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By stewartb
As Scotland’s shoppers (and voters) view the front pages of newspapers without having to buy them whilst in supermarket queues and elsewhere (perhaps via the BBC), the messaging that NHS Scotland is ‘really bad’ and it’s that SNP’s fault, is fed drip by drip by drip – constantly, repeatedly – into the nation’s and the electorate’s consciousness.
After all, according to BMA Scotland in the press, NHS Scotland ‘is now dying before our eyes’.
Meanwhile in another universe, the BMA publishes this about NHS Wales and its relationship with Westminster government policies. Professor John Watkins, chair of the BMA Welsh public health medicine committee writes this on the BMA website (March 31, 2025): ‘Unprecedented demand: how the NHS has been brought to its knees – ‘Corridor care’ is endemic in all major emergency departments in Wales, resulting in patient harm and loss of life’.
See https://www.bma.org.uk/news-and-opinion/unprecedented-demand-how-the-nhs-has-been-brought-to-its-knees
The professor notes: ‘… in recent years, things have been different, something has changed, it is not the demand that becomes unprecedented but the ability of our broken NHS to cope, resulting in a healthcare system failing at all levels. (my emphasis)
‘The Labour government in Westminster, on election, recognised that, nationally, the NHS was broken, yet this should come as no surprise to anyone, it has been brought to its knees by a perfect storm caused by many years of underfunding, lack of strategic planning, lack of a realistic programme of training and recruitment of doctors and nurses and failure to adequately support social care, particularly for the elderly and infirm.’ The clear implication here is of a negative spillover to Wales of Westminster policies and actions. (And yet, NHS Scotland performs more often that not relatively well compared to its rUK peers.)
The Welsh BMA chair goes on: ‘The challenge for politicians in Westminster and Cardiff Bay, is what to do about it? While prevention of ill-health is a long-term strategy, the ageing population, with baked-in chronic disease, is a problem for the here and now. Lack of GPs and access to community services, results in over demand for ambulances, for non-urgent conditions, with patients often presenting at a late stage of illness.
‘Healthcare, social care and wider society are not separate entities that can be compartmentalised, each has its part to play. More funding is needed in our public sector services, in Wales. For example, we should not be closing schools of nursing at a time of national need, as has just been announced by Cardiff University and hoping that recruitment from overseas can fill the gap. As the general public, we need to act responsibly, not just on personal health but how we use services, thinking twice before calling ambulances, or attending emergency departments for self-limiting and chronic conditions.’
(According to the Nursing Times from April 10, 2025 – ‘A university that was considering scrapping its nursing school has found an “alternative proposal” that would see the school saved but the number of nurses it trains reduced’.)
More from the Welsh BMA chair: ‘As a society we need to stop deluding ourselves that we can get more services for less investment. The public sector has been cut to the bone, increased technology and innovation and new and improved but expensive drug therapy result in people living longer. This growth in the aged population means the NHS of the future is going to be more expensive than Nye Bevan ever conceived and will need change and investment to meet this challenge.’
Meanwhile, in the world that the leadership of the BMA in Scotland inhabits, NHS Scotland – (but not the NHS in England, Wales and/or NI?) – is ‘now dying before our eyes’. The BMA in Wales appears to acknowledge a link between the state of the NHS in Wales and a ‘public sector cut to the bone‘ by Westminster government policies. Lord Darzi’s stinging review of NHS England (September 2024) also pointed to the serious, negative impact on the NHS of prior Westminster government austerity. Notably, the BMA in England has referred to ‘an NHS widely wrecked from year upon year of relative underinvestment‘.
Perhaps the BMA leadership in Scotland – unlike its peer in Wales – is confused and thinks that Scotland is already functioning as an independent country with the full financial and economic powers of a normal nation-state! Or perhaps certain individuals who are able to acquire high media profiles in Scotland can’t quite square a claim of being ‘better together’ with being both ‘together’ and dependent upon a system of government in Westminster which for over a decade has ‘widely wrecked’ (in the words of a leading BMA Wales figure) the NHS in the UK.
Talking-up Scotland 'Albatraz' 
I’m pretty sure that if SNHS A&E waiting and ambulance response times were world beating (which we acknowledge it isn’t at present) both BBC Scot and STV will find someone who has been failed. Take today’s STV ‘top’ news item that a elderly lady with a broken hip had to wait far longer than normal. Firstly not sure how they knew at the time it was reported that the hip was broken but hey- ho it made a far better SNP bad story. Clearly they are taking lessons from Starwars in finding someone somewhere that has a bad story to tell. I guess we should not be surprised but just to depress us more our supreme commander at No10 has decided that with the SNP riding high in the polls Independence Referendum is just a distraction that he we can all do without that is of course until the MSM steps up a gear to undermine the Scot Government even more.
Robbo
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Paul Holden book.
“The Fraud: Keir Starmer, Morgan McSweeney, and the Crisis of British Democracy“
Synopsis of this book on Amazon is this…….
“Based on Labour Party files, including some never before publicly seen, this explosive investigation lays bare the intrigues, stratagems, and deceits that helped deliver Sir Keir Starmer to Downing Street.
Paul Holden shows how Keir Starmer has been the frontman for a ruthless, right-wing political project headed by Morgan McSweeney, now chief of staff in Number 10 and arguably the most powerful man in Britain.
McSweeney’s clique often employed dirty tricks to undermine the left-wing Labour leadership of Jeremy Corbyn, fuelling a moral panic over antisemitism and establishing front groups that hobbled prominent independent media outlets in the name of fighting ‘misinformation’.
McSweeney then guided Starmer to the Labour leadership on a platform that Starmer, once in office, almost instantly betrayed. Having conquered the party on false pretences, McSweeney and his allies set about purging opponents, marginalising the membership, and dragging party policy to the right.
These machinations were made possible by financial donations that McSweeney did not disclose—a violation of the law that arguably subverted Britain’s democratic system. But was McSweeney’s unlawful failure to report donations a mistake—or was it deliberate?
This is a sordid tale that includes hacked emails, anonymous smears, dodgy dossiers, cynical stitch-ups, and staggering hypocrisy. It traces the Labour Party’s transformation into a censorial, authoritarian machine, and sounds the alarm about the possible corruption of British politics by dark money“.
Reviews of the book from:
Owen Jones (Journalist) ““A meticulous account of the destructive political project that brought us the shambolic Starmer government. Told with controlled fury and filled with explosive revelations—essential.”
Peter Oborne (Journalist) “Beautifully elucidates Starmer’s careen from the honourable left to the racist right of British politics.”
Then there is a front page article today in The National newspaper where also the same story was in the “Canary” online two days ago….in respect to how Paul Holden, the author of this book, alleged that Labour Together hired investigators to look for leverage against him…….(dark stuff indeed if true).
The Canary article’s headline was:
“Labour Together set private investigators on me’ says author of new exposé ‘The Fraud”
They wrote……..
“Journalist Paul Holden , the author who book “The Fraud” triggered the ongoing scandal around Keir Starmer’s shadowy Chief of Staff Morgan McSweeney, has accused the Labour Together group McSweeney ran of setting private investigators on him after it found he was working to expose the decision by McSweeney and Labour Together to lie to teh Electoral Commission (EC) about it’s failiure to declare over £700,000 donations from Israel lobbyists and other rich donors”.
(You can read the Canary article in full online).
However four days ago it was reported that there is now a new complaint on these (over £700,000) donations …that is a new complaint made by the Tories , where the Tories have “urged the commission to open a fresh inquiry arguing that “new information” had raised more questions about the (£700,000) donations” .
But now it has been decided by the Electoral Commission that they “will not reopen an investigation into Labour Together, the think tank previously led by the prime minister’s chief of staff Morgan McSweeney“.
I wonder then how much the MSM will pursue this as a politically significant story, as they the same MSM , are often seen to be too keen (as in they relish) pursuing relentlessly (also regurgitating) any hint of , what they promote to be, impropriety connected to the SNP as a party and leaders of the SNP.
I fear that also within their UK that most of the various ‘regulators’ that exist are seemingly quite neutered and so then they are restricted in imposing appropriate fines and punishments that clearly do not fit the alleged ‘political crimes’……
Remember also when “On 17 July 2018, it was announced that Vote Leave had been found guilty of breaking electoral law by overspending, following testimony from three whistleblowers. Vote Leave was fined £61,000 and referred to the police”…..so that was the ‘fine’ imposed by the EC and this fine was in relation to this:
“The official pro-Brexit campaign for the UK’s EU referendum was fined in July for exceeding its £7m spending limit for the vote“…..
(A £61,000 fine imposed for them exceeding their £7 million spending limit by almost £500,000 – that is half a million………you can read the full report via the Electoral Commission site under “Vote Leave fined and referred to the police for breaking electoral law”….also “The Metropolitan Police ended its investigation into two pro-Brexit campaigners after allegations made by the Electoral Commission” and “The Met said it stopped pursuing the case after considering advice from the Crown Prosecution Service”…..).
So really, as a fine, it was not anywhere near appropriate…and Vote Leave even appealed the fine but then they dropped their appeal to it…….and the Met Police did not pursue it as a investigation that was referred to them by the EC.
However back to Labour Together………
In 2021 when this complaint was investigated by the EC , ” the commission then after their investigation fined Labour Together for late and inaccurate reporting of its donations”…..
“The donations were more than £700,000 that were not declared“.
However the fine imposed for this by the EC at the time ?
Well…………..
“Labour Together were fined £14,250 for failing to deliver donation reports within 30 days, inaccurately reporting donations (more than £700,000 that were not declared) and failing to appoint a responsible person within 30 days of accepting a donation”.
Note in 2021 there was no report of Police blue tents, no police involvement and no raiding of Labour Together’s HQ offices……….
As that as a political incident was apparently ‘different’ (from the SNP investigation) and for the public this is now something, as a political scandal, that is to be glossed over and so this is just what ?…….to now be ignored and so also forgotten about ?
That is why whenever I hear or read about any Labour politician or MSM outlet refer to the “SNP Police Investigation” as if , as a political story, it was the biggest story…..then nope sorry……
The fact that scandals and stories connected to other political parties, like say the Labour party , are not given as much prominence, is not because they are less significant , it is because they are actually more significant and also more constant.
So that is why they are , as UK party political stories and scandals, largely kept under wraps , with them not being (over) sensationalised in the same way that any #SNPBAD story is (by the media and also by the opposition parties).
As any promoted #SNPBAD story, is always (over) promoted by the media……….
They are also , as #SNPBAD stories, revisited time and time again by the media to then try to keep what the media and opposition parties declare as being #SNPBAD ‘stories’ ….very much ….always….Alive. (and…. so kicking…. the SNP).
Let’s see if this book by Paul Holden and the revelations it alleges is given any mileage (that it deserves) and so then given widespread publicity by the MSM…..
( The Forde Report – which you should all try and read -if you have not already done so- was not given the appropriate publicity or the consideration that it deserved by the MSM….and it included “allegations that some Party staff worked against Jeremy Corbyn’s efforts to win the 2017 general election”…..as well as other allegations against the Labour party…. as a party).
Dark forces indeed…………not forgetting also Peter Geoghegan’s book that was originally published in May 2020 “Democracy for sale: Dark Money and Dirty Politics.”….
Though the establishment (including the MSM) seemed to not want to (over) publicise or (over) promote it , that is peter Geoghegan’s excellent book, as a very scary and yet also a very accurate picture of how bad things were, and still are, within their ‘British’ Politics…..
Perhaps the lack of media publicity for books like Peter Geoghegan’s is because they, the mainstream and rogue media, are part of the problem too……..in a lot of them , as a media , often appearing to be conspiring with much of the great political cover up of how political donations from rich donors are dictating much of the policy within their UK…..via UK political parties…..as in the same UK political parties that much of the UK media are compromised by because of their, media’s, support for specific political parties ………….
As all of this kind of behaviour has stemmed from (pro) UK parties who seek power at WM……but then…….so do those who fund these same political (pro) UK parties also seek power from WM…… via their political donations………..that they donate (as in they give these donations in order to see a return for them as political donors) from these various (pro) UK political parties…..
Aye indeed ……..so much for the so called SNP Police Investigation…..a minnow of a case against what else is happening (and has happened) out there in BritNat politics……..
(if you did manage to read this long comment then please accept my apologies for any typos etc….as I’m only human….).
Liz S
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“a minnow of a case” compared to some other parties (many) ‘scandals’…..and I also suspect , that as a case, it will not be one that both the media and opposition parties will want us , the public aka voters, to see as being merely an ‘isolated’ example/case connected to the SNP…..
#DirtyCampaignsFundedByDirtyMoney
#ScottishElections2026
Liz S
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Also now being reported that “Scottish Labour’s ‘Thistle Network‘ is seeking “donations for next year’s Scottish elections from wealthy donors”….perhaps given the Labour Together donations scandal….and also Paul Holden’s new book on Starmer & McSweeney ….then as a new branch office campaign …..maybe not the best idea…..all things considered…..surely ?
#DemocracyForSale………..(yet again….by Labour’s branch office…….however did you know that Labour Together also gave £10,000 each to certain Labour candidates in Scotland for last year’s UK GE…….as in money talks or rather Labour assumes money (via donations) can win them an election)…….
Liz S
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How can we get this important information out to the general public? It is,serious stuff which everyone has a right to know and has been viewed up for far too long. People are getting increasingly disillusioned with Labour and the policies promoted by Starmer, so it would be useful if they could be told the dark story of how he came to power, certainly not by fair means!
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“How can we get this important information out to the general public”?
How indeed ?
Well there is a huge amount of things we could do but that’s not something one would want to disclose via any online public platform…..as why let the opposition know how and what we intend to do as part of the YES movement……but there are loads of options if we likeminded people could unite and so form action groups to both share and discuss ideas for a (successful) campaign that is both feasible , workable and more importantly likely to reach those who, so far , seem to still be so ignorant of all of the facts and Info…..to then finally manage to convert them to YES.
In other words a grassroots movement of independence supporters not burdened by (partisan) party politics and so everyone then having to indulge some people’s neverending petty grievances against the SNP or even against other independence parties……which will then only hinder and not progress our goal in achieving Scottish independence.
But what the Hell do I know…….TBH I am now kinda sick of it all ……and I do feel like a broken record via my (repetitive) comments on here on TUS…….and Prof Robertson is more than able to keep doing the business in adding his great posts with actual facts attached that then verify the truth he communicates so ably……….
Maybe I should do a suffragette act…chain myself to the railings of the UK but so called Scottish Office in Edinburgh……….Ha Ha
Liz S
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