The Holyrood Health and Sport Committee report, published today, featured widely in the Scottish media to suggest that the national system for the supply and demand of medicines was in a state of crisis. The committee is convened by Lewis MacDonald (Labour) and has a Unionist party majority of 5 to 4. It would be wrong to name the civil servant here. I have complained to him already about the choice of Professor Hugh Pennington, an anti-independence political activist, to give advice to the committee on the Scottish Government’s handling of the coronavirus epidemic in Scotland. I’ve had no answer. … Continue reading Why is a Scottish civil servant misrepresenting the evidence to his own committee and enabling media exaggeration?

We rarely stray into football matters and are too scared to touch Old Firm stories, but this an attack on the Yes Movement’s capital in exile, Dundee. See this from BBC Scotland today: It would be “mutually beneficial” if Dundee United appoint Steve McClaren as head coach, says former English FA managing director Adrian Bevington. The ex-England manager is among the candidates speaking to the Scottish top-flight newcomers about the vacancy. Bevington says the move would offer the 59-year-old the chance to “improve” his reputation after recent setbacks. See that last bit? McClaren was last a success as depute to … Continue reading Now BBC Scotland try to undermine fitba in Indy City with English cast-off

Once more, the GMB exploits its members in a political campaign to undermine the SNP Government, on behalf of Scottish Labour. Richard Leonard’s wife, Karen, is a National Officer and hosts the GMB in Schools twitter feed We’ve seen this before in their hypocritical mobilisation of women carers and others against the SNP-led Glasgow Council, for compensation due to discrimination which they actually facilitated on behalf of their male workers, under the previous Labour administration. More recently, we’ve seen the unedifying sight of supposed socialists protecting private and corporate care home owners from crticism, by redirecting it onto the SNP … Continue reading Just one more GMB campaign exploiting their workers to attack SNP?

This is another attempt by Lewis Macdonald to exploit his position as convener of the Health Committee to feed the media with a scare story. On further checking, I find no slamming. He has previous. In April, he got Prof Pennington in to tell the Scottish Government what it should be doing about contact tracing. Here are the opening lines in his report for BBC Scotland today: MSPs have called for urgent reforms amid “huge concerns” about Scotland’s “incoherent” medicines system. Holyrood’s health committee said there were “serious failings” in the supply of medicines in Scotland, saying the system “fails … Continue reading Scottish Labour and BBC Scotland fecklessly try to use Holyrood Committee report to undermine SNP Government with fake news, again

Two advisers to the Scottish Government explain how the Scottish strategy has succeeded and how the English one is doomed to recurring lock-downs, to a glum-faced Jon Snow. Why has this happened? The two experts attribute much of the credit to the Scottish Government’s strategy of more careful lock-down and release and its consistent, clear and transparent communications, but these have mattered too: NHS Scotland has a higher staffing ratio. Scotland’s hospitals with their in-house cleaning did not have mass Norovirus closures last winter as NHS England did. NHS Scotland has a vastly superior A&E performance. Scotland’s 50 unique coronavirus … Continue reading Channel 4 News confirms success of Scottish Covid strategy and condemns Tory failures

Ms Janet Agnes Monifeith (87), of Crieff, has reacted angrily after reading of the Scottish Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes (17), handing proposals to re-start Britain’s economy, to the UK Government. Seriously, I’ve been impressed by Forbes right from the start but this surpasses any previous slap-down for a UK Chancellor. According to the Herald: FINANCE Secretary Kate Forbes has handed proposals to re-start Britain’s economy to the UK Government – including plans for a national debt plan and extending Scotland’s financial powers. The UK-wide £80 billion proposals have been drawn up to help the economy recovery amid the emergence from the lockdown … Continue reading Scottish Conservative councillor calls Finance Secretary a ‘cheeky wee besom!’

Do we take Scottish Government achievements too much for granted? By stewartb We learn today of the Westminster government’s plans for new investment in the school estate in England: £1bn for 50 major school building projects is being promised a further £560m for repairs to crumbling school buildings. The BBC News website reports: “The 50 school building projects, which will be identified later in the year, will start from September 2021, in a 10-year programme with £1bn in funding. There will be an extra £560m for upgrades and repairs to schools for the next academic year – and £200m for … Continue reading Westminster acts at last to catch up on Scotland’s school building and maintenance achievements

I know the FM is trusted by English observers but have they started to think she can tell folk how to behave there too? Today, Tom Martin asked: Obviously with the shops reopening this morning, we’ve seen large queues of people gathering to take advantage. I just wondered how concerned you are at those scenes and why do you think those people are ignoring or not really taking heed of the message of avoiding crowded places? The FM replied: I, and forgive me that maybe I’ve not seen all of the pictures that your referring to, but I’ve not seen … Continue reading Scottish Daily Express reporter asks First Minister about English shoppers not obeying the rules

Is the above explained by this below from 10 days ago? Leicester has the highest South Asian population in the UK at 30% and they are more likely to be diabetic. 40% of South Asian hospital patients had diabetes compared with 25% of white groups and diabetes is very strongly correlated with covid mortality. In Scotland too, South Asians seem to suffer more than other BAME groups. However, in Scotland, South Asians are less likely to die than whites: 4.1% (225 000) of the Scottish population is recorded as one of the non-White ethnic minority groups yet they only make … Continue reading Why are Scotland’s South Asians less likely to die from covid-19 than ‘white’ groups?

After reading that headline, I was surprised to see that TG was the bearer of good news. I read on, tentatively: One of the First Minister’s advisers on the disease, Professor Devi Sridhar, said Scotland could become effectively Covid-free by the Autumn on the current trajectory, provided the test and trace system dealt with any ‘bumps’ on the way. Good, good, then straight after that: However it also emerged UK ministers may impose the country’s first local lockdown in Leicester after a surge in cases in the city. Wait, ‘the country?’ Which country? England? Such decisions have been devolved so … Continue reading ‘Paranoid cybernat’ attacks Tom Gordon again!