank, has today published a new paper written by Professor Lindsay Paterson, professor emeritus of

"Knowledge and skills are complementary. Skills are knowledge in action"

Read our new report from Prof Paterson and Bruce Robertson on how a knowledge based curriculum could transform Scottish education

www.reformscotland.com/publication/...

20.01.2025 08:11 ๐Ÿ‘ 2 ๐Ÿ” 2 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Preview
Helen McArdle: What have I learned from 16 years in journalism? After 16 years as a journalist at The Herald, including eight covering health, Helen McArdle reflects on that stories that stood out and what she'sโ€ฆ

That's all folks! My last Saturday analysis column looks back on 16 years at @heraldscotland - what's changed, and the stories that stand outโค๏ธ

ANALYSIS What have I learned from 16 years in journalism?
www.heraldscotland.com/news/2485404...

18.01.2025 09:40 ๐Ÿ‘ 7 ๐Ÿ” 3 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 1 ๐Ÿ“Œ 1
Preview
WEEKEND READING: Why Scotland's student funding system is "unfair, unsustainable, unaffordable" and needs to be replaced with a graduate contribution model - HEPI Thanks to the CDBU and to HEPI for the invitation to attend and take part in todayโ€™s discussion.ย  My speech today has been titled โ€˜A graduate contribution modelโ€™. Of course, for UK graduates not from ...

Was delighted to be able to talk about HE funding in Scotland as part of @hepi-news.bsky.social / CDBU event this week.

www.hepi.ac.uk/2025/01/18/w...

18.01.2025 11:06 ๐Ÿ‘ 4 ๐Ÿ” 4 ๐Ÿ’ฌ 0 ๐Ÿ“Œ 0