This is another attempt by Lewis Macdonald to exploit his position as convener of the Health Committee to feed the media with a scare story. On further checking, I find no slamming. He has previous. In April, he got Prof Pennington in to tell the Scottish Government what it should be doing about contact tracing. Here are the opening lines in his report for BBC Scotland today: MSPs have called for urgent reforms amid “huge concerns” about Scotland’s “incoherent” medicines system. Holyrood’s health committee said there were “serious failings” in the supply of medicines in Scotland, saying the system “fails … Continue reading Scottish Labour and BBC Scotland fecklessly try to use Holyrood Committee report to undermine SNP Government with fake news, again

Two advisers to the Scottish Government explain how the Scottish strategy has succeeded and how the English one is doomed to recurring lock-downs, to a glum-faced Jon Snow. Why has this happened? The two experts attribute much of the credit to the Scottish Government’s strategy of more careful lock-down and release and its consistent, clear and transparent communications, but these have mattered too: NHS Scotland has a higher staffing ratio. Scotland’s hospitals with their in-house cleaning did not have mass Norovirus closures last winter as NHS England did. NHS Scotland has a vastly superior A&E performance. Scotland’s 50 unique coronavirus … Continue reading Channel 4 News confirms success of Scottish Covid strategy and condemns Tory failures

Ms Janet Agnes Monifeith (87), of Crieff, has reacted angrily after reading of the Scottish Finance Secretary, Kate Forbes (17), handing proposals to re-start Britain’s economy, to the UK Government. Seriously, I’ve been impressed by Forbes right from the start but this surpasses any previous slap-down for a UK Chancellor. According to the Herald: FINANCE Secretary Kate Forbes has handed proposals to re-start Britain’s economy to the UK Government – including plans for a national debt plan and extending Scotland’s financial powers. The UK-wide £80 billion proposals have been drawn up to help the economy recovery amid the emergence from the lockdown … Continue reading Scottish Conservative councillor calls Finance Secretary a ‘cheeky wee besom!’

Do we take Scottish Government achievements too much for granted? By stewartb We learn today of the Westminster government’s plans for new investment in the school estate in England: £1bn for 50 major school building projects is being promised a further £560m for repairs to crumbling school buildings. The BBC News website reports: “The 50 school building projects, which will be identified later in the year, will start from September 2021, in a 10-year programme with £1bn in funding. There will be an extra £560m for upgrades and repairs to schools for the next academic year – and £200m for … Continue reading Westminster acts at last to catch up on Scotland’s school building and maintenance achievements

I know the FM is trusted by English observers but have they started to think she can tell folk how to behave there too? Today, Tom Martin asked: Obviously with the shops reopening this morning, we’ve seen large queues of people gathering to take advantage. I just wondered how concerned you are at those scenes and why do you think those people are ignoring or not really taking heed of the message of avoiding crowded places? The FM replied: I, and forgive me that maybe I’ve not seen all of the pictures that your referring to, but I’ve not seen … Continue reading Scottish Daily Express reporter asks First Minister about English shoppers not obeying the rules

Is the above explained by this below from 10 days ago? Leicester has the highest South Asian population in the UK at 30% and they are more likely to be diabetic. 40% of South Asian hospital patients had diabetes compared with 25% of white groups and diabetes is very strongly correlated with covid mortality. In Scotland too, South Asians seem to suffer more than other BAME groups. However, in Scotland, South Asians are less likely to die than whites: 4.1% (225 000) of the Scottish population is recorded as one of the non-White ethnic minority groups yet they only make … Continue reading Why are Scotland’s South Asians less likely to die from covid-19 than ‘white’ groups?

After reading that headline, I was surprised to see that TG was the bearer of good news. I read on, tentatively: One of the First Minister’s advisers on the disease, Professor Devi Sridhar, said Scotland could become effectively Covid-free by the Autumn on the current trajectory, provided the test and trace system dealt with any ‘bumps’ on the way. Good, good, then straight after that: However it also emerged UK ministers may impose the country’s first local lockdown in Leicester after a surge in cases in the city. Wait, ‘the country?’ Which country? England? Such decisions have been devolved so … Continue reading ‘Paranoid cybernat’ attacks Tom Gordon again!

An honest assessment finally from the CBI? ‘… ultimately, policy decided in Westminster will shape whether Scotland can make the most of its natural resources’ From stewartb This article was triggered by the recent report from Scottish Government’s Advisory Group on Economic Recovery: ‘Towards a robust, resilient wellbeing economy for Scotland’. One of the report’s themes piqued my curiosity: it concerns the relationship between business and the Scottish Government. In this context, I decided to check out what the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is up to in Scotland nowadays. An honest assessment of dependency? The CBI published on its … Continue reading Will CBI Scotland now get behind Scotland’s interests?

Today, the outgoing Auditor General for Scotland, Caroline Gardner, was pounced on by Gordon Brewer, in a frantic effort to get her to say something bad about the Scottish Government. I feared he might manage given her previous reporting but covid-19 has changed her. At the end, he pulled out his Jackson Carlaw-inspired big fib but she was having none of it. After trying to soften us and her up with praise for the NHS hospitals, he tried this: But others….you sort of get the impression that ministers have been pulling at strings with nothing attached to the ed of … Continue reading Auditor General shoots Gordon Brewer down and describes work of Scottish Government as astounding, fantastic!

City of Edinburgh, Conservative and Unionist councillor pops up again, unannounced but, for the first time with an entertaining headline. Here are his last four entries here: ‘Make Tories look bad‘? McLellan opens with a quote from the Clash. The Clash? Their second album? Cool knowledge there. Those hardcore leftist squatters he loved when he was at Stirling University in the punk era and who have ever since informed his thinking as a Tory adviser and then councillor? It reminds me of the moment when former Eton schoolboy David Cameron expressed his fondness for the Jam’s Eton Rifles then wondered … Continue reading Tory councillor pretends to be journalist to spread conspiracy theory about SNP