How Scottish Government caution on government-backed e-scooter rental schemes has saved uncounted traumatic brain injuries
Details – https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/08/07/scottish-governments-reluctance-to-support-and-caution-on-e-bike-trials-will-have-massively-reduced-traumatic-brain-injuries/ Continue reading How Scottish Government caution on government-backed e-scooter rental schemes has saved uncounted traumatic brain injuries
Just as Burnham would never come to Dunsinane – In 2024, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoided looking north for help with child poverty
You won’t be surprised to hear how in May 2024, campaigning for Labour, there was not a word, from Gordon Brown, this Labour Party elder, of Scotland’s far lower child poverty nor of how the SNP’s child payment is leading to its disappearance in Scotland, nor of Labour’s refusal to end the cruel two-child benefit cap, if elected. Maybe the Archbishop would mention poverty in Scotland and the Child Benefit? Not a word. It turns out the Bishop of Leicester too had a piece in the Guardian. He doesn’t know about Scotland either, it seems, but does mention Labour, if … Continue reading Just as Burnham would never come to Dunsinane – In 2024, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoided looking north for help with child poverty
English newspaper looked 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north
The Guardian in September 2024 had: Australian demand for overdose drug naloxone more than doubles after spike in synthetic opioid deaths but no mention of Scotland in the report. Why might it have? This: Scotland was the first country in the world [2011] to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose. https://www.gov.scot/policies/alcohol-and-drugs/naloxone-provision/#:~:text=Scotland%20was%20the%20first%20country,years%20from%202011%20to%202016. From Public Health Scotland in August 2021: Since the establishment of the National Naloxone Programme in 2011/12:• 74,629 THN kits have been issued by services based in the community.• 8,793 THN kits have been issued by prisons in Scotland.• 10,388 THN kits … Continue reading English newspaper looked 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north
‘What can Dublin teach us?’ The SNP’s competence in government endlessly revealed by Labour’s fear of looking north for answers to England’s woes
This last 12 years, I’ve regularly read UK politicians and even academics talk of looking elsewhere for ideas on how to resolve one of England’s many worries, from knife murders, to protecting women, to hospital safety, to fire safety in tower blocks and to social housing demands. I’ve even written to the academics to then be told how they love Scotland and to be politely thanked for my help, too late of course. Here we go again. In the Guardian today: Alan Milburn is guiding a metal loop along the serpentine wire of an electrical buzzer game as he explains … Continue reading ‘What can Dublin teach us?’ The SNP’s competence in government endlessly revealed by Labour’s fear of looking north for answers to England’s woes
Explaining how the ‘SNP’s £22m tax blunder’ is just a 0.05% ’rounding error’ but PM Andy Burnham’s massive £48bn tax avoidance loss is not
The Telegraph today repeating the already discredited claim above from ‘tax expert’ Dan Neidle. I’ll leave you to read the detailed, complex for me, but very persuasive, rebuttal by Laurie Macfarlane at: https://www.futureeconomy.scot/posts/587-has-scotland-s-48-tax-rate-really-reduced-public-revenue or watch his excellent explanation at: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GfSEQfKPNsA There’s a simpler, easier to get, point made here by rptscott – the £22m is just a ’rounding error.‘ In practical terms, a £22 million figure is effectively a rounding error relative to the scale of Scotland’s public finances. Here is the context that makes this clear: Even the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s original static estimate for the 1p top-rate rise … Continue reading Explaining how the ‘SNP’s £22m tax blunder’ is just a 0.05% ’rounding error’ but PM Andy Burnham’s massive £48bn tax avoidance loss is not
Scottish Government’s reluctance to support and caution on e-bike/scooter trials will have massively reduced traumatic brain injuries
In the Guardian today, the above, and: Electric scooter riders are three times more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than motorcyclists, according to an analysis of accidents in England and Wales – which found women were particularly at risk of serious harm. Brain injuries accounted for more than a third of adult injuries on e-scooters, but riders also sustained more internal organ and blood vessel damage than did motorcyclists or pedal cyclists, the study found. The government has backed trials of rental e-scooters in England since 2020, but an additional 1m or so e-scooters are privately owned in the UK. These … Continue reading Scottish Government’s reluctance to support and caution on e-bike/scooter trials will have massively reduced traumatic brain injuries
Corridor care is much less common in Scotland but the Glasgow Times exploits one case to mislead and to scare you
In March 2026, ITV News made it very clear, above, just how rare corridor care in Scotland was, in comparison with other parts of the UK – 4 times as common in Wales, nearly 4 times in Northern Ireland, and nearly 3 times as common across England. Today, the Glasgow Times tries to exploit a single case in an effort to mislead its readers as to the true situation and to damage trust in local hospitals: They are careful not to refer to the ITV report, nor these facts: From ITV News 16 March 2026, based on their own survey: A special … Continue reading Corridor care is much less common in Scotland but the Glasgow Times exploits one case to mislead and to scare you
Listeners ‘short changed’ on quality and accuracy by BBC Radio Scotland
By Liz S BBC ‘Scotland’ is at it again….but then, (big sigh), that is what we have all come to know and expect by this British propaganda outfit that works relentlessly for the sustainment of their UK State. MSM Monitor added a post via BBC Radio Scotland (sourced from an accusation by the Labour leader of the Council in Edinburgh against the Scottish government- the SNP). The BBC Radio Scotland post on ‘X’ stated this: “Edinburgh City Council leader Jane Marr says Glasgow is being prioritised over Edinburgh when it comes to fire recovery funding. Do you think the money is being shared fairly” ? “Has Edinburgh being short … Continue reading Listeners ‘short changed’ on quality and accuracy by BBC Radio Scotland
More than one year later Great British Energy has recruited 13 of the 10 000 employees planned by 2030
Thanks to rtpscott for this From Business Green today: Publicly-owned clean energy investor and developer confirms first major solar-thermal investment will create up to 140 jobs. Great British Energy has today announced £7.5m investment in Crawley-headquartered tech firm Naked Energy to fund a new UK manufacturing facility and create up to 140 jobs. https://www.businessgreen.com/news/4534032/great-british-energy-invests-75m-naked-energy The Great British Energy Act 2025 received royal assent on 15 May 2025. According to Great British Energy’s first Strategic Plan (published around December 2025), its investments and funded projects aim to directly support at least 10,000 jobs by 2030. This focuses on areas historically dependent on oil … Continue reading More than one year later Great British Energy has recruited 13 of the 10 000 employees planned by 2030
In England 0% of estuaries and coastal waters score ‘high’ for ecological condition compared to 100% in Scotland
From BBC Climate today, the above and: England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters remain in a challenging state with only around one in seven classed as being in good ecological condition, according to the first comprehensive assessment of their health in six years. Data from the Environment Agency shows that while 15% of rivers are classed as good, fewer than 7% of lakes reached that level. No single waterway passed a separate test for chemical pollution. Despite a record £22bn earmarked for water company environmental improvements by 2030, the overall picture has changed little since 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cq6d0y5e3mjo Scotland’s rivers, lakes … Continue reading In England 0% of estuaries and coastal waters score ‘high’ for ecological condition compared to 100% in Scotland
Talking-up Scotland 