Labour Baroness MSP blames SNP for drug deaths as gangs run children to drug houses in Scotland’s century-long Labour-run-down seaside towns like some she knows well, from places such as ‘Blackpool and Rhyl’

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Sometimes, not often I admit, you have to admire the openness of tabloids like the Sun. Yesterday, they told us CRIMINAL gangs are exploiting kids as young as NINE to use as drug mules across Britain’s rail network. The youngsters are recruited — and often kept there by threats — as part of “county lines” ­operations, where drugs are transported from major cities to supply dealers in smaller towns across the country. It was no surprise then to read: The … Continue reading Labour Baroness MSP blames SNP for drug deaths as gangs run children to drug houses in Scotland’s century-long Labour-run-down seaside towns like some she knows well, from places such as ‘Blackpool and Rhyl’

Seven years after the County Lines drugs and violence plague begins and for the first time ever, BBC Scotland tells viewers that it is because of specifically ‘English’ crime groups

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON On BBC Scotland‘s insert in BBC Breakfast at 6.30 and 8.30 am so far, after the Glasgow fire report, for the first time since 2019, BBC Scotland news broadcasts specifically locate a long-running plague of drug abuse across Scotland in origins entirely in large English cities. I’ve been following this for years and was, understandably shocked, especially as we approach the May elections. The link with England is not headlined but appears quite quickly: Police have made 43 … Continue reading Seven years after the County Lines drugs and violence plague begins and for the first time ever, BBC Scotland tells viewers that it is because of specifically ‘English’ crime groups

Independence will end poverty

By Liz S Independence for Scotland can in the future, with the right government, at least hopefully be able to prioritise ordinary people over other supposed priorities that both the current and the past UK governments have spent way too much time , energy and money upon. Indeed these other priorities do little to help people in the here and now, as instead they actually do the opposite. Nuclear weapons are not a deterrent but they are a threat….to all humanity (and also to all other beings who share this planet). Unfortunately we have UK governments, as well as some other rogue governments within … Continue reading Independence will end poverty

Independence is a vision but that vision has to be spelt out along with the strands on which that Independence will occur and in what way, an Independent Scotland will differ from the present managed decline rather than a dive over the clifftop like England

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By G Caldow With less than two months to go to the next Holyrood election, the invigorating yet factual debates have been enthusing the public, where healthy and respectful debate between polar opposite views are building a consensus of apathy.  Independence is a vision but that vision has to be spelt out along with the strands on which that Independence will occur and in what way, an Independent Scotland will differ from the present managed decline rather than … Continue reading Independence is a vision but that vision has to be spelt out along with the strands on which that Independence will occur and in what way, an Independent Scotland will differ from the present managed decline rather than a dive over the clifftop like England

What is Jackie Baillie’s beef with private healthcare in Scotland?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By Liz S “Patients and campaigners have been raising concerns about Palantir’s creeping involvement with the NHS for years based on concerns about ethics, outsourcing, and privacy”.. Palantir a private company, not a UK one, an American one. But doesn’t the Labour Dame, also a Labour MSP, as in Jackie Baillie, just always love to tell us that patients in Scotland have to go private as they cannot get treatment on the NHS………..surely that is her promoting private healthcare and … Continue reading What is Jackie Baillie’s beef with private healthcare in Scotland?

Major research funded by Conservative Government in 2020 reveals ‘home working generally supports productivity’ but Scottish Cons, all by themselves, are causing ‘mounting pressure’ on SNP ‘secrecy’ about it according to journalist who has not read the research

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON The Herald today has: The Scottish Government faces a new transparency row over civil servants working from home as statistics are set to be withheld until after the Holyrood election. Pressure is mounting on SNP ministers to crack down on officials who refuse to work from the office as part of the Scottish Government’s hybrid working policy. Where is this ‘mounting pressure’ coming from? Anyone else? Nope, that’s it. Pathetic. Is there any evidence that any half-decent journalist might easily access and use in … Continue reading Major research funded by Conservative Government in 2020 reveals ‘home working generally supports productivity’ but Scottish Cons, all by themselves, are causing ‘mounting pressure’ on SNP ‘secrecy’ about it according to journalist who has not read the research

County lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands months before they do same in England?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC Leicestershire today, the above and: A youth worker has warned girls in a market town are being lured into drug running by gangs operating across county lines. Kate Champneys has worked with several teenagers in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, who she said were groomed with gifts and affection. Champneys, of the Engage Youth and Family Service, which supports vulnerable young people, said: “They’ll end up being runners for the men who get hold of them, they’ll give … Continue reading County lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands months before they do same in England?

Mandelson case and Palantir’s NHS England contract ‘opens door to government abuse of power’ but in Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Guardian today: Palantir’s NHS contract opens the door to the Big Brother-style data-sharing that Reform UK would use for a version of US immigration raids, health bosses have been told. Palantir Technologies – the data analytics company founded by Peter Thiel and Alex Karp – won a £330m NHS England contract to deliver the Federated Data Platform in 2023. The UK government is urging health bodies to adopt FDP, which the health secretary, Wes Streeting, says will ensure the NHS is “brought … Continue reading Mandelson case and Palantir’s NHS England contract ‘opens door to government abuse of power’ but in Scotland

Do BBC Scotland’s unnamed ‘anti-poverty charities’ doubting that John Swinney’s child poverty targets will be met, five years from now, include the one whose head says the revolutionary Child Payment and SNP’s commitment to reverse two-child limit is just ‘doing the same things day after day’ as she continues to campaign for Labour and aims for an honour like Pam Duncan Glancy

if he misses the Government’s child poverty reduction target. The Scottish Government is publishing its ‘Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan for the next five years. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said the Government’s plans will focus on ‘tackling the root causes of child poverty. Anti-poverty charities say progress ahs been made but there is still significant distance between where we are now and targets which are meant to be met by 2030. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON BBC Reporting Scotland in the BBC … Continue reading Do BBC Scotland’s unnamed ‘anti-poverty charities’ doubting that John Swinney’s child poverty targets will be met, five years from now, include the one whose head says the revolutionary Child Payment and SNP’s commitment to reverse two-child limit is just ‘doing the same things day after day’ as she continues to campaign for Labour and aims for an honour like Pam Duncan Glancy

Higher Education student debt in the ‘UK’ – a student nurse in England owes £77 000! A student nurse in Scotland owes nothing

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC UK today: An inquiry into student loans is being launched by MPs amid “widespread dissatisfaction” over repayment terms. The Treasury Committee will examine whether the recent decision to freeze the repayment threshold for many graduates in England is fair. The inquiry will also look at whether repayment terms are “reasonable” when considered alongside the “broader taxation of graduates” such as income tax. The Department for Education (DfE) said the freezes aimed to “protect taxpayers and students”. … Continue reading Higher Education student debt in the ‘UK’ – a student nurse in England owes £77 000! A student nurse in Scotland owes nothing