In the Scotsman suggesting a ‘crisis’ and in the Herald suggesting a ‘risk to life’, repeated on BBC Scotland’s early morning inserts to the BBC Breakfast broadcast, the firefighter’s union survey of some of its members opinions get an uncritical showing.
Older trade unionists will remember a day when the media in Scotland were not friends at all. In the 1970s, researchers at Glasgow University revealed strong media bias against the unions [https://www.worldchanging.glasgow.ac.uk/article/?id=46] and as recently as 2008, my own research showed their exclusion from TV debate on the UK budget [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0163443710361659]
Hmmm…what happened to change all that and make unions buddies at the BBC, in Scotland, from around 2014?
We know that trade union surveys are always self-selecting, tiny, samples with no real credibility but, hey, let’s not mention that. They don’t.
What’s the evidence for the claims? We’ve been here before.
In last 25 years, serious fires have reduced by more than 50% from 66 000 to 25 000.
Fatal casualties in fires have fallen by even more, 60%, from around 125 to around 50.
On staffing, in 2020 Scotland had 3 636 firefighters (down only 12.6%, from 4 151 in 2012/2013). England had 32 171.
All things being equal, with 10 times the population, England should have 36 360 but only has 32 171. Scotland has 13% more firefighters pro rata.
Sources:
https://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about-us/who-we-are/statistics
https://www.statista.com/statistics/877562/leading-fire-brigades-by-firefighter-numbers/
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Good point about the favourable publicity unions get now in Scottish MSM. Proves British establishment will do anything to stymie independence.
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Unions in Scotland, especially fire brigade unions, should be very careful about what they wish for. Should unionists win the Scottish parliament by just one seat, yes, independence would be over by any political or legal means. Way back before brexit, when everyone and their dug was talking about Scottish independence, except the snp and yes people (it was a sore subject for us), they told us they will change the law. All that would please them, of course, however, when all the changes in Scotland are reversed to match their favoured union they should remember that Westminster loves to run with minimum workers in services. What is the difference in manning firefighting between Scotland and rUK per block of capita? 14% if I remember correctly. So, that’s how many firefighter jobs they can expect to lose if they win. It will be similar for other unions too, but, aye, most unionist are prepared to pay any price to keep the UK. Jeez, they are happy to starve scottish kids and freeze their grannies so what are a few jobs here and there?
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In England ,via SOME the media, the Unions are demonised….in Scotland , via ALL of the media, they are celebrated ……the distinction being who they, the media, support and who they oppose as a government….. so in both cases tis POLITICAL……and the Unions are only too aware of that fact.
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The unionist dimension is the determining factor at least while we have a Scottish Govt that is pro-independence. The old left-right split is no longer regarded with much importance it seems but then that is hardly surprising given that Labour seem to have been stealing the Tories clothes for years in order to try and win over the electorate in England. Let’s remember that Scotland isn’t natural Tory country. They never won a general election here in the whole of the 19th century and the last one they did win was 1955 almost 70 years ago.
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Possibly pedantic cherson, but the Tories didn’t win in 1955, at least, not the present day Conservative Party. I believe it was the Scottish Unionist Party who won an majority of seats. The Unionist’s became part of the Conservative Party in 1965.
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