Year: 2025

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Canada buys two catamaran ferries from Romania which take another two years to make ready then quickly prove unsuitable for the conditions

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Professor John Robertson OBA From CBC Canada today: The Wolfe Islander IV (WI4) was off its regular course when it’s believed to have struck bottom, tearing a roughly 30-centimetre gash in its hull and causing the ferry to take on water, according to documents obtained by CBC. The collision happened just before noon on Dec. 4, when the long-awaited boat had only been carrying passengers for about three months. Now, after limping to dry dock in Hamilton with the help of tugboats, the ferry been out of commission for the same length of time. Ontario’s Ministry of Transportation (MTO) has yet to provide any information about what … Continue reading Canada buys two catamaran ferries from Romania which take another two years to make ready then quickly prove unsuitable for the conditions

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Latest Holyrood poll adjusted to minimise support for pro-independence parties

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Survation data based on 845 Scots, 16+, on 6-13 March 2025, the SNP lead on 34% but this may be a significant underestimate due to the continuing weighting of the sample to fit the 2014 referendum result more than 10 years. The electorate in 2025 compared with that in 2014 has lost around half a million older voters, two thirds of them No supporters and gained roughly the same number of younger voters, two thirds of them Yes supporters. While there will be some erosion of the Yes support as some age and become more … Continue reading Latest Holyrood poll adjusted to minimise support for pro-independence parties

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Many are glad of this:  the Scottish Government ‘directly boosting the incomes of parents claiming means-tested benefits’ and ‘pursuing a different social security agenda’ from Westminster

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By stewartb – a long read As the British Labour Party government in Westminster targets the Department for Work and Pensions for budget cuts, a London-based think-tank with a high media profile has acknowledged the positive impact on levels of child poverty of actions and financial commitments of the Scottish Government, by necessity through use of its devolved powers. The Resolution Foundation describes its mission as ‘improving the living standards of those on low-to-middle incomes.’ It claims to be ‘the leading UK authority on securing widely-shared economic growth.’ Its previous CEO, Torsten Bell  (2015-24) is now the Labour MP for … Continue reading Many are glad of this:  the Scottish Government ‘directly boosting the incomes of parents claiming means-tested benefits’ and ‘pursuing a different social security agenda’ from Westminster

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‘Complete insanity’ and ‘disaster after disaster’ – How affluent Canada’s ferry system fails

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Professor John Robertson OBA It’s now around two years since I heard a local councillor from the Island of Mull on Radio Scotland, suggesting that CalMac ran the worst ferry service in the world and that they should try to learn from other ferry services in other countries. I took him at his word and have monitored events from Alaska to New Zealand and, in the process found disaster after disaster, concerns far greater than reported here, from passengers killed by crew, through endless collisions and multiple fires to the more mundane, inflated prices, delays and really old ships. It’s … Continue reading ‘Complete insanity’ and ‘disaster after disaster’ – How affluent Canada’s ferry system fails

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How BBC England exposes the threat to GP surgeries of Labour’s National Insurance hike but BBC Scotland hides it and tries to blame Scottish Government instead

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC England, quite clear about the major threat to GP surgeries, in their headline above, and: GP practices could be pushed “over the edge” by a planned rise in the National Insurance (NI) rate for employers, a doctor has said. The government has said the NHS and the rest of the public sector would be shielded from the rise but that does not cover GP practices, many of which are run as small businesses. Dr Andrew Purbrick, who represents 300 GP practices across the south of England, said many would be forced to cut back on … Continue reading How BBC England exposes the threat to GP surgeries of Labour’s National Insurance hike but BBC Scotland hides it and tries to blame Scottish Government instead

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From the ‘Murder Capital’ of Europe to the safest place in the UK in less than 20 years but clearly too quickly for journalists, writers or comedians to adapt to

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That should read ‘treat’. How an otherwise excellent comedian continued to get laughs out an outdated image of the country with the lowest domestic violence levels in the UK. Professor John Robertson OBA This was first published in Scots Independent in February 2025 In 2005, only 20 years ago, according to the United Nations, Glasgow had the highest murder rate in the UK, higher than in Albania or Romania and was referred to in the media as the ‘Murder Capital of Europe.’ Scotland had a murder rate three times higher than in other parts of the UK. In sharp contrast … Continue reading From the ‘Murder Capital’ of Europe to the safest place in the UK in less than 20 years but clearly too quickly for journalists, writers or comedians to adapt to

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As Scottish Tories in Telegraph try to mislead and scare over prioritising major over minor crime how far better Police Scotland is at solving it

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph today: Police Scotland axes 12,000 investigations to reduce officer workload Force uses controversial protocol to drop ‘minor’ offences in a move it describes as a ‘proportionate response to crime’ – But Liam Kerr, the Scottish Tories’ shadow justice secretary, told the Scottish Daily Mail: “We repeatedly warned at the time that this reckless scheme would confirm the SNP’s surrender to criminals. “The public will be appalled that soft-touch SNP justice has resulted in thousands of crimes being written off and offenders let off without any punishment.” https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/03/18/police-scotland-axe-12000-investigations-reduce-workload/ You’d think, back in the day, that … Continue reading As Scottish Tories in Telegraph try to mislead and scare over prioritising major over minor crime how far better Police Scotland is at solving it

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Drug deaths – this is not whataboutery but the means of calling out political hypocrisy and media bias

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By stewartb It could be deemed ‘unseemly’ to make btl comment on something as tragic as drug deaths. Of course the real topic – the real motivation – is political and mainstream media practices amongst those opposed to the Scottish Government. Fundamentally, this is not whataboutery but the means of calling out political hypocrisy and media bias! Many parts of the UK are experiencing, to a worrying degree, the harms and worse of drug misuse. Trend data strongly suggest that present UK drugs policy and associated interventions are proving inadequate. At least in Scotland the mortality rate, whilst still far too … Continue reading Drug deaths – this is not whataboutery but the means of calling out political hypocrisy and media bias

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Kaye Adams the latest BBC Scotland presenter to deliberately mislead the public by conflating the Dundee University ‘Wendy’ jobs scandal with SNP free tuition

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By Liz S Saw this online via a Blue Sky account: “Kaye Adams is the latest BBC Scotland presenter to deliberately mislead the public by conflating the Dundee University scandal with free tuition. The Dundee University funding issue was caused by financial mismanagement. It has nothing to do with free tuition. More BBC propaganda” Strangely enough I also heard this via the new additional BBC propaganda programme, which is now a part of the BBC in Scotland , as in the podcast called Scotcast,. As they were also debating this yesterday prompted by the Dundee University funding issue, but with … Continue reading Kaye Adams the latest BBC Scotland presenter to deliberately mislead the public by conflating the Dundee University ‘Wendy’ jobs scandal with SNP free tuition

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Island with more than 100 000 population to lose its privatised Sunday ferry service

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Professor John Robertson OBA On 21 March 2021 (census day), the resident population of Jersey was 103,267. On 13 March 2025, BBC UK announced: Ferry travellers will soon be unable to get a ferry from Portsmouth to Jersey on Sundays after Danish operator DFDS took over. Jersey’s government chose DFDS to run the island’s ferries in December, with the first sailing on 28 March. The firm has contacted people who have bookings to offer alternative sailings and said the changes came after talks with tourism leaders and freight companies. Customers on social media have called it “shockingly bad” and “disappointing”, with DFDS … Continue reading Island with more than 100 000 population to lose its privatised Sunday ferry service