Please support Talking-up Scotland
Geriatrician called ‘Elder’ is clearly ‘having a laugh’ when the FACTS tell us NHS Scotland is barely privatised at all compared to NHS England
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON The above threat is not the result of the gathered opinion of thousands of Scottish ‘doctors’ but just the views of Geriatrician, Professor Andrew Elder of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, above. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. NHS England is more than 100 times, 10 times per head, more privatised than NHS Scotland in England were delivered by private hospitals and clinics in the last 12 months – that’s almost 500 000 higher … Continue reading Geriatrician called ‘Elder’ is clearly ‘having a laugh’ when the FACTS tell us NHS Scotland is barely privatised at all compared to NHS England
17 years late, England pilots kinship care financial support but still does not match Scotland’s more equitable system
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Many thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this and for finding the references. In the Guardian today: Kinship carers in England to be given financial support in government pilot – Charities hail ‘groundbreaking’ scheme for grandparents and others who take full parental responsibility for a child. ‘Ground-breaking’ eh? Nothing like it before or anywhere else in the UK then? BBC Scotland must be drafting something for Anas Sarwar to say about it? But wait, since 2009, seventeen … Continue reading 17 years late, England pilots kinship care financial support but still does not match Scotland’s more equitable system
Wrong! There are 6 505 fewer pupils yet 63 more teachers to keep Scotland’s pupil/teacher ratio the best by far in the UK
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Rehashing a story from one of their December 2025 front pages, the Herald’s Garrett Stell (‘Originally from North Carolina’), has the above headline based on an apparent fall in teacher numbers from 2022 to 2025. I’m not going to check. It’s not important. Much more important, he doesn’t seem to know about the ratio between teacher and pupil numbers. I’ll resist the temptation to do my Appalachian accent. You’ll see above, in the official figures, that pupil numbers … Continue reading Wrong! There are 6 505 fewer pupils yet 63 more teachers to keep Scotland’s pupil/teacher ratio the best by far in the UK
These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON For more than two years now Scotland’s media have been blaming the Scottish Government for problems at Ardrossan harbour and it’s Arran ferry service. Little media coverage has targeted the owners, a Manchester billionaire. How did we get here? I asked AI, carefully. Today, known as Sir Malcolm Leslie Rifkind and The Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, these men above, were successively secretaries of State for Scotland, at the time, driven by PM John Major’s ongoing Thatcherite sell-offs, who managed the … Continue reading These Tory ministers sold profitable harbours like Ardrossan to enable shareholders to milk rather than to maintain them, Labour then did nothing and now the SNP Government is blamed for not buying it back and repairing it quick enough?
Will the new Walk-in GP centres work? One minute video
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Full evidence – https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/02/26/is-there-already-research-evidence-on-the-effectiveness-of-walk-in-gp-centres-has-the-snp-policy-even-been-designed-to-take-advantage-of-those-findings/ Continue reading Will the new Walk-in GP centres work? One minute video
33% fall in emergency hospital admissions due to assault with a knife since 2015-16
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: February 2026, published yesterday: Fall in emergency hospital admissions due to assault since 2015-16. In 2024-25, there were 1,554 emergency hospital admissions due to assault, including 376 due to assault with a sharp object. These were, respectively, 36% and 33% lower than in 2015-16. https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-february-2026/pages/statistics-on-community-safety/ What might explain this? First, Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level 6 years ago – From Knife crime … Continue reading 33% fall in emergency hospital admissions due to assault with a knife since 2015-16
Increased number of Scots feel safe walking alone after dark!
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: February 2026, published yesterday: Most adults feel safe walking alone after dark. The SCJS found that three-quarters (75%) of adults said that they felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark in 2023-24. This is an increase from 66% in 2008-09 but has been stable since 2016-17. https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-february-2026/pages/statistics-on-community-safety/ What might explain this improvement, contrasting with the front page reports of murder and stabbing and raping so … Continue reading Increased number of Scots feel safe walking alone after dark!
SNP Scotland still has more police officers than Labour had before the surge in crime from the 1990s to 2007 and then still maintained a far higher level until after rates fell
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Looking at the above two graphs, you’ll see that the SNP Government arrived in the middle of a spike in crime in 2007 and maintained a high level of police staffing to drive it down, only reducing the staffing from 2020, by which time crime had plummeted by almost half and stabilised there. Nevertheless, as you’ll see below police officer numbers are as high today as they were before the increase. From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly … Continue reading SNP Scotland still has more police officers than Labour had before the surge in crime from the 1990s to 2007 and then still maintained a far higher level until after rates fell
Six Scottish Government initiatives they don’t want you liking before an election
Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By stewartb I wonder how many of the following recent Scottish Government commitments/investments in General Practice have been conveyed to voters in Scotland by the mainstream media that supposedly serve our polity? Scottish Government press statement 29 November 2024: ‘Additional investment in general practice – Funding to help practices retain and recruit key staff’. ‘An additional £13.6 million will be invested in General Practice this financial year to support GPs to retain and recruit key staff, Health Secretary Neil … Continue reading Six Scottish Government initiatives they don’t want you liking before an election
Talking-up Scotland 