Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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99% of drug and alcohol patients seen in 3 weeks, 99% of children and adolescents with mental health problems seen on time and 98% of cancer patients begin treatment within 31 days but local Labour MP prefers you don’t know that

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being missed. Professor John Robertson OBA UK Labour’s Elaine Stewart outside her local hospital to shout about supposed failures, demoralising passing staff again and being carefully selective about what locals should know. There are two cancer treatment targets. The 62-day standard states that 95% of eligible patients should wait no longer than 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment.  Only one Scottish NHS board meets that target. This is the longer of the two targets presumably for good reason. The shorter target, the 31-day standard, states that 95% of eligible patients should wait no longer … Continue reading 99% of drug and alcohol patients seen in 3 weeks, 99% of children and adolescents with mental health problems seen on time and 98% of cancer patients begin treatment within 31 days but local Labour MP prefers you don’t know that

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Disgusting Daily Record politicises one baby death to malign Scotland’s maternity service, the best in Britain

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Record today with another single case of supposed NHS failure then generalised and politicised to mislead readers and viewers. This representation of Scotland’s maternity services, clearly politicising a tragic issue with disinformation for political purposes, ie weakening the SNP vote in 2026, is disgusting. It could not be more inaccurate. Stillbirth and Neonatal Mortality First, the stillbirth rate in Scotland, England and Wales is 3.5 per 1 000 total births, 3.8 and 4.4(!).1, 2 Germany is 3.7. This reflects Scotland’s lower child poverty, more social housing, free prescriptions, lower rents and cleaner hospitals after Nicola Sturgeon kept … Continue reading Disgusting Daily Record politicises one baby death to malign Scotland’s maternity service, the best in Britain

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Brian Leishman kisses the PM’s ring for early release in error and enjoys the whip again

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By Liz S “Whip restored to suspended Labour MP Leishman” As if that is news that was not expected at some point. He , Leishman, was said to be one of four Labour MP’s who have had their suspension lifted after a discussions with the chief whip Jonathan Reynolds on the previous Friday . So Brian Leishman , formerly a supposed Labour rebel with a cause, has now promised to become a good boy , so I assume he has also promised the Labour Chief Whip that he, Brian Leishman, will be a rebel no more ? On social media Leishman wrote: “People can rest assured that I will … Continue reading Brian Leishman kisses the PM’s ring for early release in error and enjoys the whip again

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Knife-enabled crime falls in England and Wales but to still TWO to THREE times higher than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Ben Kinsella Trust, a charity that tackles knife crime through education and campaigning, yesterday: New figures [England & Wales] show a 5% drop in knife-enabled offences, with 51,527 incidents recorded in the year ending June 2025… Down from 54,215 the previous year and 7% lower than pre-pandemic levels. https://benkinsella.org.uk/knife-crime-offences-hit-their-lowest-level-since-before-pandemic/ The comparable figure in Scotland, 5% up, on the previous year, was 1 958. https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2024-25/documents/recorded-crime-in-scotland-2024-25-tables/ All things being equal, you’d expect the figure for England & Wales to be 11 times greater, 21 538 but was, in fact, 51 527, between two and three times … Continue reading Knife-enabled crime falls in England and Wales but to still TWO to THREE times higher than in Scotland

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We’ve tried really hard but cannot find a prisoner released in error and still ‘on the loose’ in Scotland so Call Fiona Stalker on the restarted ‘Call Kaye’ show to help us, please! It doesn’t have to be true. A neighbour?

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Professor John Robertson OBA, Director of the Goebbels Scotland Education Trust Are there any reports of prisoners released in error in Scotland who have yet returned to prison No absconding cases identified: Despite the volume of errors, all available reports from November 2025 explicitly state or imply that affected prisoners were successfully returned to custody through police cooperation. No sources mention ongoing manhunts, fugitives, or prisoners who “have yet returned” (i.e., remain at large). The SPS’s transparency protocol suggests quick resolutions, and opposition critics (e.g., Scottish Conservatives) have focused on the errors themselves rather than failures to recapture.1 This contrasts … Continue reading We’ve tried really hard but cannot find a prisoner released in error and still ‘on the loose’ in Scotland so Call Fiona Stalker on the restarted ‘Call Kaye’ show to help us, please! It doesn’t have to be true. A neighbour?

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A curious tale of flag flying by an Edinburgh hotel!

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By stewartb For a little light relief on TuS from countering the gaslighting of Scotland, this is to pass on the tale of a curious vexillological journey being played out in public view in Edinburgh. It’s about the flying of flags – big, brand spanking new flags – in front of a well known hotel that is situated on a prominent site in the Bruntsfield area of the capital.  The curious thing is that the choice of flags by the hotel’s management – its choice of what to fly from two long flag poles – has changed no less than … Continue reading A curious tale of flag flying by an Edinburgh hotel!

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“Scotland is the place to be for para-gymnastics so here we are” 

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Professor John Robertson OBA Scotland is the place to be for para-gymnastics, so here we are,” says Kathryn Sinnott of Hertfordshire. Why? From STV last night: It is one of the most popular Olympic sports, but surprisingly, gymnastics is not part of the Paralympic programme. It wasn’t until last year that the gymnastics governing body, the FIG (Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG) ), recognised para-gymnastics as an official discipline within the sport. They have now set out ambitious plans for it to be included in time for the Brisbane Paralympic Games in 2032. One disability gymnastics team in Glasgow is … Continue reading “Scotland is the place to be for para-gymnastics so here we are” 

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No major flu deaths surge expected in Scotland after 80% vaccine uptake and in cleaner hospitals

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Professor John Robertson OBA The above is from the Over 5 million under 65s with a long-term health condition could miss out flu vaccine reported in the Mirror yesterday. From: Less than a third (28.9%) of people with one or more long-term health conditions (LTHCs) have had a flu vaccine. 9 million aged under 65’s in clinical risk groups are eligible but just 40% vaccinated last year (2024 to 25) – leaving over 5 million missing out and unprotected. Uptake of the flu vaccine in older adults, aged 65 and over, is higher – 61.5% this year to date; and … Continue reading No major flu deaths surge expected in Scotland after 80% vaccine uptake and in cleaner hospitals

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Only tiny 2% of terror referrals are in Scotland because….

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Professor John Robertson OBA Children being referred to Prevent, the anti-terror scheme, naturally interests journalists. The National headlines responsibly and informatively but the SDM (Short for SaDoMasichism?) finds something titillating for its readers. Here’s something informative, to help the vulnerable and anxious elderly (older than me of course): So, quickly, 11 times the population, if Scotland was just as troubled by this as England & Wales, and they’d have 1 782 referrals but they had 8 778, MORE THAN FOUR times as many, 98% of the total. Sources: Why so few in Scotland? Some ideas I posted tentatively in 2019: … Continue reading Only tiny 2% of terror referrals are in Scotland because….