Within the Deloitte/Reform report, today, The State of the State, the above caught my eye. It suggests that Scots are notably more optimistic that investing in renewable energy will lead to the creation of new jobs and boost the economy. Click to access deloitte-uk-state-of-the-state-2020.pdf Continue reading Scots most optimistic about renewables
In the Herald today: Grouse shooting: Scottish Government funded research ‘confirms its major socio-economic importance’. A “ground-breaking” new study has highlighted that grouse shooting delivers significant socio-economic benefits, affirming its place as a much-valued upland land use. Commissioned by the Scottish Government, the research – led by Scotland’s Rural College in conjunction with the James Hutton Institute – shows that grouse shooting sustains many jobs and delivers high levels of local and regional investment while receiving no public funding. Like many of you, I suspect, several parts of me started to twitch when I read this. The reports are huge … Continue reading Biased reading of grouse shooting research?
All over BBC Scotland today ‘a leading physician‘ warns us of a ‘perfect storm‘ and appears to be using evidence from England to do so: Scotland’s NHS is “facing a perfect storm” as staff shortages and a lack of hospital beds hamper efforts to tackle rising numbers of coronavirus cases, according to a leading physician. Prof Jackie Taylor said a “coherent strategy” for testing staff and all hospital patients was needed. She also called for more flexibility for under-pressure services to be able to reduce non-urgent procedures. The Scottish government said plans were in place to deal with peak demand. … Continue reading ‘Leading’ doc copying theatrical language and facts from NHS England helps no one here
The Times today published the details of where infections arrived in Scotland from in the week-ending October 25th. In the week ending October 25th, 481 cases of Covid-19 were associated with travel from England while only 97 appeared to come from Europe and Turkey. Given that new infections had been suppressed to single figures in July, the subsequent increases were imported. What can we, should we do? What kinds of business by salesmen and executives cannot be done on Zoom? Drivers can be easily isolated and sanitised. Continue reading In one week 481 cases from England but only 97 from Europe
By stewartb: Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking on my part, but are there more signs of the historical myths of ‘Great Britishness’ being examined and exposed? Published on 26 October, 2020 in New Yorker magazine is a preview of a soon to be published book by Stanford University historian Priya Satia entitled: “Time’s Monster: How History Makes History”. It poses the question: ‘how did the British get to be so blinkered about their own history?’ The New Yorker article is itself a good read for anyone reflecting on the ‘goodness’ of the UK in the world. It includes this: ‘The … Continue reading Time’s Monster
stewartb Having quickly read both Professor Curtice’s blog (link below) and also the relevant chapter of the report it refers to, I am left with an impression that in drafting the former and the conclusions of the latter, there may have been an attempt to emphasise the similarities between attitudes in England and Scotland – it would be remarkable if there were none – but to minimise or underplay the differences. In the ‘Overview’ section of the main report, this is stated: “People living in Scotland tend to be more social – democratically minded than people living in England.” And: … Continue reading Is Scotland More Egalitarian than England?
From ScotCen: Social Research that works for society on 29th October, further evidence that those living in Scotland are more commonly in favour of progressive, egalitarian, leftist policies, than those in England: For example, people in Scotland (45%) are more likely than their counterparts in England (34%) to feel that it is wrong that people on higher incomes can buy better education than those on lower incomes. There is a similar gap when the same question is asked about health care – 42% in Scotland think that is wrong compared with 32% in England. Scotland’s somewhat more egalitarian streak also … Continue reading Scotland tends to be more progressive than England
From Insider today: Employment in Scotland’s video games industry grew by 17% in the 18 months to April 2020, according to new data from trade organisation TIGA. Scotland is the fourth largest games cluster in the UK after London, and the South East and the North West of England. The TIGA research shows that Scotland has 1,803 permanent and full-time equivalent creative staff working on games development in 96 countries. This is up from 84 companies employing 1,537 staff in November 2018. Scotland is home to 7.3 per cent of the UK’s total games companies and 10.7 per cent of … Continue reading Employment in Scotland’s video games industry grows by 17% in one year
From BBC Essex today: An NHS hospital where a woman bled to death in childbirth has been given an “urgent” deadline to keep patients at its maternity unit safe. A letter seen by the BBC reveals the Care Quality Commission (CQC) found unsafe staffing levels at the unit at Basildon Hospital throughout August. The CQC said the trust that runs it had until next Monday to implement appropriate measures. The trust said it had a “robust improvement plan in place”. It’s a horror story. Findings from the latest inspection included: Only four shifts throughout the month of in August had … Continue reading A woman bleeds to death in a hospital but the Government is not mentioned and no Labour MP exploits it
Richard Leonard gets a free pass from the Scotsman to attempt an essay on why Sturgeon should not be doing the briefings: His thesis is that she’s not doing well but his true purpose is naked. She’s doing too well and making him look bad or, to be honest, nearly invisible. Back in January 2020, even before the briefing boosted her ratings: On the matter of trust in politicians’ statements about Scotland’s future, only Nicola Sturgeon was in any way trusted with 46% for and against her, improved from 52 to 41 against her in 2014. For the others, it … Continue reading Because she is too bloody popular, Richard 6%?
