Many readers will know that the trio of Reporting Scotland, Good Morning Scotland and Drivetime are the key sources of news for the older, already SNP hostile, NO-supporting, but high voter turnout groups.
Reporting Scotland, this morning repeatedly allow this claim, unchallenged, by David Lonsdale of the Scottish Retail Consortium, to be belted out:
Retailers in Scotland have not benefited from a rates reduction like their counterparts in England and Wales have done.
The BBC has the following guidelines on the material presented:
Where appropriate to the output and wherever possible, we should:
- gather material using first-hand sources
- check facts and statistics, identifying important caveats and limitations
- validate the authenticity of documentary evidence and digital material
- corroborate claims and allegations made by contributors
- weigh, interpret and contextualise claims, including statistical claims.
https://www.bbc.com/editorialguidelines/guidelines/accuracy/guidelines
At the end of the report on their own website, if only at the very end, but not in the TV broadcasts, this:
A Scottish government spokesman said any decision on non-domestic rates for 2024-25 would be made as part of the budget later this year.
He added: “The Scottish government has set out a strong non-domestic rates package in 2023-24, including the most generous rates relief for small businesses anywhere in the UK, taking over 100,000 properties out of rates altogether.
“As part of this, it is estimated that around half of properties in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors in Scotland will pay no rates this year.“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-66323664
Another clear case of bias by omission to misrepresent the reality of life in Scotland under the SNP.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
British propaganda abounds on the BBC Scotland propaganda channel
Scottish government appear to believe it’s normal ?
I remember Nicola Sturgeon saying it was normal for all those nutters who used to make ludicrous comments online when she was giving her daily covid updates.
It appears that Scottish government believe that for as long as Scotland is part of the U.K. it is okay for BBC Scotland and other outlets to tell lies about Scotland .
They need a shake up they need some people with fire in their belly who are prepared to argue back and pounce on every lie that is told forcing correction so that Scottish people can once again rely on their national broadcaster .
We don’t want favouritism , we don’t want lies and innuendo we want truth and balance .
Get those SNP MPs out of Westminster set them up in Holyrood , reshuffle your cabinet and get people who have some backbone and are prepared to fight for Scotland .
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Aye, had just read the “Scottish retailers urge rates review as shop vacancies rise” article https://archive.ph/PbfEC and thought it totally misleading from quite different angles.
eg – The opening “highest number of empty shops in 18 months” and “shop vacancy rate worsened in the last quarter to 15.9% – slightly up on the same period last year” – The first compares two completely different quarters in 2 different years, the second the start of the current business year when decisions have already been made from the previous year’s trading, yet it’s only “slightly up” to exactly a year ago ?
The other affects completely ignored by SRC were energy costs, staffing shortages and folks having less money to spend, all of which are controlled by WM not SG, so the “business rate is at a 24-year high” is totally misleading in context to the “Cost of Existing Crisis” imposed by the Tories.
Presumably this press release was dreamed up by the spin monkeys at Elizabeth House to distract from financial news in England.
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‘The first compares two completely different quarters in 2 different years, the second the start of the current business year when decisions have already been made from the previous year’s trading, yet it’s only “slightly up” to exactly a year ago ?’
Forensic, fancy being the TuS Business Correspondent?
SFA terms and conditions.
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🤣
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