Thanks to stewartb for alerting me to this:
Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor for the Exchequer in a BBC Radio Scotland interview with Gary Robertson, October 31: “… frankly the performance of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP is worse than in any part of the United Kingdom”.
Source: https://x.com/i/status/1851917541041430825
How LOW is the leadership of the British Labour Party willing to sink in its lies and deceit?
And can BBC Scotland get anymore useless – any more biased – as it fails again to hold a Westminster government minister to account regarding their dealings towards Scotland, even on such a blatant misrepresentation of facts?
This frankly Goebbels-dygook claim, does not, of course, survive a collision with the evidence:
Under Labour NHS Wales hospital waiting list soars to TWICE that per head in Scotland
From BBC Wales two days ago:
Hospital waiting list tops 800,000 for first time 1
Scotland?
From the doctors’ trade union, the BMA, in July 2024:
As of March 2024, more than 690,000 people were on the NHS Scotland waiting list for inpatient and outpatient treatments, which is the highest number ever recorded.2
Shorter in Scotland than in Wales? Yes, but Scotland has a bigger population so the gap per head is even greater.
With 5.44 million to Wales’ 3.16 million, Scotland’s population served by NHS Scotland is 1.7 times greater.
So, for a fair, pro rate, per head, comparison, we need to multiply the Welsh waiting list of 880 by 1.7 to get 1 377, almost exactly twice the Scottish figure, per head.
Sources:
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20n4yy395zo?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5BBBC+England%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_link_id=E14EFB6A-91FF-11EF-AF64-AF6FC9BB19C0&at_ptr_name=twitter&at_format=link&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_link_origin=BBCWalesNews&at_campaign_type=owned&at_bbc_team=editorial
- https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-under-pressure-scotland#:~:text=Waiting%20lists%20continue%20to%20grow,elective%20care%20preceded%20the%20pandemic.
THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments
NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more than 4 hours and 42 555 waiting more than 12.
59.7% seen within 4 hours.
NHS Scotland, Type ED full A&E, for May 2024, 9 252 waiting more than 4 hours and 1 350 waiting more than 12.
66.7% seen within 4 hours
So:
All things being equal NHS England with 10 times the population might have been expected to have 92 520 waiting more than 4 hours, but had 138 770, 50% more.
about:blank
And 13 500 waiting more than 12 hours but had 42 555, more than THREE times as many.
As for the A&E 4 hour waiting time, NHS Scotland is 11.7% faster.
Sources:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/
Scotland’s cancer waiting times dramatically better than England’s
By Professor John Robertson OBA
Today, BBC UK’s Nick Triggle has:
The cancers with longest treatment waits revealed
with the above graph for NHS England data.
I’ve added, where possible, equivalent Scottish data. While skin and prostate/kidney waiting times do seem slightly longer in Scotland, in 5 key areas, including breast, lung and liver cancers, NHS Scotland ‘s performance is dramatically better, saving thousands of lives.
Triggle only mentions Scotland once:
See what he’s done there? Scotland, on that measure alone, seems worse than England because he is careful not to tell us how close the two countries were to the target over that period. See these two graphs:
On the 62-day standard (referral to treatment begins), England has had significantly more than 30% waiting longer (less than 70% seen on time), since late 2021, while Scotland has always had less than 30% waiting (more than 70% seen) in the same period.
On the 31-day standard (decision to treat to treatment begins), England has had nearly 10% waiting longer (90% seen on time), since 2023, while Scotland has always had well under 10%, around 5%, waiting (95% seen on time) in the same period.
Sources:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy948p4j5wo
Significant increase in those seen within 18 weeks to remain 14% better than NHS England
From Public Health Scotland, today, we see that 68.1% of patients waiting for treatment, in the quarter ending 30 June 2024, were seen within 18 weeks, up from 65.1% in the previous quarter.1
From the BBC in May 2024 (most recent data), we see reported a figure of 57% for NHS England.2
NHS Scotland is thus performing 14.2% on the 18 week waiting list target.
NHS Wales uses the easier 26 week target but still returns a figure of 57% seen within that time.3
Why does this target matter and matter more perhaps than the one-year target often much politicised to attack NHS Scotland?
It’s kind of obvious. If you have a life-threatening condition you really need to be seen quickly and the 18 week target is designed to ensure that happens. If you have a chronic non-life threatening condition, like arthritis, tough though that may be, a resource-strapped health service cannot always be expected to treat that in the shorter term.
Sources:
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment/nhs-waiting-times-18-weeks-referral-to-treatment-quarter-ending-30-june-2024
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-69070207
- https://www.gov.wales/nhs-activity-and-performance-summary-december-2023-and-january-2024-html
Nearly 10% more are on the overall NHS waiting list in England than in Scotland
On the 28th May 2024, according to BBC Scotland:
NHS waiting lists in Scotland have reached a record high, the latest figures show. Public Health Scotland recorded more than 690,000 waits for appointments or treatment for non-urgent care as of 31 March.
According to the Health Service Journal, yesterday:
In April the English referral-to-treatment waiting list grew slightly by 34,000 to 7.57 million patient pathways. These are the last figures to be published before the general election, meaning the pre-election waiting list is 358,000 larger than the figures available when prime minister Rishi Sunak said “NHS waiting lists will fall”.
All things being equal, with 690 000 waiting in Scotland, you’d expect 6 900 000 waiting in England but it was actually 7 570 000, or 8.85% higher.
8.85% of the 7 570 000 is 66 945 so nearly 67 000 people in England would not be on the NHS waiting list if the SNP had been in government there for 17 years.
Sources:
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I also heard her say this surely someone in the SG also did so why the h*** are they not immediately putting out statements that she is tell lies come on get the gloves off SNP also get onto that shower BBC.
Rant over but I am fed up these people telling lies and SNP doing nothing.
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” SNP doing nothing”
I take your point but….
The only problem is that who, within the media, are going to widely report and highlight the SNP challenging anything said by a UK politician that is absolutely wrong or a lie.
The BBC Reporting Scotland will show a clip of a debate in Holyrood, where with clever editing , they the BBC can show the SNP being attacked but fail to show the response by the SNP that refutes and proves the attack is based on a false statement.
Also during the GE campaign Labour’s coffers were full with an abundance of donations from their wealthy donors so we had from them a multitude of election literature put through our letterboxes, excessive ads on social media and a host of different, yet expensive ways, for Labour to get their message out to the voters in Scotland.
The SNP do not have that same support via a multitude of wealthy donors so they are limited as to what they can produce and issue during elections to get their message across to voters.
Then the FM makes a public statement and we see an army of media present, all ready to challenge the FM, dispute what the FM says, argue with the FM and regurgitate #SNPBAD incidents unrelated to his public statement being made by the FM etc etc etc
This is not a level playing field for the SNP as far as having access to PR by a client media always being at hand to promote their message while attacking pro UK parties.
Nope as it is very much the reverse that always happens.
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I remember on BBC QT years ago when Jonathan Ashworth was the Shadow Health Secretary and he was on the panel in an episode of this programme.
They, BBC QT, were somewhere in England, so their focus was on the NHS there and of course Jonathan Ashworth was saying how bad the NHS in England was under the Tory party , to which the Tory on the panel responded by saying that the Labour Welsh NHS was the worse performing in the UK.
Ashworth’s (weak) response was “No it isn’t”.
No facts or data offered by Ashworth to support or substantiate his (weak and timid) response !
So did he, Ashworth, then clarify which nation within the UK was often regarded to be (in his opinion) the worse performing on their NHS performance backed up by actual data, in other words did he , Ashworth, back then , concur with his colleague Rachel Reeves now and also other Labour MP’s that it was supposdley Scotland whose “performance of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP is worse than in any part of the United Kingdom”.
No he did not.
Why ?
Well for fear that the Tory on the panel would be able to produce stats , via notes that he , the Tory, perhaps had with him that he could refer to , on actual NHS data performance in respect to all nations within the UK.
Data that verified that Scotland was indeed not the worse performing NHS within the UK, as in what would have been revealed to be a lie from Ashworth if he, like Rachel Reeves now, had said that Scotland was worse than Wales on our NHS performance.
Mind you in Rachel Reeves proclaiming this misinformation (Lie) to a BBC presenter , who as a BBC presenter of programmes that covers politics , and then for him to not refute and challenge her on this, that is in him having evidence at hand to refer to that contradicted her statement, then that is, in itself , also extremely questionable and then also shows that the BBC employee was also complicit in this lie spoken by Rachel Reeves.
No worries as if the BBC receive any complaints on this then they , the BBC , can just file it away as yet another ‘error’ in their Clarifications and corrections section of their website ( the place that is, for much of the public, out of sight and so then also out of mind).
Talking of which.
On 28 October BBC Corrections and Clarification recorded another supposed ‘error’ made by BBC Scotland, that, as an ‘error’ , once again had a negative impact on the Scottish government and the SNP (as a clear pattern of behaviour we see with the BBC news teams here in a succession of ‘errors’ they make as a failed news provider preferring instead to provide fake news to us ‘in the news where we are’ ).
“Good Morning Scotland”
BBC Radio Scotland, 23 October 2024
“In a Good Morning Scotland interview with the Deputy First Minister, during a wide-ranging interview, we used an inaccurate figure to illustrate the hourly rate at which a full-time worker in Scotland would pay more tax in Scotland than a person earning the same salary in other parts of the UK”
“We apologise for the error”
“Error” really ?
I and thousands of others within Scotland beg to differ.
This is them , the BBC Scotland news teams, maliciously promoting lies to try and damage the Scottish government and also very much what is an amateurish attempt at them trying to be a supposed , but not, ‘National’ news provider in Scotland.
More like they, the BBC, are a propaganda media outfit for Pro UK political parties .
#BBCFailing
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Yep and yet Starmer has taken GB news (I know) to court and fined them £100k for impartiality, against Labour, (huh huh) for having Tory Sunak on a programme back in February, to answer questions re the election, GB news invited Labour to do same, Labour decided not to appear on the programme. Then Labour go crying, that’s not fair boo hoo and taking GBnews to court!! You could hardly make it up could you!
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“Starmer has taken GB news (I know) to court and fined them £100k for impartiality”
So who is going to take Labour to court for “impartiality” as Anas Sarwar secured a regular slot on Talk TV as a political commentator aka political pundit on one of their programmes.
Anas Sarwar the so called leader of Labour in Scotland given a public platform to provide his non partial opinion on politics aka his partisan pro Labour opinion, which I am sure included #SNPBAD many a time on his various appearances on this Talk TV political programme.
Of course we also had the excessive brainwashing exercise by Labour on social media during the GE campaign , which though not illegal, was certainly questionable on the content, which was mostly #SNPBAD and the now proven lie they promoted in these political ads , as to a supposed Real “Change” happening with Labour, if and when they, Labour, won the GE.
(Another lie promoted via these these political ads by Labour on social media as in YouTube etc where they had Sarwar and Baillie as those who supposdley would also bring “Change” to Scotland when clearly they just do what they are telt by their UK leader Keir Starmer )
Starmer another brass neck , time Scotland polished his Labour party off as a political party here in Scotland.
#NoVotesForLabourPartyInScotlandEverAgain
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Misrepresentation – with associated hypocrisy- from the British Labour Party politicians both at UK and Scotland levels is not new; it has become endemic; it may well have assisted Labour’s success in Scotland at the recent GE; and there is little or no sign of it being countered effectively at scale as we approach the REALLY crucial Holyrood election in 2026.
Meanwhile in Wales where the British Labour Party has been in power since the establishment of devolved government …
Senedd Research – the research and information service supporting the Welsh parliament – on 4 October, 2024 published a briefing under the title ‘Reducing the NHS waiting list backlog’. It reports on the present status of the Welsh Government’s plan (its ‘five ambitions’) ‘to transform and modernise planned care’, aiming to reduce waiting lists in Wales.
Source https://research.senedd.wales/research-articles/reducing-the-nhs-waiting-list-backlog/
Here are some notable extracts based on latest performance statistics set against the Labour’s ‘ambitions’ set out in 2022:
‘Ambition 1: No one waiting longer than a year for their first outpatient appointment by the end of 2022 – In July 2024, 76,132 patient pathways were waiting over 53 weeks (more than a year) for their first out-patient appointment.’ (my emphasis)
‘Ambition 2: Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than two years in most specialties by March 2023 – In July 2024, 5,215 patient pathways were waiting over 105 weeks (more than two years) for trauma and orthopaedic treatments, 5,206 for ophthalmology treatments and 2,852 for ear, nose and throat.’
‘Ambition 3: Eliminate the number of people waiting longer than one year in most specialties by Spring 2025 – In July 2024, 36,511 patient pathways were waiting over 53 weeks (more than a year) for ophthalmology treatment, 30,640 for trauma and orthopaedic and 19,637 for general surgery treatments.
‘Ambition 4: Increase the speed of diagnostic testing and reporting to eight weeks and 14 weeks for therapy interventions by Spring 2024 – In July 2024, 41,460 patient pathways were waiting 8 weeks or more for diagnostic services. A further 5,928 patient pathways were waiting over 14 weeks for therapy services.
‘Ambition 5: Cancer diagnosis and treatment to be undertaken within 62 days for 80% of people by 2026 – In July 2024, 55.0% of people who received a cancer diagnosis started their first definitive treatment within 62 days from the first point cancer was suspected.’
In short, failed – and failed by substantial margins – on each and every one! Failure simply due to the actions/inactions of the British Labour Party government or to deeper, systemic issues whose origins and solutions lie beyond the Senedd’s powers?
Let’s look at cancer treatment in NHS Scotland at this time, noting public statements recorded on the website of Dame Jackie Baillie MSP, the British Labour Party’s health spokesperson in Scotland: ‘ACTION NEEDED ON SCOTLAND’S BIGGEST KILLER WARNS BAILLIE AS CANCER TREATMENT TARGET MISSED AGAIN (September 26, 2024) is the headline. Now it’s hard to argue with a ‘more action needed’ conclusion: it’s blindingly obvious and hardly merits the ‘warns’ addition. But in the same statement we read this:
‘Jackie Baillie said “Cancer remains Scotland’s biggest killer, but key targets are still being missed. Early diagnosis and treatment is crucial so it is nothing short of a national scandal that the Scottish Government has not met its 62-day cancer treatment standard in over a decade.”
“The SNP must wake up to the crisis it has presided over and take urgent action to ensure cancer patients get the swift treatment they need.”
Recall – In Wales (July 2024), 55.0% of people who received a cancer diagnosis started their first definitive treatment within 62 days from the first point cancer was suspected. So 45% did not!
On 19 September 2024 Senedd Research published an article with this headline “Eye Watering” – Ophthalmology Waiting Lists in Wales’.
It include this: ‘The former President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists in Wales, Gwyn Williams, has warned of a looming “tidal wave of blindness” unless urgent improvements are made to specialist eye care delivery. ‘This article examines this warning and the actions the Welsh Government is taking to reduce waiting times and prevent avoidable sight loss.
‘The RNIB Cymru says the number of patients waiting beyond their target date for an appointment has more than doubled in the last five years.’
‘In 2021, an independent External Review of Eye Care Services in Wales was commissioned by NHS Wales and the Welsh Government. The review highlighted the need to reshape the model of eye care delivery and made recommendations for a sustainable future model.’
‘It has been 3 years since the External Review highlighted the scale of the challenge. To date, there has been no commitment from the Welsh Government to implement the strategy or to make significant investments to tackle Wales’ growing eye care waiting list. There is still no national plan to reduce the number of patients who are losing their sight while waiting for NHS treatment.’
On 3 September 2024, the Private Health Information Network (PHIN) published its latest private healthcare market report. On Wales, for Q1 2024 it reported: ‘Wales is the only UK nation where self-pay – where patients fund their own treatment from their savings, a loan or fundraising – is the dominant payment method.” It adds: ‘Self-pay admissions were at their highest level yet’ and ‘The use of private medical insurance (PMI) was also at record levels.’
‘When comparing Q1 2024 to Q1 2023, the number of admissions funded by private medical insurance were up by 13% in Wales. There was also a 2% increase on the previous highest quarter (Q2 2022).’
‘There was an increase in reported admissions in six of the top 10 procedures by volume when comparing Q1 2023 and Q1 2024.’ And: ‘Cataract surgery’ had the biggest increase by volume (375) and percentage (21%) of procedures.’
The BBC News website published this headline on 28 February 2023 ‘Record high hospital waiting lists increase again’. The article below quoted Labour’s Jackie Baillie: (again!):
‘Scottish Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “Mr Yousaf’s disastrous stewardship of our NHS has made him the worst Health Secretary since devolution. He has presided over sky-high wait times in A&E, chaos with delayed discharge, skyrocketing cancer wait times and an increase in both outpatient and inpatient wait times. He has shown absolutely no ability to solve these problems.”
So why is the British Labour Party – governing with (only) devolved powers in Cardiff – failing to solve waiting lists/times issues in NHS Wales if the Party’s leadership in opposition in Scotland have the answers? IF it’s all down to ‘SNPbad’ in Scotland, is it ALL down to ‘Labourbad’ in Wales?
The British Labour Party’s rhetoric in Scotland – “national scandal”, “crisis”; “disastrous stewardship”, “no ability to solve” – is shown up for the hypocrisy it reveals as soon as the Party’s track record in Wales is scrutinised. The British Labour Party’s track record in government in Wales with devolved powers is an appropriate benchmark as we approach 2026.
But how many potential Labour voters in the lead up to the 2026 Holyrood election will ever read/hear results of such scrutiny relative to the numbers that will read/hear Labour’s unchallenged misrepresentations?
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Another chapter in the BBC failing to consider the population in Scotland.
The top story on their Scottish Politics page of their website is this:
“What do the Tory leadership candidates offer Scotland” ?
Surely to God even the BBC know the answer to that one.
Nothing being the correct answer of course.
So in this non story that I assume only a very small minority within Scotland would even care about never mind take the time to read and then see as even worth their time reading it.
What is this article about ?
Well the article states this:
“But with much of the focus on where the two candidates stand on issues such as immigration, the economy and how the party can rebuild trust with voters, what are they offering Scotland” ?
“What are they , both, offering Scotland” ?
Would the answer be nothing as in just like when they, the Tories, were led by other Tory leaders as PM’s of their UK.
The article then tells us that “Jenrick has two Scottish MPs publicly backing him – John Cooper and John Lamont – and one MSP”.
“Badenoch, who is seen as the frontrunner, has the support of MP Andrew Bowie and four MSPs”.
Oh well with John Lamont and Andrew Bowie as backers that changes everything…..NOT.
Who though are the unnamed MSP’s who back both candidates ?
The article also told us that the new Tory leader (ITO) in Scotland Russell Findlay has said that he “he won’t be publicly backing either but would work with whoever wins”
That’s also called him kind of ‘hedging his bets’ in neither endorsing nor opposing either candidate based on whoever eventually wins.
Plus if Findlay had endorsed whoever wins and they turn out to be yet another Tory dud as a leader then his judgement will be (even more) in question and then if he had endorsed the loser well then the winner would hold a grudge against Findlay. (in a ‘revenge is a dish best served cold’ kind of future situation perhaps).
The article also says that “From Conservatives I’ve spoken to say there is chatter of a slight groundswell towards Kemi Badenoch within the MSP group”
Well they, Tory MSP’s, do have a history of making bad decisions and supporting Tory candidates for their UK leadership , who turn out to be political disasters as Tory leaders and as Tory PM’s. (no need to list who I mean).
Jenrick had apparently, according to this article “ruled out giving further powers to the Scottish government” and said that “he would take the UK out of the European Convention on Human Rights without consent from the Scottish Parliament”
Also he said “there would be no special exemptions for Scotland from his ambition to legally reduce immigration in the UK to the tens of thousands” and “He believes the same feelings in England around immigration apply to Scotland and therefore it needed the same remedies”
Oh well he, Jenrick, just seems just perfect for Scotland then…not….which then begs the Q why did the BBC write an article headlined as “”What do the Tory leadership candidates offer Scotland” ?
So basically he , Jenrick, thinks to Hell with Devolution as the UK is in charge and so no need to ask Scotland what it wants or needs as instead he, Jenrick, “believes we have the same feelings as England upon immigration” so we must have the “same remedies applied here to them”.
Badenoch stated “immigration powers shouldn’t be devolved to Scotland as a separate Scottish visa system would be “extremely difficult to police” and “Her solution” to what she said was needed in Scotland in “not necessarily getting the skills it needs or wants was to have more training and more internal migration from other parts of the UK to Scotland“
She, Badenoch, also ” said the United Kingdom union was voluntary, but failed to articulate the mechanism for Scotland to leave if voters wanted to”
NB: This information given by her, on there being a “voluntary Union within the UK” is found in the now expanding book of UK Fairy tales, as told by UK politicians and also by the UK media, and also can be witnessed in a parallel Universe.
Also she rephrased what is known as a UK government power grab and money allocation being diverted away from the Scottish government as being according to her ” bringing power closer to people – for instance at local council level”.
For further (hollow) laughs Badenoch “admitted she didn’t have a plan ready to fix the issues she talked about, saying she would instead do that work once opposition leader” (also known as a cop out in failing to elaborate upon her non existent plans)
I guess once the results are known on the Tory leadership (another one) then the BBC in Scotland can do another piece on the Scottish Politics section of their website which not that many people in Scotland will consider as being either relevant here or interesting as news.
That’s your BBC there, keeping the lights burning for the anticipated eventual Tory return to power at a UK government level at the next GE, with another new leader, after what is now being regarded as very much a Labour UK government being considered currently as a disaster .
A Labour UK government who are a UK disaster who just keep getting worse and worse in making bad decisions and bad policies. (come the next GE they , Labour, will be OUT and the Tories will form an alliance with another Tory Party, as in the Reform UK party).
God knows what voters in Scotland will do with their votes, as that is anyone’s guess for sure.
However I do hope they, the majority of voters in Scotland, give a wide berth to all Pro UK political parties when they, as voters, vote in all subsequent elections from now , irrespective of the BBC , who as a supposed media seem to be very much cheerleaders for all political parties bar the SNP in Scotland.
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The statement by ” Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP, Chancellor for the Exchequer in a BBC Radio Scotland interview with Gary Robertson, October 31: “… frankly the performance of the NHS in Scotland under the SNP is worse than in any part of the United Kingdom” ” was a known lie to both the disHon Rachel Reeves and employed propagandist Gary Robertson, but it still went to air because that’s what Sharah Schmith and her successor El Suito Cook respectively have been paid to do…
Yet for context, has anyone heard the slightest difference from Tsunami Baillie via BBC Scotland any different over the last several years ?
The problem is two-fold – A political class who believe they can get away with murdering the truth and a media who facilitate it…
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Is it possible to complain to the bbc regarding blatant lies?
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Yes , indeed !
They have a large round container for complaints marked ”Lies to be apologised for …when Hell freezes over !”
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By way of topical postscript, although I fear the individual may have other motives, who could not love the sheer discomfort on set with the audience erupting in applause https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVTLmSfduNg
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Like you I enjoyed the strike but have serious doubts about him?
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They all looked well heeled.
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