Pau Hutcheon in the Daily Record tells us:
Anas Sarwar says the ‘forgotten 60%’ of young people who do not attend university will be his priority as First Minister. He says Scots should not be defined by their school grades.
Forgotten 60%? What is his source?
Clearly not this:
The number of young people in work, training or further study three months after the end of the school year has reached a record high of 95.9%.
The Attainment and Initial Leaver Destination statistics 2022-23 also show that the gap between those from the most and least deprived areas progressing after leaving school has continued to narrow and is now at a record low (3.7 percentage points).
Scottish Labour have a history of struggling with their sums.
In 2020:
In Labourlist on 7th November, an excitable writer translates 1.2 billion as ‘billions.’
This is not new:
On Thursday 23rd January 2020, in Holyrood, James Kelly (Glasgow) (Scottish Labour) asked the Scottish Government what its response is to recently reported alcohol-related brain damage statistics, which suggest that the number of people with this condition is at a 10-year high.
The answer:
Last year, 2018-19 shows a drop in the number of patients with ARBD, a decline of 3% from the previous year
The actual data:
2017/18 810
2018/19 785
Paul Hutcheon too struggles.
In July 2023:
The SNP has been accused of “shameless hypocrisy” after health boards spent nearly £130m sending patients to private hospitals. Humza Yousaf’s party this week urged Labour to rule out “privatisation” of the NHS.They hit out at the “expanded role” for the private sector and dismissed Labour leader Keir Starmer as a Blairite. But new figures released under FOI show the amount given to the private sector for treating NHS patients is on the rise under the SNP-led Government.
In 2018/29, the total stood at £24.1m, before surging to £32.7m and falling to £15.4m in the first full year of the pandemic. It rose to £24.2m in 2021/22 and jumped again to £31.4m last year.
The total since 2018 stands at £128m.https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/snp-government-row-over-128m-30403403
You know where I’m going but the information is more of a surprise than even I expected:
NHS commissioners’ spending on private healthcare increased 27 per cent to more than £18bn in 2020-21, with pandemic effects causing it to rise faster than spend on NHS trusts and general practice.https://www.hsj.co.uk/finance-and-efficiency/nhs-spend-on-private-healthcare-rose-27-per-cent-in-a-year/7031836.article#:~:text=NHS%20commissioners’%20spending%20on%20private,NHS%20trusts%20and%20general%20practice.
So, all things being equal (I know they never are), NHS England might have been expected to spend 10 times as much, £242 million.
They spent £18 billion, 74.4 times as much.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Clearly Labour forget about the 25% of mature students. 55% of students + EU students 7% foreign students paying the full cost. Colleges and apprenticeships getting young people into work. Including the neurodiverse.
Nearly full employment. Roads, bridges and railways built. Baby boxes. Increased nursery places, less children in care. Kinship payments. School dinners. Bus passes for youngsters.
Scotland the highest number of universities in the world. 15 per pop of 5.4million. Nurses bursaries. Increased healthcare workers pay. No doctors strikes.
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Scotland spends £16Billion on healthcare + more on social care. £250Million on rehab funding.
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Aye, ker-Pau from the Wrecker, budgies everywhere have something different to read in the bottom of the cage and tweet out in laughter…
So “Read my lips, no austerity” Sarwar is still punting the ” his priority as First Minister ” whilst ignoring hell freezing over, but with dreams of forcing youngsters to give up their planned productive start in life because some bampot in a suit thinks they should “attend” university instead, his elitist approach is so obviously disconnected from the realities of the modern age… So much for ” Change “.
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Labour has a history of conjuring up exaggerated data, knowing the Scottish media will not question the data, nor know how to find it.
Alasdair Macdonald
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At least his parents chose the right name for him – he really is An Ass !
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Labour twisting the truth to suit their lies .
What’s new ?
Who needs accuracy and facts when spin and distortion may work better (they assume that is).
Plus when you are confident that often the media will back up (Spin) your lies then Labour just let rip.
You only need to convince enough voters , or rather generate enough doubt, to win by cheating.
However here’s a little good news for a change. (Where Labour didn’t win).
SNP GAIN from Labour winning the Perth City North (Perth & Kinross Council By-Election). That’s 3 SNP councillors in this ward.
Even better news is that they, the SNP candidate, won it after Labour’s candidate , Kirsten For Perth City North, wrote this on 17 September :
“With just 9 days until we head to the polls, time is fast approaching for the people of Perth city North to make a choice. One party holding all of the power -or genuine accountability. A dull 8- lane sterile pool – or leisure swimming for all ages. Another Councillor close to retirement age- or a local young mum determined to make a difference ? Whatever your choice use your voice”.
The councillor “close to retirement”, that Labour’s candidate Kirsten Nkwocha-Dyer was referring to was the SNP’s Carol Mair, who then won the seat, and the “young mum” she , Kirsten Nkwocha-Dyer, referred to in her comment was herself.
(Cannot believe she, Labour’s ‘Kirsten For Perth City North’, did not even mention “Change” in her comment, obviously she went off script and preferred instead the bitchy pitch #Ageism).
Anas Sarwar however did mention “Change” when he tweeted this on the 20 September before the council by- election in Perth City North. (with a picture of him and the Labour candidate ‘Kirsten For Perth City North)’:
“Final stop of the day was Perth with our fantastic candidate Kirsten Nkwocha-Dyer. Right across Scotland the message is loud and clear – it’s time for change”!
(” across Scotland the message is loud and clear” apart from, that is, in Perth in this council by-election where Labour lost a seat to the SNP. Seems that people in this area, for this council seat, did indeed vote for a “Change” that is a “Change” from Labour to the SNP so they voted for real “Change” then ).
Alas for Anas and Kirsten Karma called (based on her offensive message above on Carol Mair’s age) So remind me again who was it that many people once called the “Nasty party” , well that would have once been the Tories that they referred to.
I think now there needs to be a rethink on that as from where I’m standing Labour are also very much trying to steal that title also (as well as them, Labour, stealing Tory policies and Tory donors too).
As in Labour are now the “Nasty party” in so many many ways. (via examples that is).
#KeirMetDonald
(A classic example, is in Keir Starmer meeting Donald Trump in America, to exemplify the fact that Keir Starmer has absolutely no principles and no shame. However he does have huge ambition. As in, for him, it is always appears to be ‘Power before people’ ).
Hence why we often see Labour MP’s (especially the new Scottish -ILO- ones) always voting with the party in the HOC as opposed to them, as Labour MP’s, voting on behalf of those people who elected them in their respective constituencies . Where as constituents , they all had the (false) assumption that those Labour MP’s that they elected in the 2024 GE would actually represent them at WM and not , as has happened, instead turn their backs on them, just to keep their leader Sir Keir Starmer happy and let’s be honest for them as MP’s to also keep the Labour whip too).
How many voters in Scotland who voted Labour in the recent GE now have huge remorse on that (bad) decision. ( well I for one know some who did vote Labour and now very much regret it ).
More people in Scotland need to start voting with their heart but also really really really need to start voting with their head too.
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O/T
Here we go again.
There is an article on the BBC’s News Website .
This article is only on a Scotland page currently under the Glasgow & West regional page. (currently 6th story on this page).
(As from 13.17pm today this below headline (and story) has been on their BBC website , in the section for Glasgow & West ,for 17 hours ).
The story headline is this:
“Couple’s bid to sue governments over winter fuel payment”
That “governments” are plural as this involves the couple suing both the Scottish and the UK government.
This story however also impacts the Labour UK government but as yet it is not, as a story, on any of the BBC ‘s website’s pages via their Home page, UK page, UK politics page or the page for England.
So it appears the BBC considers this story is not important enough (yet) to add onto any UK page, UK Politics page or onto the English page in reference to the Labour UK government also being sued by this couple .
However it is apparently considered important enough (now) for the BBC to add onto a Scottish page under the Glasgow & West region in Scotland.
So it is omitted , as a story, on all of the BBC’s UK pages, including UK Politics page, on their BBC website as it negatively impacts a Pro UK party .
Yet they, the BBC, also ensure it is added , as a story , onto a Scottish page of their BBC website as it negatively impacts the the Scottish government.
I suspect that if they, the BBC, had also added this story onto their main Scotland page and (or) onto their Scottish Politics page then , because it also impacts the Labour UK government as a story , then they the BBC, would surely then have also had to add it onto either their main UK page and/or their UK politics page .
(Though that would be a fair, honest and logical thing to do and so the BBC would probably not have done that at all- they do have previous form on this kind of bad -partisan & pro UK – behaviour ).
Not shocked on how and where they, the BBC, have chosen to only cover this story, as in only on a Scottish page on their news website, as this is par for the course with the BBC always.
#WheeshtForLabour
#WheeshtForTheUKGovernment
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