Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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On the 40th Anniversary of Chernobyl, how a Labour First Minister’s ‘day one’ plans for nuclear power will ‘present an existential challenge for local policing’ and expose our children to thyroid cancer

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On the 40th anniversary of Chernobyl, today, BBC Breakfast visit the site and remind us that while the official death toll was just 31, according to ‘studies’, the wider health impact was likely to be much wider. Studies? Well, here’s just one. According to the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation The most significant wider impact was a sharp rise in thyroid cancer among children and adolescents exposed in 1986 in Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. By 2005, more than 6,000 cases had been diagnosed in this age group. Later data (up to ~2015) put the total closer … Continue reading On the 40th Anniversary of Chernobyl, how a Labour First Minister’s ‘day one’ plans for nuclear power will ‘present an existential challenge for local policing’ and expose our children to thyroid cancer

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Scots visiting Canada this summer can expect to pay nearly three times comparable CalMac prices

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Some time ago, a Mull ferry-user rep urged CalMac to get out in the world and learn from other ferry services. This summer travellers to Arran from Ardrossan (19nm) can expect to pay £10.60 return on foot and, in a car, £53, regardless of the time of day or day of the week. Islanders can plan ahead knowing they will not be hit by sharp hikes if they must travel at peak times. Travellers to Canada this summer, on the similar Tsawwassen–Southern Gulf Islands route (18-25nm depending on stops) will pay the equivalent of £30 and £140. There’s a wee … Continue reading Scots visiting Canada this summer can expect to pay nearly three times comparable CalMac prices

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First GP Walk-in clinic – Herald evaluation is too quick, asks wrong questions and their ‘top medic’ is far from that

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The Herald today has: Doctors have told the SNP to drop its plans to expand walk-in GP clinics after new figures showed patients waited up to six hours to be seen at the first facility in Scotland. The clinic at Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre in Edinburgh, opened in February and was the first of around 30 walk-in clinics promised by the Scottish Government, currently led by the SNP. and So, another combined effort by Scottish BMA and the Herald to undermine the top party leader, John Swinney and the SNP. Are they stupid? Don’t they know this? Early reporting (including the article you … Continue reading First GP Walk-in clinic – Herald evaluation is too quick, asks wrong questions and their ‘top medic’ is far from that

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The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care

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By stewartb The Nuffield Trust has published a companion to the Scottish briefing , for the NHS in Wales. It concludes (with my emphasis): ‘The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care. Waiting times are poor and the public deeply unhappy. ‘Wales’s older, more deprived population means that needs for care are elevated, and sustained high levels of health funding reflect that. ‘The incoming ministers will know that there is not enough money in the coffers to simply spend their way to success. Improvements in delayed discharges and waiting lists provide a … Continue reading The new Welsh government, of whatever party or coalition, has a particularly difficult inheritance in health and social care

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BBC report a sepsis survivor in Scotland but fail to tell you how the SNP Government made it so likely

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From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Less than two years ago Katie Bain almost died when she went in septic shock after her appendix ruptured. The swimmer, who was just 24 at the time, spent three weeks in an induced coma as doctors fought to save her life. There is, of course, no fuller explanation of the situation with regard to sepsis, in Scotland, just the one wee story. Here it is: Not anywhere in the quite long report, important context which even student journalists are taught to include. How under Scottish Labour, hospitals were ‘death traps’ of hospital … Continue reading BBC report a sepsis survivor in Scotland but fail to tell you how the SNP Government made it so likely

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More than 50 times (5 per head) wait more than 24 hours in England’s A&E – short video

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Sources: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/04/23/nhs-scotlands-ae-waits-of-over-24-hours-still-fewer-than-a-fifth-of-those-in-nhs-england-contrary-to-anas-sarwars-claims-in-2024/ https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/04/23/englands-ae-crisis-as-patients-say-theyd-rather-die-at-home-but-bbc-uk-dont-mention-it/ Continue reading More than 50 times (5 per head) wait more than 24 hours in England’s A&E – short video

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Only two days without a ‘perishable food’ delivery and island rep says they are at ‘breaking point’ due to lack of…..’fresh cream cakes?’

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In the National today: Scottish islanders fume as ‘lifeline’ food delivery removed off CalMac ferry. CALMAC has been warned that island communities are at “breaking point” after a hauler carrying needed perishable foods was “bumped” off a ferry for passengers allegedly for the “first time ever”. OMG was that the last ferry for weeks and they’d run out of food in the shop? Well, no, there’s a ferry every day at this time of year and five a week in winter. It was cancelled on Tuesday this week, so with being ‘bumped’ on Wednesday, the shop had to last for … Continue reading Only two days without a ‘perishable food’ delivery and island rep says they are at ‘breaking point’ due to lack of…..’fresh cream cakes?’

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Starmer and Farage on St George’s Day – ‘Today, we fly OUR flag proudly’ to ‘be English’ but he’s poor Lebanon’s patron saint too

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By Liz S Saint George’s Day is the feast day of Saint George, celebrated by Christian churches, countries, regions, and cities from which he is the main patron saint, including England, Ethiopia, Georgia, Catalonia, Aragon, Palestine, Rio de Janeiro, Alcoi, and Genoa, and also where he is an important patron saint, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Greece, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Syria, and Lebanon “Today, we fly our flag proudly and we’re reminded of the values it represents – service, generosity, and respect. When we stand together, united in our communities, we are stronger than any attempt to divide us. Happy St George’s Day”! (So “our flag“.and “our communities“, what about other communities in other nations within the UK State , as surely many of them are … Continue reading Starmer and Farage on St George’s Day – ‘Today, we fly OUR flag proudly’ to ‘be English’ but he’s poor Lebanon’s patron saint too

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How the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express made up a quote not actually in the Nuffield Trust report revealing NHS Scotland’s superiority

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Neither the word ‘deadly’ nor the word ‘domino’ appear in Health and care performance and promises: the track record for Scotland’s 2026 election published by the Nuffield Trust, yesterday: https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/health-and-care-performance-and-promises-the-track-record-for-scotland-s-2026-election While, I’d argue, with evidence, that there is much good about healthcare in Scotland which is missed by the Trust, far far more is missed by the Express, including the above hugely important evidence of superior GP numbers in Scotland, way above the level elsewhere in the UK. Also avoided by the Express: People in Scotland are much more likely than they were five years ago to spend more than … Continue reading How the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express made up a quote not actually in the Nuffield Trust report revealing NHS Scotland’s superiority

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This latest media ferry feeding only serves to highlight the opposition parties’ hypocritical ‘ferry flipping’ – from “Don’t rig contracts to favour Ferguson” to “Why aren’t you favouring Ferguson?”

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Key ferry-flippers Neil Bibby (Lab) and Russell Findlay (Con There is no comment in the above top BBC Scotland story today from opposition parties, as they sail, rudderless, toward their extinction event in May. The reason is clear. They don’t want their historical hypocrisy in ferry flipping exposed. Early criticism: “Don’t rig contracts to favour Ferguson.” Later flipped criticism: “Why aren’t you favouring Ferguson?” Here is a quick AI-assisted (Chatgpt) account of that flipping. You’re right to focus on that—it’s one of the more striking features of the whole ferries saga. The positions of opposition parties (especially the Scottish Conservatives … Continue reading This latest media ferry feeding only serves to highlight the opposition parties’ hypocritical ‘ferry flipping’ – from “Don’t rig contracts to favour Ferguson” to “Why aren’t you favouring Ferguson?”