By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
From Public Health Scotland today:
5,206,528 people were registered with an NHS dentist as of 31 December 2024 (95.6% of the Scottish population). 1
I can’t find directly comparable figures for NHS England. I suspect they want to keep that one quiet after the media reporting, but from a UK Parliament report in 2023:
1 in 5 Britons (22%) are currently not “registered” with a dentist. Of those who were not “registered” 37% said this was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist.2
Note that access to NHS dentistry is worsening in England. Only 78% in ‘UK’ [England] registered, 17.6% lower than the 95.6% in Scotland. So access to NHS dentistry in Scotland is 22.6% higher (17.6% of 78) than in UK.
Sources:
- https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-december-2024/
- https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5803/cmselect/cmhealth/964/report.html
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
…but , when discussing Dentistry in Scotland , people with no knowledge of the subject , like Anas Sarwar , try to pretend that the dire situation in England is the same in Scotland .
If only Sarwar had a background in this topic then he would be able to correct the mistaken impression that …oh , wait ..!
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Can’t see the comments…hm.
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O/T apologies
Starmer is a hypocrite, yes I do know that is not new news where we are or indeed it seems, via recent polling, also not new news elsewhere in the UK either.
However with his hypocrisy he, Starmer, has found support from both the Tory MP Robert Jenrick and also the former (useless) Tory PM Liz Truss, who (rightly) lost her seat at the last GE.
As apparently they both support a decision that Starmer has just announced in stating that Defence spending is being increased.
They both see it as a “step in the right direction” (so not a “new direction” for Labour UK but the same direction as the previous Tory UK government on this ) , but it will be at the expense of foreign aid being cut for poorer countries.
He has announced a rise in defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027, funded by a cut in overseas aid , so adding an increase of 0.2% of GDP to defence spending and so that means a suggested cut in the foreign aid budget from 0.5% of GDP to 0.3% to help fund the intended increase in the defence spending.
Just announced by Starmer in time for his visit to America to meet Trump, a coincidence or opportunistic of him ?
I know what I think !
Could Labour be any more Tory if they tried ?
Again, I know what I think !
So why is Keir Starmer (and Gordon Brown too) hypocrites ?
Well Bella Caledonia tweeted this :
“Gordon Brown 2009: “We will pass legislation that the British govt is obliged to raise spending on aid to the poorest countries to 0.7% of our national income. Others may break their promises to the poorest, with Labour Britain never will”
However the other Labour hypocrite Keir Starmer tweeted this in July 2021.
“The Conservatives have just voted to cut international aid. Cutting aid to help the world’s poorest during a pandemic is callous – and not in our national interest. Boris Johnson is damaging our international reputation around the world”
“During a pandemic” ?
Surely a supposed wealthy state as the UK likes to present itself as being , would not cut aid to the poorest in other countries throughout the world at any time, never mind just during a pandemic !
Especially cutting foreign aid to poorer countries only in order for that supposed wealthy state, the UK, to fund an increase in their own defence spending, while also allowing their own UK citizens to suffer within the UK due to their many cruel decisions and their ineptitude since they, Labour UK, were elected last year as the new UK government.
Cuts to pensioners WFP, the Tory two child benefit cap sustained, WASPI women abandoned and cast aside , benefits overhaul to disadvantage the most vulnerable etc etc
So then is it a case of , with Labour………Do as I say not as I do.
That is the strong Labour message, heavily influenced by an even stronger Tory vibe, both here in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK.
Not much of a winning strategy is it ?
I thought people in the UK voted the Tories out last year in the GE ?
So how come we still have Tories as the UK government ?
Certainly this and also a multitude of many other things are reasons that we should not let Labour win in 2026 in Scotland, I mean Surely not ???
I bet Reform UK also think this a step in the “right (wing) direction’ also !
Vote SNP in 2026.
Liz S
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