Tom Gordon knows a lot of wee details about the Salmond vs Sturgeon ‘War’ but he doesn’t know how unimportant it is for the Independence movement. In a long piece, free-to-read, he covers everything you could think of. Fascinating? To others in the Holyrood Bubble, I suppose. Unable to find an anorak, I couldn’t bear to read it all and jumped to the end where I found: Two of Scotland’s political giants appear intent on slugging it out until they reach a demented, bloody draw. Only the Unionists will be smiling. They do need something to smile about but with … Continue reading Classic in-the-Bubble commentator’s wishful thinking

History made again as Yes vote soars to 56% – the highest ever in an online poll Today brings word of something of an oddity – the first ever poll on independence conducted by a firm called JL Partners, which doesn’t seem to be affiliated to the British Polling Council (or not yet, at any rate).  However, the pedigree of the people running it appears to be beyond question.  How and why the poll was commissioned is unclear, because the fieldwork took place well over a month ago, meaning it is less recent than the Savanta ComRes poll that put … Continue reading All the Unionist Attacks come to nothing as YEs scores 12 in a Row!

Continuing Scottish Labour’s habit of supporting anyone at all if they think they can score points against the Scottish Government, Monica Lennon said two days ago: The outbreak at Hatton Lea is extremely worrying and my thoughts are with the loved ones of those who have tragically died. It’s vital that the care home is given support to maintain safe staffing levels and that residents get the healthcare they need. Strong local partnership working is more important than ever. The well-being and safety of residents and staff is paramount, and I welcome HC-One’s proactive communication with local politicians. So, a … Continue reading Scottish Labour praise giant care corporation and press SNP Government to help it out!

‘Care Giant’, HC-One has announced an unspecified number of deaths at Hatton Lea Care Home in Lanarkshire. The BBC report, above, does get round to some important context but only after allowing HC-One to present their case for how good they are: The Press Association news agency said it understood the outbreak began on 15 October and by five days later 18 of the 29 residents in the unit had tested positive. Several residents were subsequently admitted to hospital. It comes after 15 people at HC-One’s Redmill Care Home in East Whitburn, West Lothian, died in an outbreak earlier this month. … Continue reading Bigger is deadlier

As lockdowns were eased and schools and universities re-opened, cases began to rise across the UK. The UK Government has tried three interventions since then, all constrained by pressure from powerful business interests, many sponsors, all cursed by poor communication skills, all unsuccessful. Labour-run Wales may have acted too late it seems. Northern Ireland, too has acted late. It seems to be working now but a terrible price may be paid in lives as death catches up with infections. The above Independent SAGE graph suggests Scotland’s strategy is working though, typically Anglocentric, they have missed the partial lockdowns imposed in … Continue reading Sad Commentary on Tory Incompetence

Dismayed by the polls celebrating the First Minister’s popularity North and South of the Border and by the surging infection rate in England, a range of commentators have pounced on any statistics they can find to suggest she is just image and no substance. It has been said since the first days of the pandemic and is still being said today. The notion that Scotland has done no better than England in managing the pandemic is a sad compensation they hope for their own misery. The above piece only just over three weeks ago, is typical. It was written at … Continue reading Why won’t they tell scots this?

Headlining in Business Insider, Ken Symon tells us: Business groups hit out at today’s Scottish Government five-tier local Covid restrictions announcement warning that it will cause “confusion and distress” and would be the last straw for many firms. The Scottish Licensed Trade Association (SLTA) said the new tier system, which comes into force on Monday, has been introduced without taking into consideration the concerns of the hospitality industry and will cause “utter devastation and sleepless nights for industry owners, operators and staff .” SLTA media spokesman Paul Waterson said: “The situation couldn’t get any worse and we are fielding calls from … Continue reading Better Together figure attacks SNP Government Policy to save lives

The morning after 37 die, in an astonishing sequence of reports challenging the Scottish Government’s strategy to reduce the infection rate and thus the death rate to come, BBC Scotland’s agenda is a sequence of stories questioning the strategy and headlining ‘damaging covid curbs on jobs and businesses’. We then hear what is meant by business – just non-essential consumption, drinking and leisure, temporarily closed pubs, gyms and less Christmas shopping. I’m sorry, lives come first. Worst of all, we hear of the threat that nightshift taxi driving will ‘cease to exist.’ It seems they’re getting other daytime jobs. Wait, … Continue reading Sorry First Minister some old folk will just have to ‘cease to exist’

The Scotsman yesterday with three reports questioning the Scottish Government’s strategy. The Irish Independent, informative and educational. BBC Scotland casting doubt on compliance, portraying the Scottish Government as ‘Big Brother’, highlighting death and suggesting businesses are victims of harsh treatment. RTE, the equivalent to BBC, informative and educational, helping it’s audience without demoralising them. There urgently needs to be a critical discussion of the role journalists play in UK society. Does this include education, or should the focus just be on holding others to account combined with human-interest stories? Currently, there is a debate about the UK’s comparative failure in … Continue reading How a normal country’s media help fight a pandemic

By sam Outsourcing resulted in the degradation of the terms and conditions of the workers in care homes. Privatisation of care homes was much more marked in England than Scotland. It is likely to be easier to take social care out of private hands in Scotland than England. Here is why. https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/adult-social-care-is-privatisation-irreversible/  In England “Market Penetration:….In 1979, 64% of residential and nursing home beds were still provided by local authorities or the NHS; by 2012 it was 6%. In the case of domiciliary care, 95% was directly provided by local authorities as late as 1993; by 2012 it was just … Continue reading Outsourcing Care for the Elderly