Dear England, we can help you see through the media spin distorting your reality

Brenda Robb

Today the media are full of articles, opinion pieces and comments on UK Labour’s plan to transform the NHS. We in Scotland would like to check if you are happy with what is being said because we have considerable experience of political & media spin distorting the real issues.

Wes Streeting is offering a 3 pronged approach. Let’s start with the digital app, the doctor in your pocket. This promises several things – unprecedented control over your care, instant access to health advice, organising appointments made easier. It all sounds good doesn’t it? But take the health advice, this won’t necessarily come from an actual doctor but rather an AI chatbot doctor which we are promised will be rigorously monitored for accuracy. Will it? And also, who is behind the app and the AI systems, could it be an organisation like Palantir whose chief executive believes the NHS is obsolete, which has been given the go ahead to gather data on every newborn child in England, which believes in a market rather than a service economy? Will the money Labour intends to invest go towards building and maintaining huge power and water thirsty data centres or towards real life health staff in hospitals and health centres? Will your data be kept safe or sold to insurance companies or other organisations selling weight loss jabs and fitbit style merchandise? Should you be asking questions to make sure you know what your MPs are planning? Did you know the SNP have ruled out a data deal with Palantir and have another app builder with built in protections in progress?

What about these new local health hubs? (no, not 40 brand new hospitals as promised by one Boris Johnson). These sound like a great idea, a sort of Sure Start for health care all joined up and multi professional. How long will it take to set these up and will this require new builds or adaptations? Did you know Scotland already has this model in place? If not, why don’t you, why are politicians and the press not saying “look, here is an example we want to copy?” Are you going to run these alongside conventional, existing hospitals and if so where are you going to get the staff? Would reinstating the nurse bursary (which Scotland still has) help attract trainee nurses? Are you aware that opposition parties will expect perfection in any new builds as they did for the new hospitals in Glasgow & Edinburgh, then run relentless campaigns against any mishap to leave staff demoralised and defensive? Maybe check out how Labour has weaponised the NHS in Scotland, attacking policies and achievements whenever they can while ignoring multiple failings in England & Wales. And don’t get me started on league tables, how will denying funds to failing hospitals improve performance? How will you prevent individuals massaging the figures, hiding faults and making false claims – this is exactly what is happening to let Public Health England claim to be better than devolved nations. Is competition and a business model of health care the best way to deliver a people centred health service?

And finally, while the argument for moving from treatment to prevention is laudable, what could you possibly learn from Scotland? Well, what about Childsmile, a long running dental programme which has greatly reduced dental decay and the need for costly medical interventions. The work on sepsis and stroke treatments, the systems for infection control praised internationally and made possible by cleaning staying in house rather than doled out to private contractors. Reduction in bed blocking thanks to integrated care, better maternity care, mental health targets – do you know how your government has failed you and failed to let you make any comparisons with Scotland which would show just how badly things have gone wrong in England?

Can I suggest 2 things – that you read first this https://weownit.org.uk/news/5-ways-the-10-year-health-plan-got-it-wrong/ then visit https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/ for multiple posts about things Scotland has been doing that you haven’t been told about. Then get active and stay informed, look beyond the MSM for information, ask questions, join groups and conversations, fight for something better. If we can do it you can too, don’t sleepwalk into an American healthcare model before it’s too late

Love, Scotland

19 thoughts on “Dear England, we can help you see through the media spin distorting your reality”

  1. Nah – f*ck them and the horse they rode in on.

    Scotland can’t save the English from themselves, nor should we. They get what they deserve at the hands of their own ruling caste.

    We, on the other hand, are fully within our rights to call them out as a nation of second rate shysters and tell them to get f*cked.

    One thing though – we should be extrelemy aggressive in demanding consequentials if the English raise taxes across the UK to pay for the things we already pay higher taxes to afford.

    We can be sure they’ll try and scam a subsidy from us on that one.

    Rgds,

    Graham

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    1. can’t save the English from themselves, nor should we. They get what they deserve at the hands of their own ruling caste.

      Graham I agree with the first bit. We can’t save England and nor should we try. But we can talk to English people, ask them to question stuff based on our knowledge of how politics work, get folk to engage and not take it for granted that a political set will make all the decisions. Surely we want to build alliances, sway votes and stand up for what we believe in to build a bigger, better conversation about the future of our 4 nations

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      1. They don’t have it in them to be progressive – or contrite. Their entire mindset is premised on screwing each other over for a profit and they are, as a national mentality, incapable of conceding they are wrong.

        Just look at the Covid witch trails. That was 100% about burying their own incompetent dire performance by attacking our far superior one.

        So sorry Brenda – with the best will in the World England is irretrievable and our only course of salvation is to dump them at the kerb.

        By the way – Donald Trump’s big beautiful bill passed so trillions of debt is about to get dumped onto the internation markets and that totally gooses the UK Governments spending plans, so once again as it always was, our ability to live within our means goes down the toilet because we have those incompetent inbred cretins in London hanging around our necks like a bloody millstone.

        Have a great weekend!

        Graham

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  2. Absolutely brilliant article and it is also a very informative piece Brenda, thank you for writing it (and also thanks to TUS too ).

    I am way way sick of hearing that “The NHS is broken” from various rogue sources as I think we all know why this propaganda is being promoted and spread…..

    #Privatisation

    This is what Reform UK hope to unleash if they gain power….and as you say in your above article ” don’t sleepwalk into an American healthcare model before it’s too late”……we know that , but do those who intend to vote Reform UK know it. (well they better wise up sooner rather than later…..or we will soon see even more voters experiencing voters remorse, even worse than when many of them voted Labour last year in the UK GE ).

    Liz S

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  3. I have to say that it’s not only the government that doesn’t allow comparisons with Scotland. Every unionist on SM will sneer that what WM does is not relevant to the topic in question when discussing “SG “failures”. They also add that Scotland being the “least worst” isn’t something to crow about.

    So I do wonder if it’s actually worth the effort arguing with people who so obviously think they are right about everything. And then I realise I can’t let them away with it. That’s when they block me which can be quite frustrating because I can still see their rubbish but cannot tell them how rubbish it is.

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    1. This post on Bluesky bsky.app/profile/charlesbarr.bsky.social/post/3lt75rtg2yc2b reminded me of what you said, the bit about it being useless trying to argue with people who aren’t listening. Is this post pointing out that an MP voted for social security cuts an effective way of persuading a fellow human that their choices are wrong? Or is it sometimes our side that is guilty of not listening, that can come across as patronising or overbearing and simply harden opposing views? Maybe just reaching across the divide, being less fixed in our own opinions, might provide a better opportunity to make our points?

      I would extend this advice to Westminster MPs who often seem so entrenched in political debates that the debate itself becomes meaningless, just a way to score points and knock down opponents. Some of the best debates are on non political topics like assisted dying where there is room to have different or nuanced opinions.

      Like you I find it hard to discuss things with folk whose opinions are so fixed they are not open to listen to other points of view but do we not have to guard against being seen that way by our opponents?

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      1. I get where you are coming from and I understand what you are saying. I have, although not frequently enough for my liking, had reasonable conversation with folk who oppose my views, sometimes ending up agreeing and, more often, amicably deciding to agree to disagree.

        But more often my conversations are with hard core unionists like, for instance, the Historywoman and Agent P – most of the others having blocked me. While they are articulate their answers, although sarcastic, usually negative and always insulting are rarely X rated, the same can’t be said for their thousands yes, thousands of followers.

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    2. Bill Murray’s comment,

      “It’s hard to win an argument with a smart person, but it’s damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person,”

      kinda sums up your predicament.

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  5. I’m afraid it doesn’t work like that, people in England are told that Scotland is bleeding them dry, is dysfunctional and an annoyance at best, certainly not to be a beacon of hope or decent policies, oh no. If I point out anything good about Scotland to pals in England, they do not want to know and usually return with everything in the UK/Britain crap message, not just England.

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    1. If I point out anything good about Scotland to pals in England, they do not want to know and usually return with everything in the UK/Britain crap message, not just England.

      Yep, this is a challenge, but we can still assert out views and maybe sway some of the more open minded. We need alliances with the other devolved nations and the Corbynistas among others to create an understanding about the rights of our claims. Otherwise we just chat amongst ourselves getting nowhere

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    2. Absolutely A.H. I have a number of relatives living in England, and their minds are completely closed to the fact that Scotland can, and is, doing so much better than they are at many matters, including health. They are all unanimous in their opinion that they are supporting us in every way, and without their generosity, we would be a busted flush. I used to try, armed with facts and figures to prove my point, but now I don’t bother. It was a complete waste of my time, as their views will never change.

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      1. I moved to England nearly 3 yrs,ago to be closer to family and I find making and getting appointments here realky frustrating. You hzve to jump through so many hopes, but if you get anything wrong, you are disqualified and have to start again. Even then, you cannot give feedback or ask a question. I recently got a long awaited physio appointment and she was great but the exercise programme,she said she’d send me as a reminder has not come and there’s no way of contacting her!

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    3. It’s difficult to convince people when politicians from the Labour/Tory and Libdem parties in HR frequently stand up and point out how bad Scotland and the SG are.

      A quick trip 500 miles south, just listen to PMQs and the same narrative is ongoing with the so called Scottish Labour MPs feeding the PM questions that invite him to once again trash our government and Scotland in general.

      Even questions from the remaining SNP MPs get the same treatment. Scotland is one big joke to Westminster which makes it all the more peculiar that it is so determined to hang on tight to us.

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  7. Dear England we can also help you see through the likes of hate driven people like Rupert Lowe , ex Reform UK MP now an Independent (though not unique), who tweeted this:

    “Now here’s a mad suggestion. Please give it a chance… Let’s just stop treating illegal migrant men better than British citizens. What do you think? Sounds fairly reasonable, doesn’t it”?

    You know I also have a mad suggestion as a response to Rupert’s tweet but I cannot write it on here as it is full of expletives however I can add it minus the expletives…..as it tells him where to go……..so……….

    **** right off. And when you have ****** off, go **** off some more. And then keep on ******* off until you have ****** off as far as you can. And the go **** yourself some more.

    This is also apt as a statement for many many others who, unlike Rupert, are still members of what is actually the pretend party and whose main mission as a pretend party is to also try to sow hate and division just to try and convince gullible voters to vote for them.

    Voters who seemingly are easily swayed thus more susceptible to being conned by the pretend party and so they , as voters, vote for the pretend party in UK elections. After all, as voters , their other choices Tory and Labour have failed miserably so apparently why not have another dud aka pretend party in charge of their UK.

    The pretend party promises them that if they do vote for them then they , as ‘patriotic’ Brits, will see a ‘reform’ in their Britain , which is the fake country that disguises the fact that they at pretend party HQ are those who only want to bat for England (but mostly they want to bat for themselves and also for those who fund them).

    How much simpler it would have been if some voters here in Scotland had just had the courage and insight to vote YES in 2014……….instead of allowing themselves to be conned by the false (non existent) vision promoted by the Tories, Labour (mostly) and the Lib Dems in that they promised that Scotland’s future would be bright, far more strengthened, far richer (financially) and that we , as Scots, would be Better Together with the rest of the UK.

    Now look where we are since 2014…….various failed , flawed and useless Tory governments and now the same with a new Labour one but also we apparently have the prospect of an English Nationalist pretend party being touted, via current polling, as potentially being the next failing , flawed and useless UK government in 2029.

    If you are a Scot and you really really really cannot see that what has happened since 2014 is not in any shape of form the same Utopian vision of how BT , as in the NO side, described Scotland’s future in the UK, then I strongly suspect that you are either in complete denial , or that you are someone who has a very much warped logic and a false sense of reality and so then you must be embracing all of the chaos and sh*te that has gone down (down down) since 2014.

    Fear of change is one thing but to continue to suffer under the current awful and unbearable circumstances within their UK , I would have thought, is far far far worse……….and so a valid reason to seek Scottish independence.

    I think it is time for ……

    Dear Scotland, “we can help you see through the media spin distorting your reality” (and too the UK political spin that goes to great lengths to try to prevent many more within Scotland from finally saying enough is enough).

    Liz S

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