Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Many thanks to 300 contributors so far but had 114 649 readers in just February 2026 and the target is still well off

johnrobertson834

Talking-up Scotland’s founder in 2014, John Robertson Many thanks to 300 contributors so far but there were 114 649 readers in just February 2026 and the target is still well off. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotland Click above Or direct bank transfer – Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Continue reading Many thanks to 300 contributors so far but had 114 649 readers in just February 2026 and the target is still well off

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As it falls in NHS Scotland, BBC England evidence for corridor care surges in North of England is based correctly on our method and not that used by the Herald and repeated lazily by BBC Scotland

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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 England today, the above and: More than 52,000 patients waited longer than 24 hours to be admitted to hospitals across north-west England last year, a BBC investigation has revealed. Known as “corridor care”, patients are lining up on trolleys or sitting on chairs, stuck in A&E because there are no beds for them in the wards. The Royal College of Nursing has described the situation as a “national emergency” and called on the government to end … Continue reading As it falls in NHS Scotland, BBC England evidence for corridor care surges in North of England is based correctly on our method and not that used by the Herald and repeated lazily by BBC Scotland

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Why are more GPs opting to work outside the NHS? They’re not in Scotland where almost 100% work in the NHS

johnrobertson834

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 England this morning, the above and: In her consulting room, Dr Yvonne Girgis-Hanna is at work as a GP, but not for the NHS. She is one of an increasing number of family doctors opting to practise privately. “I could not work as a full‑time NHS GP,” she says. “The days I do in the NHS, the next day I’m totally wiped out… You might have 30 face‑to‑face contacts, then extra telephone calls and paperwork. You … Continue reading Why are more GPs opting to work outside the NHS? They’re not in Scotland where almost 100% work in the NHS

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Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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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 Today, pollster Ipsos are reporting that across Europe, people worry more about crime and violence than anything else, climbing above other concerns from early 2025. Here’s the trend. It may be that for some of the above 30 countries crime and violence is not the number one concern but I can see no data to explore, for that. In Ipsos Scotland‘s most recent poll, December 2025, Crime and anti-social behaviour/law and order was eighth, at 20% and had … Continue reading Only 20 years after ‘Scotland was one of the most unsafe countries to live in’, polls reveal Scots worry less about crime than in any other part of Europe

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A9 – the one way road to Inverness from a city that must not be named in a country that must not be named

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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 Scotland: Highlands Islands, today, has the above and : A man and a woman have been arrested and charged in connection with drug offences after £100,000 worth of cocaine was discovered during a stop-and-search. Police Scotland halted the vehicle on the A9 near Crubenmore in the Highlands at about 12:55 on Friday. They said a quantity of the class A substance and a three-figure sum of cash had been recovered by officers. A 43-year-old man and a … Continue reading A9 – the one way road to Inverness from a city that must not be named in a country that must not be named

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Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

johnrobertson834

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 Scotland, Glasgow & West today has: Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? Supporters talk of it revitalising the region, bringing new jobs and investment that would be ploughed back into the community. But the plans have met strong opposition from locals concerned about the impact on the wider area. Some of those opposed have contacted BBC Your Voice, and say the firm has not provided concrete details about a building that would dominate … Continue reading Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

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As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

johnrobertson834

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 the front page of Scotland on Sunday – Mothballed Hunterston B nuclear site may yet be revived. By whom? Junior Minister Michael Shanks (above left) of course. Here’s a reminder of Shanks’ insignificance: First, electricity costs From stewartb in June 2025: I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA of – (perhaps even conditioned to have no interest in?) – Scotland’s indigenous energy assets and their potential significance for their own lives and … Continue reading As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

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The irony of Farage blaming ‘foreign-born voters’

johnrobertson834

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 end, I accept that all those living in Scotland in 2014, were entitled to vote. I do not blame them for our defeat, as Nigel Farage is doing with regard to the recent by-election result in Manchester. It was a dark alliance of MSM and opposition politicians, especially Gordon Brown, who lied to all of us in an immoral and dishonest campaign of fear. It is the case that voters born in Scotland split roughly 52.7% … Continue reading The irony of Farage blaming ‘foreign-born voters’

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Scottish taxpayers soon to pay first £100 million instalment to keep an old English steelworks in business and another £100m to save an old English oil refinery so that it can replace a Scottish oil refinery to refine oil almost entirely from Scottish waters

johnrobertson834

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 Thanks to Dottie once more for alerting me to this. As the implementation for the Scottish Budget in 2026/2027 looms, we can reflect on a few hundred million that we don’t have because it’s being used to subsidise our de-industrialisation. In the Guardian, in 2025, the above, and: Ministers have lined up special managers to run Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire operations if they are put into administration, according to a revelation at the high court in London. The development shows that the government … Continue reading Scottish taxpayers soon to pay first £100 million instalment to keep an old English steelworks in business and another £100m to save an old English oil refinery so that it can replace a Scottish oil refinery to refine oil almost entirely from Scottish waters

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What the Herald won’t tell you – current water bills in Scotland are the lowest’ of any water company in the UK and it’s 10 times better quality

johnrobertson834

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 Herald today: Calls are being made for an independent inquiry into Scottish Water amid soaring customer charges and eye-watering levels of executive pay and bonuses. Scotland’s largest trade union Unison is behind the demand after it commissioned an in-depth investigation into the company, which is publicly-owned, fearing is being privatised “by stealth”. The average last year in Scotland was £4901 but in other parts of the UK: Southern Water: £703 South West Water: £686 Wessex Water: £669 Anglian Water: £626 Thames Water: £639 … Continue reading What the Herald won’t tell you – current water bills in Scotland are the lowest’ of any water company in the UK and it’s 10 times better quality