The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland - a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson
By Professor John Robertson OBA
The media in Scotland are largely of one mind:
Scottish government ‘unlikely’ to meet 2030 target on reducing car use
What is their source for this?
From the Auditor General for Scotland, two days ago
A lack of leadership has meant the Scottish Government has made minimal progress towards its challenging climate change goal of reducing car use. In 2020, the Scottish Government said it wanted to reduce car kilometres driven by 20 per cent by 2030 as part of its efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions. However, the government has yet to produce a delivery plan for achieving the target, which it is unlikely to meet.
https://audit.scot/news/minimal-progress-on-reducing-car-use
More on the AGS below but first, look again at the graph above. Car use HAS climbed post-pandemic but even after three years has not returned to pre-pandemic level and, significantly the rate of climb is stalling with every indication of levelling and then beginning to fall.
Back to Mr Boyle
and we know there are some small-scale examples of where they have changed public services but we’ve been talking about public service for the past 13 years and we’re not seeing anything of the scale and pace that is going to help the Scottish Government that are going to help them bridge the £1 billion gap in public spending.
Above and headlining BBC Scotland in November 2024, the Auditor General for Scotland, Stephen Boyle, criticises the Scottish Government again, in a sequence of high profile media appearances.
This is a uniquely Scottish experience as a public official, funded by all of us, enters the public sphere to deliberately harm the electoral prospects on one party, in the run up to san election, the 2026 Scottish election.
What’s my evidence?
From February 2024:
Above the Auditor General for Scotland. Below his website:
Note the negativity and the politicisation to undermine the image of the SNP Government in Scotland, ringed.
Now watch this:
Gareth Davies, the Auditor General for England and his website:
No negativity and no politicising to undermine the image of the Conservative Government.
And now, today, the Auditor General for Wales, Adrian Crompton:
His website:
All good in NHS Wales then, Adrian?
What about this?
Adrian?
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/
The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116
About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save his deposit in a Parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Brown_(Scottish_activis
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
Just not good enough from Audit Scotland..
“Although electric vehicles contribute to reducing transport emissions, this audit will focus on Scottish Government and councils’ activities to reduce car use. Audit Scotland is considering separate work on the transition to electric vehicles and the charging network as part of its future work programme.”
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Aside misrepresentation on the vehicle distance target, the reasoning behind it, to reduce ‘greenhouse gas emissions’, is being totally ignored by Audit Scotland.
I’m certain the data is for all vehicles including EVs, and since the policy objective was formulated, vehicle emissions have continued to fall.
Uptake of new EVs has increased in recent years, and fleet renewals have flooded the nascent second-hand EV market, so if reduction of emissions is the real objective, 20% is entirely attainable.
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