Eight prisoners die in cell-fires in England, none in Scotland after SNP implement wider ban on smoking
Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: Tens of thousands of prisoners in England and Wales at risk of cell fires – Earlier this week, the Guardian reported on the inquest of Clare Dupree, a woman with severe mental illness who died in a fire in her cell at HMP Eastwood. There have been at least eight other deaths in cell fires in prisons since 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/19/prisoners-england-wales-cell-fires-risk-moj Official Scottish Government statistics on deaths in prison custody from 2012-13 to 2023-24 report a total of 399 deaths, with breakdowns by main causes: probable suicides (115, ~29%), circulatory … Continue reading Eight prisoners die in cell-fires in England, none in Scotland after SNP implement wider ban on smoking
Tory Lord ‘s less 2014-like poll puts SNP close to 40%, Tories sixth and last and SNP 25% ahead of nearest competitors
Who owns Lord Ashcroft Polls: Michael Anthony Ashcroft, Baron Ashcroft, KCMG, PC (born 4 March 1946)[1] is a British-Belizean businessman, pollster and politician. He is a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party. Ashcroft founded Michael A. Ashcroft Associates in 1972[2][3] and was the 132nd richest person in the UK, as ranked by the Sunday Times Rich List 2021, with an estimated fortune of £1.257 billion.[4] Developing from work he did for the Conservative Party in his Deputy chairman role, since 2010.[55] Lord Ashcroft has been a major independent public pollster of British political opinion. This has included polling at constituency level, which is rare in British psephology.[56][57] Lord Ashcroft Polls’ results are freely available online[58] and are … Continue reading Tory Lord ‘s less 2014-like poll puts SNP close to 40%, Tories sixth and last and SNP 25% ahead of nearest competitors
How can there be ‘home care facing catastrophic breakdown’ in a system which actually increased the number of places available last year?
Today, the Herald has: Home caring services are heading towards a “catastrophic breakdown”, Scottish ministers have been told as industry leaders warn the funding deficit is becoming uncontrollable. Concerns over the sustainability of social care in Scotland have been growing in recent years, with local government body Cosla warning £750 million is needed just to stabilise the vital industry. Is there hard evidence for this claim? From Care home statistics for Scotland Support and services funded by local authorities in Scotland 2024/2025 published yesterday: During 2024/25 there were an estimated 49,605 people who resided in a care home and were fully or partially … Continue reading How can there be ‘home care facing catastrophic breakdown’ in a system which actually increased the number of places available last year?
Reposted to counter Herald front page today – Carers in Scotland now better off than anywhere else in the UK but don’t tell anyone!
BBC Reporting Scotland Down, todays latest lie – Prisons inspector did not say ‘urgent’ actions needed in a system already 53% better staffed
facing people being held in young offender institutions. BBC Reporting Scotland in their BBC Breakfast inserts, today, repeatedly. What are the risks of? Suicide. What is the evidence? Two suicides in 2018. ‘Urgent action‘ still required after 8 years? No, the full BBC Scotland website report does not feature the word ‘urgent‘ at all. The Reporting Scotland Down editor has agreed that for effect – misrepresentation. What does the full BBC Scotland online report head off with? Inspectors find partial progress after young inmate suicides at Polmont – A follow-up inspection of a young offenders institution, ordered after the suicides … Continue reading BBC Reporting Scotland Down, todays latest lie – Prisons inspector did not say ‘urgent’ actions needed in a system already 53% better staffed
As Canada today remembers a ferry sinking with two lives lost in 2004, there has never been a CalMac sinking
From Global News today: Twenty years after the sinking of the Queen of the North, a former chief executive of BC Ferries says the tragedy remains one of the darkest moments in the company’s history. In an interview with Global News, former president and CEO David Hahn recalled the night the ferry struck Gill Island in Wright Sound and sank, saying the situation was “bewildering” and “very scary” as details slowly emerged. The vessel went down at about 1:40 a.m. on March 22, 2006, with 101 passengers and crew on board. Ninety-nine people were rescued, but two passengers, Gerald Foisy and Shirley Rosette, … Continue reading As Canada today remembers a ferry sinking with two lives lost in 2004, there has never been a CalMac sinking
To hit London, Iran would need a missile launch site in Europe, maybe Albania, and to hit Faslane, in Vienna, but BBC try to convince us with a blobby range image and no numbers
BBC UK tonight telling us that Iran, after hitting Diego Garcia, could hit European cities including London with one of its long range missiles and showing us the above ranges. It was like 2003 and Iraq’s missiles, we were told then, a threat within only 45 minutes of hitting the UK. Then we got this blobby image. Why didn’t they, as expected, draw perfect circles around Tehran? Do they think we’re daft and will be convinced by a blobby image like that? Well then how about some simple distances? Here they are: Now if the Shahab 3 hit Diego Garcia, … Continue reading To hit London, Iran would need a missile launch site in Europe, maybe Albania, and to hit Faslane, in Vienna, but BBC try to convince us with a blobby range image and no numbers
Reposted as Scotsman today lies through its….How can violent crime by children and adolescents fall so much in last 20 years yet school violence be increasing?
Local press unafraid to tell the truth about where this Country Lines drug curse originates
Thanks to Graham for alerting me to this. In the P&J two days ago: Once more, the local press unafraid to tell the truth about where this curse originates though the term ‘North West of England’ means Liverpool. How bad is this? Continue reading Local press unafraid to tell the truth about where this Country Lines drug curse originates
Scottish Labour laughably claim 450 ‘high paid’ airport jobs but at only £11k per year, less than one third of the average wage, in an airport with more than 3 000 jobs in the area already saved by the SNP in 2023
The SNP saved Prestwick airport from closure just over 12 years ago, protecting around 3 200 jobs in the airport and in the surrounding area and boosting the local economy by £61 million annually. https://www.audit-scotland.gov.uk/report/the-scottish-government%E2%80%99s-purchase-of-glasgow-prestwick-airport We’re used to having a wee laugh at Scottish Labour sums but that £5 million won’t go far. 450 jobs, never mind the 60 apprentices? 5 million divided by 450 means only £11 100 for each employee, to cover not only their wages but all of the costs for the employer. The average wage in Scotland is around £39 000, the media wage is around … Continue reading Scottish Labour laughably claim 450 ‘high paid’ airport jobs but at only £11k per year, less than one third of the average wage, in an airport with more than 3 000 jobs in the area already saved by the SNP in 2023
Talking-up Scotland 