No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless…

stewartb

‘The BBC Scotland report does not mention ………………….Wales’

No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless … you know what! And no British Labour Party politician in Scotland acknowledges the validity of comparing matters in Scotland with equivalents in British Labour Party run Wales.

On education and the experiences of young people in Wales, the following report (March 2024) from the BBC’s much favoured, ‘authoritative’ think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies must never be referred to in the hearing of a potential Labour voter in Scotland!

Source https://ifs.org.uk/publications/major-challenges-education-wales

  • ‘.. there is a great deal of evidence showing that Welsh young people experience worse educational and labour market outcomes after leaving school than young people in the rest of the UK‘
  • ‘… young people in Wales have the lowest participation in higher education across the UK, with Welsh boys seeing particularly poor trends over the last 15 years (Robson et al., 2024)’
  • ‘We also see that the share of young people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) is higher in Wales than in the rest of the UK. In 2022–23, 11% of 16- to 18-year-olds in Wales were NEET, as compared with 5–9% across the rest of the UK. A similar picture emerges for 19- to 24-year-olds‘
  • ‘In the labour market, we also see that Welsh young people from working-class backgrounds have lower earnings and lower employment levels than working-class young people from other UK nations.’

The IFS report concludes: ‘The inescapable truth is that disadvantaged pupils in Wales have low skill levels and low levels of educational attainment.

‘This drives a high disadvantage gap, reduces opportunities in the labour market and perpetuates inequalities. This will act as a drag on growth and living standards.’

‘The overwhelming conclusion is that the overall level of educational performance in Wales is low, and inequalities are high and persistent.’

How is any of this even possible under a British Labour Party government, one that’s been in power continuously for so very long? Shocked?

Meanwhile, from the British Labour Party’s house magazine in Scotland, the Daily Record on 26 September 2024: ‘Time for poor to see their rewards as Sarwar aims focus on ‘forgotten 60 per cent’ – Record View says the Scottish Labour leader’s focus on the “forgotten 60 per cent” of youngsters who do not go to university should be welcomed.‘

These IFS research findings must never be referred to in the hearing of a Daily Record political journalist either! The risk of harmful cognitive dissonance would be too great, perhaps?

5 thoughts on “No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless…”

  1. It’s galling, but everything you’ve said here, if it applied to Scotland, would be blamed on the Scottish Government and the appropriate minister would be called on to be sacked.

    Because it’s Wales, magically it’s the fault of Westminster, well it used to be, but with all the change the new Labour government has brought, who knows who to blame now.

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  2. I just had to go through motions of filling in the BBC ‘no TV license required’ form online. The only thing it states that is license free is the Welsh Language channel, S4C. Interesting.
    So if Scotland did have (was allowed to by the EngGov) broadcasting powers, does that mean a Gaelic channel would be free to watch…hm.

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  3. Great comment/article stewartb

    “‘The BBC Scotland report does not mention ………………….Wales “

    Well they are not alone as far as that kind of behaviour is concerned.

    Wales Online also found this too as they reported the below information via an article of theirs on the 19 September this year that was entitled:

    “Keir Starmer declines to say struggling Welsh NHS is ‘broken’”

    But he, Keir Starmer, “did say that the English NHS was “Broken” (no doubt blaming the previous Tory UK government).

    “He admitted that the Welsh NHS (the one run by a Labour devolved government) needed “Reform and investment” in an interview with ITV Wales”.

    “He was asked if Labour in Wales had run the Health service well”

    “To which he replied there were “Challenges”.

    (Though the public in Scotland are supposed to always believe Labour, who try to promote that any problems within the NHS in Scotland , are problems caused solely by the the SNP as the Scottish government) .

    “Mr Starmer also noted that he and Mrs Morgan, the Labour Welsh FM, would work together in overseeing the NHS in Wales”.

    “He said: “My job with the First Minister is to work together to rise to whatever challenges there are and opportunities across Wales and I’m determined to do so.”

    (Meanwhile here in Scotland his job, as the current Labour PM of the UK government, is one where he is determined to try and undermine, criticise and oppose the Scottish government, because currently in Scotland, the government is run by an opposing party to his Labour party).

    (So he will pretend , as the Labour PM, that “Challenges” faced by the Labour Welsh government are not those that are ever faced by the Scottish government).

    Then on the BBC website on their UK page in an article on the 25 September entitled:

    “I won’t back down on broken NHS claims – Streeting”

    So the Labour Health Secretary also stated that the English NHS was “Broken”.

    And he went even further in stating that “not acknowledging the problems in the (English) NHS would result in “killing it with kindness” and also that “he will not back down in his criticism of the (English) NHS, after the BBC revealed there was growing unease in the service about the “broken” NHS messaging from(the Labour) government”.

    “His , Streeting’s, comments came after senior sources in the (English) health service said they believe some of the claims have gone too far – and may result in patients being put off seeking help and causing lasting damage to staff morale“.

    “Labour also declared that “cancer is a “death sentence” because of (English) NHS failings, while maternity services “shame” the nation”.

    “This was based on the Care Quality Commission report on the previous week (w/c 16 September) which found that two in three Maternity Units (in England) were not safe”.

    (Also the quote relating to the “Nation” as in England , though a common supposed ‘mistake’ (occurrence), is one that is often made by pro UK parties and pro UK media when they refer to both England but also the UK as the “Nation” ).

    The BBC article was on Streeting’s speech at the Labour party Conference in Liverpool.

    ( Note that I had to add in brackets the comments that refer to either England or English as the BBC in their website UK article (and Streeting too in his speech) failed to note this precise and pertinent information – hence it could appear somewhat ambiguous as to what NHS was being referred to in all of the criticisms).

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  4. UNFRIENDLY UNTRUTHFUL BBC CHANNEL
    SHOULD BE REMOVED FROM SCOTLAND

    AND IN ITS PRESENT FORMAT
    SHOULD NEVER EVER BE ALLOWED TO BROADCAST ANY PROGRAMMES
    IN SCOTLAND AGAIN

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  5. Pingback: On impact of Westminster on Wales and Scotland, why do views of British Labour Party leaders in Wales differ so greatly from Party bosses in Scotland? – Talking-up Scotland

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