Doffing the cap, releasing the tups and the power of oligarchs,

From His Majesty the King and the Prince of Wales bleeding the country dry and pontificating about housing whilst presiding over mouldy properties, to the election of the galloping tòn that is Trump, and finally, the annual release of the tups across Scotland, it’s been a seven-day parade of patriarchy the likes of which we haven’t seen in quite a while.

All three of my tups (rams) were ­released onto their unsuspecting ladies this week. Wily Eigeach (Spikes to his friends) is my four-horned Hebridean tup. He gets the older Hebridean ladies. Little Blue ­Dangles is a slightly stupid Blue Texel who gets the younger Hebrideans. And ­Colonel ­Nut-Clackers II, AKA Gobbles (with ­nothing but fresh air between his ears), is the Beltex who gets to woo the Blue Texel Hebridean crosses.

Confused? Me too. But not as confused as my poor father who was charged with looking after them whilst I sunned myself in Greece last week.

READ MORE: Owen Jones: Speaking to American voters, it's clear why the Democrats lost

With the shortening days, sheep come into season – a fact not lost on the lusty boys. They led my bodach on a merry dance which included eating through two ropes, lifting a gate off its hinges and ­escaping by running clean through a wooden fence, leaving nothing but splinters in their wake.

For the tups, and for my embattled dad, the big day couldn’t arrive soon enough. That day was November 5. A sheep’s gestation period is 137 days, so the first lambs should be born around the first of April. Fifth of November for an April fool, as the saying goes.

Speaking of November 5 and fools … It was also quite the week in the States.

As I stood watching the fireworks at our community bonfire – an example of ­brilliant community teamwork, headed up by some very competent women – ­another extremely competent woman was about to lose to a man who insults and bullies. A man who managed to go ­bankrupt four times despite inheriting £400 million but still considers himself a business genius. A man who spouts the kind of nonsense that most people would be given an ­urgent referral for, and whose track record when it comes to his ­behaviour around women is nothing short of reprehensible. Even tups wait for the sheep to stand and consent.

(Image: Jonathan James)

I, as with many on the left, am ­observing developments in a state of ­resigned ­despair, as what we are told is the ­greatest nation on earth once again elects a man who, if nothing else, has ­reminded the world – and especially ­women – just how easy it is for rich white men to fail ­upwards. One of my favourite Scottish ­insults is to call someone a rocket. If only Trump’s space friend would fire them both upwards permanently …

Far from being the worst of it, but nonetheless galling, is that the president-elect of the United States is a son of the Scottish islands. Donald Trump’s ­mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, was a Gaelic ­speaker from the Isle of Lewis. She was born in the village of Tong near ­Stornoway in 1912 and emigrated to the United States in 1930, where she ­eventually met and married Fred Trump. A first-generation immigrant, whose mother found the American dream and rode it to the top, is now hell-bent on milking the most money he can from one of the highest offices possible.

Which reminds me of the other story that grabbed headlines – that of the ­royals and their assets. Media reports shed fresh light on both the substantial income streams and ­property conditions of the two most ­senior royal men.

According to an ­investigation by The Sunday Times and Channel 4’s ­Dispatches, King Charles and Prince William’s ­private estates – the Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall – are pulling in considerable ­income by leasing ­properties to public services. These include NHS ­facilities, state schools, and even the armed forces. For example, the Duchy of Cornwall struck a £37 million deal to lease Dartmoor Prison to the Ministry of Justice and charged over £1 million to the navy for using certain jetties and docking warships.

(Image: Andrew Milligan/PA)

Meanwhile, a joint investigation by The Mirror and Dispatches ­uncovered that about one in seven of Prince William’s rental properties fall below the legal minimum standard for energy efficiency, with Energy Performance Certificate ratings of F or G. Some tenants report living in cold, poorly insulated homes with issues like dampness and black mould. In response to the findings, Prince William has ­committed to improving these ­properties to meet modern standards.

The revelations have sparked social ­media horror and debate over whether the royals should uphold as high a standard as landlords, especially when it comes to both the upkeep of their properties and the ethics of leasing to public institutions.

For those of us who pay rent to a Duke and doff our caps as Range Rovers and Barboured occupants approach, there was very little to be surprised about.

Here in Tiree, we own the title to our croft land, but the Duke retains all mineral, shooting and hunting rights. His shooting parties can walk all over it whenever they want. The estate must be consulted on all foreshore matters. The Crown Estate for all matters below the low tideline. Rent is paid to the estate to host essential community services such as internet masts. The royals are just doing it on steroids. As they always have.

This “landlord economy” approach to modern life – whether it is the monarch, a large landowner or the tech oligarchs that we hear from on a daily basis – is ­essentially a remnant of feudalism.

And it turns out that feudalism is ­something that most of the country is blissfully ignorant about, despite having a monarchy which is long overdue for a good revolution.

Feudalism was a medieval system in which the king or monarch granted large parcels of land to nobles or lords (often titled as dukes or earls) in exchange for loyalty, military support, and a share of resources. In return, these nobles would grant portions of their land to knights or vassals, who would pledge loyalty and ­offer protection. At the bottom, peasants or serfs worked the land, producing goods for the entire hierarchy, often in return for basic protection and housing rather than ownership.

Feudalism itself ended centuries ago, but the lingering effects of feudalism in the UK – particularly in terms of land ­ownership and rent collection by the ­royal family and aristocratic estates – bear an interesting resemblance to the ­economic strategies employed by oligarchs in other parts of the world, including figures like Donald Trump. Both systems concentrate wealth and influence in the hands of a few, and both monetise key community or public resources, treating them as profitable assets rather than shared resources for public good.

READ MORE: SNP must get their 'act together' says John Swinney ahead of council by-elections

In 2017, Oxfam reported that eight men owned the same amount of wealth as half of the world’s population. If that’s not a system that needs to be blown sky-high, I don’t know what is.

This “landlord economy” approach to land, property and wealth hoarding poses a significant challenge for communities, ­especially the smaller, rural and poorer ones. Because with all the elegance of Gobbles approaching a ewe, the approach is blunt, bullish, and oblivious to social consequences. We saw it with the Clearances and we see it at a macro level with second home ownership – a modern clearance.

Whether it’s in the States, on the royal estates, or in communities that are in a state, we have to start shifting the ­balance of power from those who have and are ­distant to our reality, to those who have not and are well-acquainted with reality. Without rebalancing, we risk either falling for the promises of those who don’t have our best interests at heart or having our places once again turn into nothing but sheep farms for rich men of old, dressed in modern suits and titles.