Remember that 11% gap (above) with Wales means around 4 000 were treated on time in Scotland who would not have been, had they lived in Wales. Similarly around 800 who would not have been treated on time in England. Professor John Robertson OBA Why is BBC Scotland NOT linking to this dramatic cancer waiting times story today, like BBC UK is? BBC UK this morning, above. BBC Scotland below, not linking? Wonder why? Could it be because those BBC UK staff keep forgetting there’s a war on up here and that BBC readers might see that bloody graph (above), … Continue reading 4 000 Scottish cancer patients treated on time, in just one year, who would not have been had they lived in Labour Wales where they even set their sights lower

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland, today, has the above choice as the headline, neatly emphasising the negative and implicating the Minister with that wee ‘admits minister‘ but forgetting it should be ‘admits the minister after we choose that question,’ Nowhere in the report is this: The return-to-custody rate [not just re-offending but also breaching licence conditions] for the early 2025 tranche was only 5%. This was based on a Scotsman newspaper report1 as official data are not yet published. The kinds of re-offending breakdown is not yet available from the 2025 tranche but for the late 2024 group of … Continue reading Early release of prisoners can cause anxiety but shouldn’t taxpayer-funded media tell people that only 5% will re-offend on release from prisons with twice as many staff per capita?

Professor John Robertson OBA These two headlines today and the full text, reveal the agenda in editorial decision-making, in BBC Scotland reporting, to conceal good news about Scotland, after 18 years of SNP rule. Imagine the figures were the other way round, they would have been compared, like the drug deaths, and the worse figure linked to government mismanagement with a quote from an opposition politician. Obliged to report the change of 0.1%, from 3.8% to 3.7%, they refer to that as ‘slight’ knowing most will accept that only 0.1% does seem small and concealing the fact that it refers … Continue reading UK Unemployment surges to massive 35% higher than in Scotland – will ‘SNP’ Government get the credit just as they would have been blamed if it was the other way round?

Professor John Robertson OBA Not being reported by BBC Scotland or BBC Scotland Business, despite being announced 8 hours ago on the Scottish Government‘s news website, on automatic Google alerts or followed, you’d think, by all serious serious journalists: A record 4,000 employers in Scotland are now paying their staff at least the real Living Wage, boosting the salaries of 72,000 employees and supporting them with rising costs. The milestone has been reached at the start of Living Wage Week, which celebrates the transformative impact the real living wage can have for workers and businesses alike, and encourages employers to … Continue reading Good news you won’t hear – 72 000 Scottish workers receive pay boost thanks to Scottish Government

Professor John Robertson OBA I’m not for a minute excusing any level of homelessness but, if these data were the other way round, we all know who’d be blamed and blamed repeatedly. From BBC Politics, today, the above and: The number of homeless people in England is higher than official government data suggests, according to new research from the charity Crisis. They say that around 189,000 families and individuals who faced the worst forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing and living in tents were not included in official statistics. Official data is based on people declaring themselves … Continue reading New research reveals worst forms of homelessness up to two thirds higher in England than in Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA, SCE Higher Economics, 1969, C grade Professor Anton Muscatelli, former Principal Glasgow University, was born in Bari, Italy. His family migrated to Scotland, perhaps to escape local taxation hikes resulting from the activities of the local Capriati mafia clan? They and other factors no doubt seem to have been pretty effective at ‘putting people off Italy‘, with 15 million leaving between 1945 and 1970. Muscatelli is in the low-impact rating, not really peer-reviewed, Scotsman today, claiming that Scotland’s taxation is putting people off coming to, or staying in, Scotland. Muscatelli appears not to have ever written … Continue reading Sarwar’s pet professor should have read HMRC report showing that Scotland’s progressive taxation seems not to have ‘put people off Scotland’ as quality of life, lower housing costs, lower crime, better HNS and ‘post-pandemic appeal’, take it from near-zero to 8 000 a year