Professor John Robertson OBA The ‘Scottish’ Daily Mail frontpage headline today is ‘ANGER AS SNP BACKS BIGGEST WIND FARM ON PLANET.’ I can’t help but think they may have misjudged their readers on this one – ‘What, we’ve got the biggest wind farm on the planet? BRILLIANT!‘ Where’s the supposed anger coming from? Well, Donald Trump and ‘conservation groups’, they say. There’s an unusual coalition. Doesn’t the Mail regularly bash such groups for ‘squeezing taxpayers’, obstructing ambulances and just dressing funny? Not for the first time, you’re left to wonder what Mail readers would think if they got more information. … Continue reading Daily Mail misreads most of its readers on energy generation that will keep their lights on

Professor John Robertson OBA Chancellor Rachel Reeves is all over ‘Scottish’ media today with promises of ‘billions‘ to be invested in the Scottish economy via increased defence spending. Leaving aside the fact that much of the spending will be on new hunter-killer submarines built in Cumbria, the reporting fails to mention this key fact: From Grok AI: Scotland’s share of UK defense spending is approximately 3.7% to 3.9% based on recent data. In 2021/22, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spent £2.01 billion in Scotland out of a total UK defense expenditure of £53.9 billion in 2023/24. This equates to roughly … Continue reading Rachel Reeves fails to mention that with 8.1% of the population Scotland only gets 3.9%, less than half, the defence spending it deserves

Professor John Robertson OBA Today, the UK Energy Minister, above, appeared to claim credit for the approval of the massive 300 plus turbine, 4.1GW, windfarm off the Scottish coast near Fife and East Lothian: Even the Scotsman knew who had actually approved it: One of world’s biggest wind farms with 307 turbines approved near Edinburgh by SNP ministers though they are hoping it will kill lots of seabirds. Milliband and his boy from Scotland, below, clearly think this new project will help with their unimpressive achievement: 50%? Is that all? How is the SNP doing? What’s happening to the surplus … Continue reading Ed Milliband tries to take credit for new Scottish offshore windfarm, approved by SNP, to boost billions-worth of electricity already being transferred to England

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the 12 months to March 2025, the rate of assaults on staff was 122 assaults per 1,000 prisoners (10,568 assaults on staff), up 7% from the 12 months to March 2024 to a new peak. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/safety-in-custody-quarterly-update-to-march-2025/safety-in-custody-statistics-england-and-wales-deaths-in-prison-custody-to-june-2025-assaults-and-self-harm-to-march-2025 All things being equal, you’d expect the figure for Scotland to be around one eleventh of that 10 568, between 950 and 1 000, but according to the Daily Record and all the other frothing Scottish media is was 350, only just over one third of the level. Assaults on prison officers in … Continue reading ‘Prison officers assaulted by inmates three times a day in England’s jails’ – Assaults on prison officers in England & Wales nearly THREE times as frequent as in Scotland.

Professor John Robertson OBA From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: July 2025 published today, some key points getting no media attention: Police recorded crime changed little between 2023-24 and 2024-25, decreasing by less than 1%. The recording of crime remains below the position immediately prior to the pandemic (2019-20) and is down 51% from its peak in 1991. Property and violent crime has fallen by 37% since 2008-09 https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-july-2025/pages/statistics-on-crime-in-general/ Some will say, of course, not all crime is reported, but two other sources triangulate with the above to reveal that crime really is falling. For proof, see … Continue reading Crime plummets in years since Labour were last in power in Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA Above are the opening words of the final statement on the transition from a reserved system of social security for disabled people to one led and managed by the Scottish Government. They are an obvious place and an easy way for a journalist, under pressure, to begin and to frame, their report on a 66 page document. BBC Scotland have headlined the report but, instead, have opened with: Access to Scotland’s adult disability benefits should be made easier despite forecasts of a steep increase in claims and costs, an independent review has said. to extract and … Continue reading New ‘kind’ SNP disability payment system in shocking contrast to DWP’s suicide-linked brutality