Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Scotland’s care system FOUR times as effective as in England yet Neil Mackay argues its ‘apocalyptic’ on behalf of business just hoping to charge us more

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Professor John Robertson OBA Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details In the Herald today, the commonly hyperbolic Neil Mackay has the above, and: More than 60% of social care charities risk imminent closure leaving the nation’s most vulnerable citizens in peril. Our Writer at Large reports THE numbers are as astonishing as the severity of the warning. More than 200 charities, which provide health and social care across Scotland, are sending out an SOS saying the sector risks collapse. If this was more than just another example of a corporate hack writing … Continue reading Scotland’s care system FOUR times as effective as in England yet Neil Mackay argues its ‘apocalyptic’ on behalf of business just hoping to charge us more

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Water shortages – Scotland lazily added to the picture as England faces the ‘jaws of death’

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Professor John Robertson OBA Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Maybe I/we should just ignore this kind of thing as once more a nice, young, liberal, educated Guardian writer, yesterday, revealed the underlying Anglocentrism of their mindset. There’s not a mention of Scotland despite its inclusion as also dry and cracking in the illustration. Even I know that with only a word or two your AI illustrator could have made the map just England if you have no intention of mentioning the other three parts of the Union. Why might she have … Continue reading Water shortages – Scotland lazily added to the picture as England faces the ‘jaws of death’

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Man rescued after falling overboard from Vietnam-built Pentlands ferry in Ayrshire

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Under a photo of a clearly labelled CalMac ferry, the Daily Record yesterday: A passenger has been rescued after a man fell overboard from a CalMac ferry earlier today. The incident took place on the operator’s Troon to Brodick route in the Firth of Clyde in Ayrshire at 1.50pm on Saturday, August 16….A spokesperson for CalMac said: “We can confirm a passenger went overboard on the 13.35 Troon-Brodick sailing operated by MV Alfred. The MV Alfred, a Vietnam-built, twinned hull catamaran ferry is on temporary hire … Continue reading Man rescued after falling overboard from Vietnam-built Pentlands ferry in Ayrshire

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Is there a hidden flood of English students moving to Scotland to avoid tuition fee debt of now £53 000?

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA, former Head of Department and Associate Dean, UWS While there is only, as yet, anecdotal evidence of people moving from England to Scotland with the specific intention of applying to attend Higher Education tuition fee-free, there are two reasons to suspect the trend may be underway in some measure. First, we see an increasing number of media articles advising how it can be done and it is definitely more than possible given the autonomy of each HE institution to decide … Continue reading Is there a hidden flood of English students moving to Scotland to avoid tuition fee debt of now £53 000?

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22% more police officers and only half the rural crime in Scotland as English farmers live in fear of organised crime

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA BBC UK this morning has: Organised crimes gangs including sheep rustlers and burglars are targeting farmers who have described “living in fear” of a new rural crime wave. I can find no comparative data for the last year but, on 1 August 2024, we had this The Reporting Scotland team were clearly delighted to tell you this morning that rural crime in Scotland climbed by an estimated 34.9% to a whopping £1.8 million in 2023, according to an NFU Mutual report. £1.8 … Continue reading 22% more police officers and only half the rural crime in Scotland as English farmers live in fear of organised crime

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Shoplifting surges 20% in England & Wales so Labour promises to increase police numbers by 2% to be still more than 20% below staffing level in Scotland where shoplifting is less common

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Breakfast this morning report a 20% increase in shoplifting in England & Wales, to 530 643 offences in year to March 2025 but the Home Secretary only offer a 2% increase in [3 000] police officer numbers of 147 746 in 20241. They think, [correctly ?], that most will just think, ‘3 000? Big number?’ Shoplifting in Scotland in 2024/2025, increased 16% to 44 730 offences2. Per head, all things being equal, you’d expect England and Wales to have around 11 times as many shoplifting offences as Scotland, 492 030, but they had 530 643, … Continue reading Shoplifting surges 20% in England & Wales so Labour promises to increase police numbers by 2% to be still more than 20% below staffing level in Scotland where shoplifting is less common

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Imagine you paid $222 million and didn’t get a ferry at all, even a wee one, that’d be a ‘ferry fiasco’ wouldn’t it? They did…..in New Zealand.

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Alex Montrose for alerting me to this. From Stuff today: The Government has paid $144 million to cancel a deal it had with Hyundai to build two new Interislander ferries. That’s on top of $78m already paid to the shipyard. The sum of KiwiRail’s settlement with the Hyundai Mipo Dockyard was revealed on Friday, through a joint statement from Rail Minister Winston Peters and Finance Minister Nicola Willis. As part of its iRex project, which Willis cancelled when … Continue reading Imagine you paid $222 million and didn’t get a ferry at all, even a wee one, that’d be a ‘ferry fiasco’ wouldn’t it? They did…..in New Zealand.

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Are GERS figures for Scotland a measure of its economy after say 20 years of independence? No and here’s why, says AI analysis in support of an angry Pict

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA From Grok with the above question in the headline: No, the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) figures are not a measure of Scotland’s economy after 20 years of independence. GERS provides an annual snapshot of Scotland’s public finances under the current constitutional arrangement as part of the UK, estimating revenue raised and public spending allocated to Scotland. It reflects the existing fiscal framework, where Westminster controls significant portions of revenue (around 70%) and spending (around 40%), including items like … Continue reading Are GERS figures for Scotland a measure of its economy after say 20 years of independence? No and here’s why, says AI analysis in support of an angry Pict

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Another offensive act that references ‘sacrifices made in wars’

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Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details By Liz S Another offensive act that references ‘sacrifices made in wars’ is one where the current UK PM, Keir Starmer, pumps out his annual St George’s day video message on his Twitter ‘X’ account. A message that is meant to both celebrate and highlight only all things ‘English’ that he, as an Englishman first and foremost, wants the whole UK to recognise and so acknowledge. But it is where he , Starmer , the obvious non neutral and clearly English biased supposed UK PM , always mentions in his annual St George’s Day video message….all of those who ‘fought … Continue reading Another offensive act that references ‘sacrifices made in wars’

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Why are English media concerned about regional gaps in exam results but Scottish media prefer class-based differences? It’s about blaming the SNP

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA Today, the media across England and Wales are uniformly headlining concerns about regional gaps in school exam results, with for example, the North East of England far behind London and the South, but in Scotland: and from BBC Scotland: The attainment gap between Scotland’s richest and poorest school pupils increased last year, according to new figures. The Scottish government has said since 2015 that closing this gap – between the level of national qualifications obtained by children from the most … Continue reading Why are English media concerned about regional gaps in exam results but Scottish media prefer class-based differences? It’s about blaming the SNP