From BBC Wales yesterday, with the above graph, a comparison you’d never see from BBC Scotland unless it was for drug deaths:
The Welsh government lacks “ambition” to tackle child poverty, a new report has said.
Some 28% of children in Wales are living in relative poverty – more than Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A committee of the Senedd has called for the Welsh government to reinstate targets, seven years after they were scrapped.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-67332009?at_format=link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_campaign_type=owned&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_link_id=4F21ECCE-7C99-11EE-AE66-0FFDECABB293&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=WalesPolitics&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_link_type=web_link&s=09
When BBC Scotland looks at poverty they are careful not to look beyond the border and prefer this narrative:
One in 10 Scots living in ‘very deep poverty’
Scotland in ‘grave danger’ of missing child poverty targets
Thousands more Scots living in very deep poverty – charity
Scottish government urged to act now on child poverty
The above graph was available to them before publication but never used.
Comparisons like this are ‘whataboutery’ as far as they are concerned.
Talking-up Scotland 
Yet another example of BBC Scotland’s failure to provide context or perspective to its audiences.
Do BBC Scotland’s journalists, editors, producers really think that Scotland is effectively an independent nation-state with a government in Edinburgh with all powers of such a state, i.e. one not dependent on Westminster’s agency or, given the consistent pattern, is this context- and perspective-free void BBC Scotland operates within the result of deliberate, malign intent for a political end?
Let’s give the BBC Scotland staff credit: they are not lacking in basic intelligence and skills: they know only too well the constitutional situation. So must the answer be the latter, intent?
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Yes, ‘intent’ is the correct term. The news and current affairs programmes are propaganda programmes intended to demoralise the people of Scotland into believing that, as a group, they are, in fact, not very good and incapable of running things for ourselves. It is an instrument of colonisation and the theories of Gramsci, Fanon, and Freire explain the process well.
However, if people realise – contientization – what their condition is then they have the mental ability to recognise these colonising actions for what they are.
It is for that reason that we need sites like this, Bella, and others as well as writers, parties and groups who are prepared to expose the propaganda and propose alternatives which give people agency.
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The article below is mainly negative but Chart 3 does show the child poverty rate will fall below 20% for year 2023/24
https://fraserofallander.org/meeting-the-scottish-child-poverty-targets-is-it-a-case-of-too-little-too-late/
“The Scottish Child Payment started to be rolled out in 2021. The 2021-22 data collection was the first year that Scottish Child Payment claimants were picked up in the data but over the next few years we would expect it to make more of an impact as the number of claimants and the generosity of the benefit has ramped up.
Looking at our own modelled estimate, we can see this emerging trend if we look out to 2023-24 with Scotland starting to diverge from those countries/regions of the UK that it was has recently been tracking alongside (Chart 3).”
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O/T but on a similar theme: the BBC News website’s Scotland page today has this headline: ‘WATCHDOG CRITICISES SCOTTISH CLIMATE REPORT DELAY’.
It states that: ‘A watchdog has described a delay in the publication of the Scottish government’s climate change plan as “very disappointing”. A draft form of the document was due to be considered by MSPs this month.
‘But Net Zero Secretary Mairi McAllan said more time was required after Westminster altered its policy over the sale of new cars and the phasing out of fossil fuel boilers. By law the plan does not need to be finalised until 23 March 2025.’
Then we get to IMHO an odd COMPLAINT: ‘Chris Stark, chief executive of the UK Climate Change Committee, said the delay was “very disappointing”. He warned it would mean the independent body’s Scottish Progress Report, due at the end of the year, would have “nothing to review”. Warned?
‘Mr Stark also said HE WAS UNSURE WHY THE UK GOVERNMENT’S POLICY CHANGES WOULD MEAN THE PUBLICATION OF THE SCOTTISH REPORT HAD TO BE POSTPONED. Posting on X, formerly Twitter, he said the altered plan to phase out the sale of petrol and diesel vehicles, as well as changes to the UK-wide grid infrastructure, WOULD IMPACT SCOTTISH POLICY. But he added they were reasons to “go faster”. Did he not just contradict himself – ‘no reason to postpone’ but ‘would impact Scottish policy’ – thus surely justifying Ms McAllan saying ‘more time was required after Westminster altered its policy’. (my emphasis)
And Mr Stark’s complaint gets odder still when one reads on his own organisation’s website a statement dated 12 October 2023. Headlined, ‘CCC ASSESSMENT OF RECENT ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DEVELOPMENTS ON NET ZERO’ it includes these comments (with my emphasis):
‘Professor Piers Forster, Chair of the Climate Change Committee, said: “In June, the Climate Change Committee expressed concerns to Parliament about the pace of change required to meet the UK’s climate goals over the 2030s. Since then, THERE HAVE BEEN IMPORTANT CLIMATE ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM GOVERNMENT, INCLUDING THE PRIME MINISTER’S SPEECH ON 20 SEPTEMBER. As promised, we have run the numbers.’
And: ‘Recent announcements, most notably the Prime Minister’s speech on Net Zero, were NOT ACCOMPANIED BY CORRESPONDING ESTIMATES OF THEIR EFFECT ON EMISSIONS, NOR WITH EVIDENCE TO BACK THE GOVERNMENT’S ASSURANCE THAT THE UK’S TARGETS WILL STILL BE MET. This is UNHELPFUL – and the Committee URGES THE GOVERNMENT TO ADOPT GREATER TRANSPARENCY IN UPDATING ITS ASSESSMENT OF POLICY IMPACTS AT THE TIME OF MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS. Based on the information available, the CCC has made an independent assessment of how these developments will affect plans to meet the targets. WE DID NOT HAVE ENOUGH INFORMATION TO ASSESS THE FULL EFFECTS OF SOME OF THE PROPOSED POLICY MEASURES.’
Other snippets from the statement include:
‘… we await the detail …’
‘There are LIKELY TO BE BROADER IMPLICATIONS FROM THE GOVERNMENT’S NEW MESSAGING AROUND NET ZERO AND THE FRAMING OF THE PM’S ANNOUNCEMENTS AS A LOOSENING OF NEAR-TERM AMBITION. This RISKS UNDERMINING CONSUMER CONFIDENCE AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF UK SUPPLY CHAINS, which are particularly important for delivery of buildings decarbonisation. We have only included a partial quantification of this effect in our analysis below.’
‘The Prime Minister’s announcements also INCREASE LONGER-TERM RISKS TO MEETING THE 2050 NET ZERO TARGET, primarily due to the changed policies on buildings decarbonisation……’Additionally, TECHNOLOGY COST REDUCTIONS OFTEN STEM FROM POLICY CERTAINTY, WHICH THESE ANNOUNCEMENTS UNDERMINED.’
All this from the CCC in the wake of Westminster government policy shifts and yet we have this BBC headline ‘Watchdog criticises Scottish climate report delay’! The CCC CEO’s ‘complaint’ about the Scottish Government taking time to work out the consequences for Scotland of Westminster policy shifts seems very odd given the nature of the CCC’s own statement about these same policy shifts.
Or did BBC Scotland spin matters in a particular negative way? One can never be sure of BBC Scotland any more!
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Given the figures are from DWP, of course BBC Scotland COULD provide context, but were they to do so, their agenda would no longer align with that of SG’s opposition.
The BBC Wales article presents context as well as balance, what used to be known in Scotland as good journalism.
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BBC North Brit propaganda outlet.
There don’t disguise or hide their bias.
Old East Germany standards of journalism.
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“whataboutery”…..that is their refuge when they refuse to face up to the reality of how bad they are in coping and managing as a Tory UK government and a Labour Welsh devolved government……but how very very quick they both are to criticise another government’s (Scottish Govt) performance and behaviour but they themselves are unwilling to accept their own poor performance and incompetence when it is highlighted ……………indeed to listen to both of their Scottish (INO) branch offices who find so much to criticise OUR government upon one would think that their colleagues who govern at WM and the Senedd were doing an exceptional and successful job as governments compared to our government in Scotland….alas the evidence clearly shows otherwise…..but that news is supressed where “we are” via the BBC…..BUT……
BBC Wales online headline:
“Covid inquiry: Welsh government WhatsApps may have been deleted”……..”Some messages sent by people working in the Welsh government during the pandemic may have been deleted, the first minister has said”.
“Mark Drakeford said he himself did not use WhatsApp, and would not know how to automatically delete texts”.
“But he could not promise that messages were not lost before the government was aware of what the Covid inquiry wanted”
“The comments follow a row in Scotland over the deletion of messages”
(That will be mostly via ONE Jackie Baillie who currently is giving it laldy via the BBC in Scotland and too elsewhere…..in the true hypocritical position that we see her often adopting)
Jackie Baillie told the Holyrood magazine that “Messages from those closest to the decision making have been destroyed on an industrial scale”……tell me would that be in Wales Jackie ?????…..or is that “whataboutery”
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There is much disinformation in circulation on WhatsApp and the delete issue, it was the Tory RT Davies who set this squirrel loose in the Senedd.
It was #10 and HMG who used WhatsApp for official business, nobody else.
It was #10 who initiated the original instruction to Ministers and civil servants etc to delete messages.
It was #10 who set auto-delete up, the recipients had no control over such message’s fate unless they specifically saved it.
External messaging will have been received on multiple platforms including but not exclusively WhatsApp, for both SG and WG, but the key point is the same – Neither used WhatsApp for official communications.
Hence Baillie opining “Messages from those closest to the decision making have been destroyed on an industrial scale” is blatant lying, or as she might call it, “just politics”.
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“or as she might call it, “just politics””
Or “Gutter politics”……….or “playing politics”……..or on “political manoeuvres” knowing full well that all she states will be that which is amplified by a compliant media who are part of the Labour campaign team in Scotland…..the collective mission is to get the SNP out and Labour IN…….a parcel of rogues yet again trying to get Scotland to be at the mercy of England’s politicians and their BAD choices for us within their UKnotOK…….
All roads lead to WM supremacy and whichever political party (over) RULES there…….a tired BT script being played out time and time again………..when reality is clearly the opposite for us in Scotland……but tis not us who need convincing but others who are either apathetic, ignorant or cannot see that which is clearly THE stumbling block that prevents Scotland from becoming a fairer, more progressive and wealthier country…..which is all prevented by us still being a part of their UK…..tis that which stops all opportunity for Scotland to grow and develop as a country……….but via what public platform will we as a movement be able to communicate that to MORE in Scotland ? (minus the current infighting between different factions of the YES movement)……….Duck knows……as currently too many quacks sticking their beaks in (pun intended…LOL) saying they are THE only ones that will deliver us Independence and thus not the SNP…..also known as ‘starting from scratch’…..really ……….is it not ?
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