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Today, pollster Ipsos are reporting that across Europe, people worry more about crime and violence than anything else, climbing above other concerns from early 2025. Here’s the trend.
It may be that for some of the above 30 countries crime and violence is not the number one concern but I can see no data to explore, for that.
In Ipsos Scotland‘s most recent poll, December 2025, Crime and anti-social behaviour/law and order was eighth, at 20% and had been at that level for years.
Sir Prof John Curtice confirms the above, today, in:
Yet, only 20 years ago:
It was Europe’s murder capital. Then Glasgow stopped excluding kids from school. The question of how to solve what seems like a knife-crime epidemic is one that many of us are currently asking. And any search for how to “do better”; for innovative solutions to knife crime leads straight to Scotland and the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SVRU), which was founded in 2005 after WHO had dubbed Glasgow ‘the murder capital of Europe’.
“Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in,” says SVRU Head, Jimmy Paul. In 2005, there were 152 homicides in Scotland. There were 170 street gangs across Glasgow, with as many as 3,500 members aged between 11 and 23. Someone was given the ‘Glasgow Smile’ on its city streets every six hours, a horrific, life-altering facial wound: a cut from the corners of the mouth right up to the ears.
Now, knife possession has halved, the murder rate is barely a third, murder by children is so low that the media must milk a single case for weeks.
Imagine this trend had gone the other way, who’d be to blame? The Scottish Government, the SNP.
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What have they done? Two things are obvious:
1. School exclusions:
2. Police Staffing:
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Talking-up Scotland 
“Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe”
See also “Safe” as in the sense of our so called (UK) ‘National security‘.
National as in the UK State……
Posts today, 2 March, by X account of Saul Staniforth
“Yvette Cooper condemns Iran for behaving recklessly”!
“Also the same foreign secretary condemning “the scale of the Iranian attacks over the weekend” and the fact that airspace is closed because of those attacks. Brazen”.
“Yvette Cooper says its appalling that ‘Iran has retaliated‘ to being attacked and she calls on them to stop retaliating. Yes, really”.
(As did Starmer BTW in his wee speech at the weekend)
“Yvette Cooper (who backed the Iraq War) is asked what lessons we’ve learnt from Iraq
Cooper:”.. this threat from Iranian nuclear weapons”
Among other things Chilcot found the govt deliberately exaggerated the threat as a pretext for war The (this) govt are doing it all over again”.
So we now have neither Cooper nor Starmer condemning Israel or America for their military aggression against Iran in a illegal war.
#AnotherOne
They never do, as in condemn Israel, yet once again Israel are clearly the aggressors whose reaction is always excessive and relentless, to the extent that only complete obliteration seems to satisfy them and so be their ultimate goal…………as their objective is what ?
A Muslim free Middle east……..controlled by Israel ?
For some reason both America & the UK , irrespective of who is in charge in either of these (now) rogue states , seems to always comply with , support and so then enable Israel to keep behaving as they do……..with no consequences as in punishment.
In the UK just now we have to listen to the supreme hypocrite that we know as Keir Starmer speak of how cruel and ruthless…….and murderous…..those whom Israel are , checks bloody notes, attacking while the lack of condemnation on how cruel, ruthless and murderous Israel are is being disregarded as in being ignored.
How compromised must political leaders in both America and the UK be, to then be so blatantly complicit and so aligned with Israel…..or are they both so financially reliant upon money sourced from various Israeli sources for their respective political campaigns that then sees them adopt…….always………a pro Israel position.
Much of the American and UK media are also as guilty of doing the same….as in turning a blind eye to atrocities committed by Israel…..and so then taking their side…always.
Israel being their nominated victim.
Starmer has form in telling a country not to retaliate against attacks by Israel as he did the same when Israel , in the past, also attacked Lebanon.
Well here is a reasonable Q for him………..
Why is the UK increasing it’s expenditure on Defence in the supposed possibility of Russian aggression in the future….when Starmer’s position seems to be one where if a country is being attacked ….then , according to him, that country being attacked should not retaliate….
Or is it always a case of that being only applicable when it is Israel who is the aggressor and so if the country(s) that they , Israel, attack are Muslim countries , then and then only, should those (Muslim) country(s) allow themselves to be attacked aka decimated by Israel and so then not respond.
Muslim countries have thousands dead (because of Israel aggression) but then they should ensure that they do not retaliate so that Israel then has no casualties…………
Also these invasions by Israel are what creates Refugees seeking asylum to places like the UK, but the UK does not want to help them, but it does want to help Israel create refugees from all of these (Muslim) countries that they are bombarding with missiles that are then destroying everything within those countries…
Also in supporting Israel does that then make America and the UK more safe or less safe from future terrorist attacks ?
So there is more than just “being and feeling safe” via domestic crime perspective , as there is also needing to feel “safe” in what is an increasing unstable and so unsafe world , where we now see some countries being run by unstable warmonger leaders…….whose sole motivation for war is to try to distract their own citizens from other homegrown (domestic) problems involving them as leaders.
Where no one is safe…..
(Of course also , another factor , is that we also have rich Israeli individuals and rich Israeli organisations funding the campaigns of both American and UK leaders political parties……follow the money yet again).
Liz S
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Just reported and I am …#NotShocked
“The UK has agreed to a US request to use British military bases for “defensive” strikes on Iranian missile sites, Sir Keir Starmer has said”
“defensive trikes” as in more really aggressive strikes surely ?
Also Mr U-Turn aka PM Starmer does it again……..
Is America grateful…(ever).
Nope..
As it has also been reported that….
“Donald Trump said that particular decision “took far too long”.
So Brexit UK must really really be in the S*** if they, via their UK governments, are prepared to be constantly Sh*t upon by America…not just by any America buy by a Trump led America.
Keir Starmer still proving that he, as a weak PM, never learns…..
Makes same mistakes and bad decisions over and over again.
Not only will he constantly seek to pander to and so then appease those who publicly criticise him , like Trump (also Netanyahu has also criticised the UK for previous decisions) he , Starmer, is then also emphatically proving to the whole world (who knew already) just how weak his Brexit UK State really is……
#UK-Not-A-Force_To-Be-Reckoned-With-In-The-World
More really a spent force……..due to a succession of dysfunctional aka Cr*p UK governments………endorsing Brexit an obvious economic disaster for their UK , that they were and still are too afraid to reverse as a policy.
Liz S
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Since I have not, as yet, put my soap box away Ha Ha
I have to add that I also saw this today, 2 March….
The so called US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said this :
“Israel has clear missions as well for which we are grateful. Capable partners are good partners, unlike so many of our traditional allies who wring their hands and clutch their pearls, hemming and hawing about the use of force … no stupid rules of engagement.”
Well had it not have been for UK Brexit then one of those “traditional allies” as in the UK State, who Hegseth sees as being one of those who “Wring their hands and “clutch their pearls” and who also apparently “hum and Haw” , could have told him , Trump and also all of those big greedy American corporations to GTF as far as them having any involvement within our NHS and also with other services within the UK State………..
Alas this is a Brexit UK so that same Brexit UK just has to just suck it up….and so then just take it….like the weak State the UK is.
#America-Is-A-Abusive-Enemy-And-Not-An-Ally-Of-The-UK-State
More really an abusive relationship between the US and the UK ….as opposed to the ridiculous false notion that the relationship between the two is a ‘special’ one………
That ship never really sailed did it ?
The good news is now Trump has well and truly sunk that ship now anyway…Ha Ha.
Farage will not be able to save it (the fake relationship)…..in the future….as there is no Lifeboat big enough to rescue what is becoming more of a toxic relationship between the US and the UK….as apparently some ‘Patriots’ in England think that words matter….so I have to assume that Trumps abusive words to their Patriotic minded Britain really matters….surely ?
The ‘special relationship’….well…….
It’s not even in the heads of American and British politicians, as a reality , as it just comes out of their mouths …..like just another empty slogan , being said by both American and British politicians…..
Where the Americans only repeat it when they want something either to be be done by or they want something from the Brits and the British politicians repeat it to British citizens as they need to con their citizens into thinking Britain are only complying with American requests as America is Britain’s friend, ally as , they say, there exists a ‘special relationship.
Here is a reality and what Scotland could tell one of it’s enemies….as in one who abuses you, belittles you and who also disrespects you…..and thinks they can interfere in our Scottish business on Scottish independence……
‘Tell them , the Yankee Doodle Dandies, to get their military bases out of Scotland and also to remove their ******* nuclear weapons out of Scotland too‘……….no need for Scotland to “clutch pearls, wring our hands or to hum and haw” ….just get them telt.
So much for America policing the world….more like they are S**tting on it….aided by other rogue State aka Regimes.
(fill in the ** blanks)
Liz S
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“‘Multiple people stabbed’ by knifeman in Scots city as schools locked down” Sun in Scotland headline in their Facebook page.
“Multiple stabbings” is the main headline on GB News TV.
This was in relation to two people being stabbed in Edinburgh and Police Scotland say it is not being treated as a terrorist incident.
The two people stabbed are now receiving treatment in hospital.
BTW Multiple – means having or involving several parts, elements, or members.
“several” so not just two then.
Yes indeed two people stabbed, is two people too many, but where is the benefit or service via news outlets misreporting a serious incident , that could , via their misreporting, potentially cause more alarm, more fear and so more worry in people who live in that area/City , especially when the police now say that there is not believed to be any wider risk to the public.
UK Media exaggerating when something bad has happened in Scotland and also then reporting and so narrowing it down to ‘happening’ within Scotland.
Why are they, the UK media, never there to widely report upon all of the positive things that come out of and so that come from Scotland.
#Not-Their-UK-Media-Overall-Agenda-For-Scotland
It’s almost them openly adopting a reckless strategy of them saying….
‘Let us, as a UK media, not wait for all of the trivial things like all of the full facts and all of the intel’……
Instead let us, as the UK media, firstly speculate, exaggerate, sensationalise any incident and so then try to weaponsise it and so then aim to gain some leverage for the non arguments of those on the right of politics………
Also with this incident being reported by the UK (English) media we are also getting a taste of ‘See we told you, there is NO Scottish exceptionalism now with Knife crime’ as in a #Not-Just-In-England.
Who speaks for Scotland ?
As in who, within the media ?
Well to try to find that out , would be akin to looking for a needle in a Haystack………
Too illusive to the point of being almost non existent………however if you are looking for who speaks against Scotland……then there is far too many to note in a list that one could ever even attempt to try to add onto here…….. endless that list is.
I am going to wait until the full story comes out on who and why someone within an area of Edinburgh stabbed two people…..but I will also be very selective in whom I choose to get that information from…..as fake news that is greatly embellished via MSM and Rogue media is clearly in abundance.
Liz S
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