Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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In BBC Scotland’s push for Labour in 2026 even cancer deaths will be exploited

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Wales yesterday had the above and, in the full text, not one word about the Labour Government in Wales and its oversight of the NHS. As readers know, it’s different in Scotland. In June 2025: No actual deaths but still plenty of space for this: Scottish Conservatives health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said one patient waiting more than two months is too many. He said: “These appalling statistics confirm Scotland is facing a ticking timebomb when it comes to cancer cases on the SNP’s watch. “SNP ministers have not met their own waiting time target … Continue reading In BBC Scotland’s push for Labour in 2026 even cancer deaths will be exploited

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Scotsman’s confusion on cancer scanning ignores major progress

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Scotsman‘s David Bol, today, has a frontpage masterclass in confusion. It seems to be about one NHS nurse claiming she’s had to go private for some unspecified cancer ‘check‘ and who is warning that ‘someone could die‘, presumably from delay in that ‘check‘. Before you can ask what the cancer in question is, so that we might look at the published figures, Bol charges straight into a piece about the apparent problem of cervical cancer screening uptake not hitting the 80% target. So, if there are delays in the cancer ‘check‘ this one nurse has … Continue reading Scotsman’s confusion on cancer scanning ignores major progress

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Labour-run Wales has by far the highest rate of the economically inactive due to long-term illness or disability in the UK

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By stewartb The number of people economically inactive due to long term sickness or disability is a UK-wide ‘problem’ . From the Bevan Foundation on the situation in Wales where the Daily Record’s favoured political party, the British Labour Party has been in power for c.26 years (see https://www.bevanfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/SoW-Get-Wales-Working-Feb-25.pdf ): The Foundation’s report adds: ‘Across the UK, around a quarter of people aged 16 to 64 have a long-term health condition that limits their day-to-day activities (which means that they are classed as disabled). In Wales the proportion of people who have a long-term health condition is higher, at 28% in September … Continue reading Labour-run Wales has by far the highest rate of the economically inactive due to long-term illness or disability in the UK

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Labour in Cardiff does NOT have the solution to long A&E waiting times even after 26 years

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By stewartb On the theme of the British Labour Party’s track record in government with devolved powers. NHS Wales’ performance shows that Labour governing with devolved powers – even after c. 12 months with Labour in power in Westminster and c.26 years in power in Cardiff – does NOT have the solution to long A&E waiting times. As we approach the election to the Holyrood parliament in 2026, voters in Scotland should take careful note – unless of course the leadership of the British Labour Party in Scotland is keeping a game changing wheeze for the salvation of Scotland EDs … Continue reading Labour in Cardiff does NOT have the solution to long A&E waiting times even after 26 years

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Paul Hutcheon – More people in England than in Scotland are economically inactive due to long-term sickness – Have the figures prompted calls for the Labour Government to give people the support they need to get back to work?

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Daily Record yesterday, the above and: Over a quarter of a million Scots are out of work due to long-term sickness or having a disability after a rise caused by the pandemic. The SNP Government has now been urged to invest more in mental health and the NHS to help people back find jobs. New figures reveal there are an estimated 269,000 people in Scotland aged 16-64 who gave their reason for being inactive as long-term sick or disabled. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/over-260000-scots-out-work-35625432 All things being equal, we might expect the figure for England to be around 2.69 million. From Statista: … Continue reading Paul Hutcheon – More people in England than in Scotland are economically inactive due to long-term sickness – Have the figures prompted calls for the Labour Government to give people the support they need to get back to work?

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Waiting list for those assessed but still waiting for a care at home package is one-third longer in England than in Scotland affecting around 10 000 people in the former

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland – People requiring a social care assessment and care at home services published today: The estimated number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package was 3,240 on 7 July 2025.1 All things being equal, you’d expect the figure for England to be around 32 000. From Adult social care in England, monthly statistics: July 2025 (latest data) published 3 July 2025: From April 2024 to March 2025, 586,000 people received a local authority adult social care assessment in England, having not received local authority long-term support in the … Continue reading Waiting list for those assessed but still waiting for a care at home package is one-third longer in England than in Scotland affecting around 10 000 people in the former

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Teenage pregnancies plummet after 18 years to reveal wider progress under SNP

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Teenage pregnancies Year of conception, ending 31 December 2023 published today: The teenage pregnancy rate in Scotland increased slightly from 25.5 per 1,000 women in 2022 to 25.8 in 2023. This is equal to 3,801 teenage pregnancies in 2023 (76 more than in 2022). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/teenage-pregnancies/teenage-pregnancies-year-of-conception-ending-31-december-2023/ From the above graph you can see that teenage pregnancies were running at 55-57 per year in the last years of the Labour/Lib Dem coalition and peaking in 2005-2008, more than twice as many as in recent years. Why is this such an important statistic and reflective of wider achievements … Continue reading Teenage pregnancies plummet after 18 years to reveal wider progress under SNP

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Drug-related hospital admissions fall steadily by a third for two years to ease pressure on wards due to Scottish Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme, last and only time mentioned on BBC Scotland, by Reevel Alderson in 2016 before he was removed!

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Rapid Action Drug Alerts and Response (RADAR) quarterly ​report July 2025 published today, we can see a monthly fluctuating but steady, long term falling trend, in drug-related hospital admissions, from around 210 per month in July 2023 to around 140 in 2025, a 33% fall which must be easing pressure on wards. While there will be more than one factor explaining this trend, this seems key: What is the Naxolone Initiative? After a pilot phase ending in 2018, the Scottish Government began to embed Naloxone opioid overdose reversal kits across NHS Scotland. Shortly after, the … Continue reading Drug-related hospital admissions fall steadily by a third for two years to ease pressure on wards due to Scottish Government’s world-first opioid overdose reversal programme, last and only time mentioned on BBC Scotland, by Reevel Alderson in 2016 before he was removed!

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Steady growth in rental properties revealed in official figures contradicts media scare based on insider ‘research’

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scotsman in March 2024: Almost 22,000 rental properties MAY have been removed from the market in Scotland in the past year, research has revealed, with “anti-landlord rhetoric” from the Scottish Government cited as a reason for the drop. The Scottish Association of Landlords (SAL) said such rhetoric, combined with “short-term, ineffective policies” from ministers, was “harming investment in private rented housing in Scotland”. https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/rent-scotland-almost-22000-rental-properties-removed-from-market-amid-anti-landlord-rhetoric-research-claims-4541621 From Housing statistics: Scottish Landlord Register data published today, we can see that the number of registered landlords in Scotland has fallen slightly, by 1.1% or around 2 000, but the number of registered properties available to rent … Continue reading Steady growth in rental properties revealed in official figures contradicts media scare based on insider ‘research’

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Scotland’s 16-24 year-olds – significantly more employment, less unemployment and more activity

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Professor John Robertson OBA In February 2025, BBC UK had the above headline and: More young people were not in work, education or training at the end of 2024 than at any point in the past 11 years, new data suggests. but from Labour Market Statistics for 16 to 24 year olds: Scotland and the United Kingdom – January to December 2024 published today: Compared with the United Kingdom as a whole: the estimated employment rate for 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland was higher (54.8% compared to 51.3 per cent) the estimated unemployment rate for 16 to 24 year … Continue reading Scotland’s 16-24 year-olds – significantly more employment, less unemployment and more activity