Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Talking-up Scotland escapes from paywall misery and owner gets new gasket fitted

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After one day of putting Talking-up Scotland behind a paywall, I’ve come to my sense (just the one) and set it free. It was the 3 800 readers one night followed by only 14 contributors the next day, that blew my gasket. I have a new gasket and plan to just chill from now on. Maybe I’m too emotional for this line of work but then if I wasn’t, I suspect TuS would be smaller or have been quietly abandoned years ago. What normal person would work to 74, seven days a week, 340 days a year? In the end, … Continue reading Talking-up Scotland escapes from paywall misery and owner gets new gasket fitted

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Reposted with no paywall – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy They will make as much as they can of this in the weeks between now and 7th May when the voters go to the polls to elect the next Scottish Government but as with the other attempts to undermine the reputation of the SNP in governance, nothing will come of it. I’ll eat my hat etc. Have there been any comparable investigations into potentially fatal hospital acquired infections leading to prosecutions and punishment, anywhere in the UK, ever? Yes, four. From an AI search … Continue reading Reposted with no paywall – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

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FOUR posts in one – ‘Old friends’ Sarwar and Mandelson, BBC teacher strike misinformation, Welsh Labour’s inferior quality baby bundle post code lottery and Labour campaigns to have trans women assaulted in male prisons

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Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy ‘It was great to catch up with my old friend‘ Epstein was jailed July 6th 2019, nearly SIX years before Sarwar tweeted the above! I know few think that Scottish Labour leader, Anas Sarwar, is genuine friend of Scotland but the extent of this elite inner circle member’s loyalty to people like Blair, Brown, Mandelson and other London-based figures is being hidden from voters in Scotland. Sarwar has not even bothered to delete the above cosy image – ‘old friend (!)’ confident that the … Continue reading FOUR posts in one – ‘Old friends’ Sarwar and Mandelson, BBC teacher strike misinformation, Welsh Labour’s inferior quality baby bundle post code lottery and Labour campaigns to have trans women assaulted in male prisons

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Reposted – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

johnrobertson834

Continue reading Reposted – Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

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Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

johnrobertson834

Continue reading Why the ‘hospital deaths’ won’t result in criminal charges, why Scots don’t do DIY dentistry, why we don’t need nuclear energy for radiopharmaceuticals and why the Daily Record’s ‘Scotland’s mean streets’ is a dirty big lie

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Scottish homes will probably not have to be abandoned: how climate crisis has reshaped RumpUK’s flood risk

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland to keep rebutting the lies almost every day of the year, at https://t.co/xFcIcegHTy In the Guardian today: ‘Homes may have to be abandoned’: how climate crisis has reshaped Britain’s flood risk https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/jan/31/climate-crisis-flood-risk-britain There’s only one mention of Scotland: But it is not just the south-west facing ever more floods as the climate crisis bites. Environment Agency data estimates 6.3m properties in England are at risk of flooding, rising to 8m by 2050, with Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland also hit hard. Wow, impressive research there…not. In the Guardian 14 October 2025, the above maps showing only two wee bits of Scotland … Continue reading Scottish homes will probably not have to be abandoned: how climate crisis has reshaped RumpUK’s flood risk

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Former Labour candidate in BBC Scotland’s attack on supposed ‘under-fire’ Scottish health boards today yet none are being investigated like the 16 English health trust maternity units which are in ‘special measures’ for high mortality, 4 investigated by the police

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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 In the Daily Record, 2 July 2010: LABOUR has selected union official Matt McLaughlin as the party’s candidate to fight next year’s Scottish Parliament election. Mr McLaughlin was chosen as the party’s standard-bearer for … Continue reading Former Labour candidate in BBC Scotland’s attack on supposed ‘under-fire’ Scottish health boards today yet none are being investigated like the 16 English health trust maternity units which are in ‘special measures’ for high mortality, 4 investigated by the police

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Are Scotland’s ferries the worst or the best in the world?

johnrobertson834

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 Four years ago, on BBC Scotland, I heard an island spokesperson suggest that CalMac ferries was the worst service in the world and that they should visit other countries to learn from them. Getting … Continue reading Are Scotland’s ferries the worst or the best in the world?

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NHS England pays out NINE times as much as NHS Scotland, per head, for clinical negligence

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In the Guardian today: NHS medical negligence persisting in England ‘despite 24 years of warnings’ – MPs on influential committee excoriate health department and NHS England for errors costing £3.6bn a year. Medical negligence in the NHS keeps harming and killing patients because governments and health service bosses have not acted on 24 years’ worth of warnings, MPs have said. In a scathing report published on Friday, the public accounts committee (PAC) excoriates the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and NHS England for allowing the cost of mistakes to balloon to £3.6bn a year. Between them, the two bodies have failed to … Continue reading NHS England pays out NINE times as much as NHS Scotland, per head, for clinical negligence

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The benefits for the NHS and for the wider economy of women retiring around 60 – peer-reviewed research evidence is unambiguous and the SNP knows what to do about it

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It’s been argued that women should be able to retire at 60 because by then they often have caring responsibilities for elderly vulnerable parents reducing demand on the NHS and for grandchildren, enabling parents to work and help the economy. Is there research evidence for these claims? The answer below is Grok AI-assisted ie more trustworthy than you’d get from a politician or a newspaper that supports them. There is: Caring for Elderly Parents and Potential Reduction in NHS DemandMultiple studies confirm that women in their 50s and 60s are disproportionately involved in unpaid care for older relatives, with peaks … Continue reading The benefits for the NHS and for the wider economy of women retiring around 60 – peer-reviewed research evidence is unambiguous and the SNP knows what to do about it