The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, 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, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS
From the Guardian yesterday, the above shocking headline.
You won’t be surprised to see the Guardian report is typically and lazily, Anglocentric when you see this from the original research report:
You won’t be surprised either to hear that my first thought was – ‘Is it the same in Scotland?‘
There’s not much on this but, by Strathclyde University researchers, in the Scottish Educational Review in 2023, I found:
Figures indicate that 54 per cent of Scottish applicants with an accepted offer to medical school (between 2009- 2012) were from the wealthiest postcodes. https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/91985/1/Wilson_Hunter_SER_2023_a_case_study_of_a_working_class_journey_into_studying_medicine.pdf
So, 48% from ‘working-class’ postcodes?
There may be some difficulties in direct comparison here but, nevertheless, between 5% and 48%, it seems more than likely that the percentage of working-class students in medicine is much higher in Scotland.
Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper [98!] 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_Bro
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
O/T.As poodle Starmer and King invite Trump to UK and if he does stay at Balmoral I hope we the Scottish people are not told to foot the Bill.
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time for fa free walk and free speech. Some may choose as per Janey, others may find our own wirds.
Dottieb
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“poodle Starmer and King invite Trump to UK”
As in invite him, Trump, to the place that they , the King & Starmer, both assume that they will always own, as in Scotland.
The newspapers, both English & (supposed) Scottish ones, are churning out their usual versions of ‘Fake News’ with their (non) reality of Starmer’s visit to America to meet Trump.
English papers like the Labour supporting Mirror newspaper wrote a headline that stated “Charmer Starmer” , surely it was ‘Fawning Crawling Embarrassing Starmer’ as a more appropriate headline ?
The Mirror’s editorial says Sir Keir passed the “Trump Test”.
That would be where Trump sees another country’s leader being slavishly subservient towards him, in a kind of “Trump test” that sees that other leader publicly humiliating himself.
Where that other leader does this only to try to ingratiate himself with Trump the **** (think Janet Godley).
Mainly because Trump gets to witness the other leader being so very desperate to get a trade deal with America and also to not have any Tariffs imposed by Trump’s America (First) , that they are then, as other country’s leaders, too willing to flatter Trump’s fragile ego , which Trump sees as being something that shows the world whose boss .
Or in Starmer’s case , we see him desperately trying to get a trade deal with America and also to not have tariffs imposed by America upon his Brexit UK.
The Daily Record has a large bold headline “See you in Scotland Donald” .
Yeh, see you Donald, the same Donald who is a scandal ridden American president , convicted of 34 felon counts and whose MAGA supporters in a previous election tried to overturn that democratic election in America, in what was a Trump incited attack by MAGA obsessives upon Capital Hill when Biden won that previous election.
The Daily Record also presented this as the King’s and the PM’s “Charm offensive”.
Well it was “offensive”, but not with “Charm”, it was just plainly “Offensive” to watch this humiliating, for Starmer and also for the UK, spectacle on TV.
Also to now read the next morning , what is a media sanitised version of this event, of the meeting between Trump and Starmer in the headlines of many UK newspapers
(I read the headlines online in social media but not actually by me buying the newspapers, as if).
But…….
No worries as it appears us mere ordinary people should forget Trump’s past and also what he is doing now together with the unelected billionaire Musk as his right (wing) hand man (donor) .
Though who is really in charge in America is up for debate, but who cares says the UK media, as that’s all history and the UK has no principles or morals anyway as far as UK politics and also the UK media are concerned.
Hello UK media , in your rush to create a fictionised version of Starmer’s visit to America , are you all then deliberately forgetting all of Elon Musk’s many many attacks on Keir Starmer as the UK PM ?
I mean is Musk not the (un)official American Vice president in all but title ?
Yes you are forgetting that UK media, and you are doing it deliberately too.
As Business is Business and apparently there is no sentiment in Business, especially Trade deal Business with Trump’s America .
So as per usual , the media fake news that is published by them as the UK politically compromised newspaper media, desperately tries to convince people in Brexit UK that a Trade Deal is imminent with America (First) , when most of us , as realists, all know that Trump’s word is not his bond, as what he says today is very likely to be gone tomorrow.
My take on Starmer’s visit and witnessing him pander to the insensitive buffoon that is Trump .
Well it was something that made me feel nauseous to witness.
Let’s be honest here, Starmer wants and needs the optics of supposed (but not really) good news from his visit to America to meet Trump.
Starmer hopes this will then reverse his recent bad polling results in the UK, but any reversal, if at all, will be a temporary blip , when the orange blimp that is Trump then backtracks on what he previously said to Starmer .
Also we all know that Trump’s “America First” will not result in Brexit UK ever getting a better Trade deal , but instead , if it ever does happen, it will be one where Trump’s “America First” will want to see many concessions being made only by the Brexit UK side to mostly advantage Trump’s America more.
Or rather , will advantage those American big Businesses who donated to Trump’s campaign and who are desperate to get into the UK market (to exploit it for their profit).
Starmer has also foolishly committed Labour, as a new UK government, to proceed with Brexit and he has also said that the UK will not go back into either the SM or the CU.
So Brexit UK is now still, with Labour in charge, a “Beggar that cannot be a Chooser’ as far as who it does trade deals with and what those trade deals produce for Starmer’s Brexit UK.
As Brexit UK also cannot be in a position to dictate a better deal for the UK , as other countries know , outwith the EU, that Brexit UK is there for the picking, the raiding and also very much for the exploiting.
Just think if we , Scotland, had voted YES in 2014 we would not then have been represented by the embarrassment of various awful Tory PM’s on the world stage, and now we have the even more embarrassing and even more inept new Labour PM, Keir Starmer , to represent us on the world stage. (apparently our own democratically elected Scottish government is not allowed to represent us on the world stage, as UK governments will not allow it !).
So instead of dodging that now Brexit UK bullet some of us decided to open our arms and welcome it, and so now , with Scotland still being a part of the UK, we are also expected to to be friends with someone like Donald Trump and welcome his visit to what is our country, Scotland.
Big loud Boo and not ever a Hurrah to see “him , Donald , come to Scotland”
But the (so called Scottish) Daily Record thinks that we, the public in Scotland, should regard Trump’s visit to Scotland as what, an honour ?
#NotInMyName and also I am very much at at the point of being pig sick of all of this S**t now , especially with Scotland still being a part of their Brexit UK !
Vote SNP in 2026
Liz S
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when I read the article I thought it was England only. They’re usual method.
Dottieb
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The Royals at the helm. £Billionaires. Out for what they can get. The corruption and criminality of the British State. Kept secret under the Official Secrets Act. Breaking every rule and International Law. To protect their incestious wealth. Killing and maiming millions the world over. Causing mass destruction. Breaking every commandment. Head of the Church. The privy council Masonics.
Trump will stop war. Save the planet.
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Ken will you please stop this ” Trump will stop war. Save the planet ” shit here, it was bad enough over on WGD with your “on the spectrum” excuse for Musk, Trump etc.. – This is not a logic free zone.
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Trump is stopping wars and helping save the planet. That is why Americans voted for him. To stop the wars and save the planet. It is happening. People on the spectrum display other traits from the norm. Scientific fact. These gestures can be taken in context. Not misconstrued by others. A fact of how people’s brains work. Often with different traits and talents. Often above the norm. They have to be conciliated just like many others. Diversity. Not be criticised all the time for being the exception to the norm. Advancement in medical science. It is up to Governments to counter excesses. Corruption or criminal behaviour. Enforce tax Laws. Or regulate content on internet platforms.
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Trump is stopping wars and saving the planet. Spectrum. Medical facts.
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Banned from WGD. Taken over by one view thread. No different views.
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