Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Largs to Millport ferry, four times every hour, with capacity for 6 million passengers and three quarters of a million cars only used one eighth and one third of that capacity in 2024 – who pays for such generosity?

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The Herald yesterday had: Hospital visit fears as CalMac cut Cumbrae ferry sailings The Largs & Millport Weekly News had Ferry timetable changes will see regular maintenance times at intervals throughout the day – but fears have been expressed that the service interruptions will harm the fragile economy of the island. The ferry operator has cited safety as the reason for the proposed reduction in timetabled service from four per hour to three per hour. Three ferry crossings every hour for a population of 1 293? There are bus services to mainland villages far less frequent than that. How well … Continue reading Largs to Millport ferry, four times every hour, with capacity for 6 million passengers and three quarters of a million cars only used one eighth and one third of that capacity in 2024 – who pays for such generosity?

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As Tunbridge Wells runs dry, Motherwell looks well-watered for years to come in a country with 5.5 million litres of drinkable water per person, 40 times that in England

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In the Guardian today: You get up and go to the loo, only to find the flush doesn’t work. You try the shower, except nothing comes out. You want a glass of water, but on turning the tap there is not a drop. Your day stumbles on, stripped of its essentials: no washing hands, no cleaning up the baby, neither tea nor coffee, no easy way to do the dishes or the laundry. Dirt accumulates; tempers fray. The water company texts: we are so sorry; colleagues are working to restore connection; everything should soon be normal. You want to believe … Continue reading As Tunbridge Wells runs dry, Motherwell looks well-watered for years to come in a country with 5.5 million litres of drinkable water per person, 40 times that in England

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Daily Mail report highlights the great CalMac service we all enjoy by looking at affluent Washington State’s far older ferries and failing services

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In the Daily Mail, 8 January 2026 and the astonishing images above from the Independent two years ago: Almost a third of the lifeline ferries operating in Washington state are out of action because of lawmakers’ obsessions with electric boats, Republicans have claimed.  Six out of the 21 vessels used for critical operations off the coast of the Pacific Northwest state are currently unable to sail, according to the Seattle Times.  Two of the boats have been out of action due to ‘unexpected mechanical issues’ since January 1, while four are on planned maintenance, per the paper.  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15445653/washington-state-ferry-electric-boats-democrats.html Washington State Ferries carry 20 million passengers a year in a … Continue reading Daily Mail report highlights the great CalMac service we all enjoy by looking at affluent Washington State’s far older ferries and failing services

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English County Lines drug gangs make it to Shetland but Scottish Government pays for detection dogs

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From the Shetland Times today: A second one-off payment of £30,000 has been made to vital charity Dogs Against Drugs by the Scottish government. This will help the cash-strapped charity to detect illegal substances which are brought to the isles as well as continue its important educational classes to Shetland schools. Who is bringing these illegal substances to the Shetlands? From the same source: “I think that if we didn’t have Dogs Against Drugs, then we could be really vulnerable to exploitation from our county lines gangs,” Mr Sewell told this newspaper recently. If you look at Inverness, anyone who’s … Continue reading English County Lines drug gangs make it to Shetland but Scottish Government pays for detection dogs

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Scottish Government delivers on pledge to increase dentistry student numbers and further widen gap with other parts of UK

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From Scottish dentistry student numbers increase, published 22 January 2026 11:35 The number of Scottish students starting Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) courses has increased by 7% – the highest increase in a decade. The boost in student numbers fulfils a Scottish Government pledge to deliver an expanded pipeline of new dentists joining the workforce from 2029. The increase, which came in 2025-26, will be further supported by the Draft Budget for 2026-27 which outlines record funding of over £526.5 million for the sector. The number of Scottish students starting BDS courses has risen by 10 places, up from 135 … Continue reading Scottish Government delivers on pledge to increase dentistry student numbers and further widen gap with other parts of UK

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Major Scottish Government investments in eradicating child poverty that you’ll struggle to hear about

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From Investing in Scotland’s children, published 22 January 2026 09:20, covered by STV but nowhere else I can see: Children and families across Scotland will benefit from the Scottish Government’s sustained investment in Education and Skills as part of the national mission to eradicate child poverty. The proposed Scottish Budget for 2026-27 commits up to £200 million to the Scottish Attainment Challenge, which has already delivered sustained progress in closing the poverty-related attainment gap. This includes Pupil Equity Funding that aims to empower headteachers to tailor support to meet the specific needs of pupils and families in their communities. An … Continue reading Major Scottish Government investments in eradicating child poverty that you’ll struggle to hear about

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Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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Support Talking-up Scotland -In this election year in Scotland, the 90% pro-Union media and their sponsors in the opposition parties will do everything they can to undermine the pro-independence parties. Thought vastly outnumbered, we will do our very best to counter their lies and get you, every day, the true stories and the sources of evidence to prove them. Help us if you can at https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-get-the-facts-for-you When I saw the above from MSM Monitor yesterday, you can imagine what I was thinking but there are no directly comparable figures for Scotland. However, there are two reports from the usually very … Continue reading Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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Far more police officers and far less crime – what today’s Reporting Scotland team will never tell you in this election year

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In BBC Reporting Scotland’s, BBC Breakfast, inserts and all today today, you’ll be hearing this meaningless fact – ‘but officer numbers have fallen 5% over five years.‘ BBC Scotland, the Daily Record, the Herald and the Scotsman are now fully dedicated to platforming Scottish Labour’s stash of manipulated Freedom of Information data on any aspect of public service that might look bad for the SNP Government. Recently, it’s been police officers giving up on the job or failing training courses. I could try to dig into these and find the usual lack of any methodology and sneaky fiddling with the figures, I’ve found several times … Continue reading Far more police officers and far less crime – what today’s Reporting Scotland team will never tell you in this election year

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12 YouGov sub-polls in three months with 6 of last 8 at 39/40% suggest SNP is further ahead than other polls, skewed by use of 2014 data to weight sampling

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YouGov is no friend of the SNP nor of Scottish Independence. They have an unerring ability to pluck out a NO lead in a stream of YES leads found by other pollsters and lower SNP figures than others. See below: They do this over and over by adjusting the sample so that, even after 11 or 12 years, it has a 55 to 45 ratio of No and Yes voters in 2014, in full Scotland only polls. In their most recent, above, see how, even though they already had a 510 to 433 bias in favour of No, they then adjusted … Continue reading 12 YouGov sub-polls in three months with 6 of last 8 at 39/40% suggest SNP is further ahead than other polls, skewed by use of 2014 data to weight sampling