Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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SNP-run Glasgow City builds more than SIX times as many affordable homes as Labour-run Birmingham City thanks to £94 million from SNP Government

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Professor John Robertson OBA In 2023/2024: Glasgow City Council’s Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) helped to build over 1,000 [1 011] additional affordable homes in the city in the past year. The original £78.687million grant from the Scottish Government was bolstered during the year by an additional £11.544million to focus on Strategic Acquisitions, and a further £3.825m from the Scottish Government to a final budget of £94.056million. https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/article/12891/Glasgow-s-Affordable-Housing-Supply-Programme-delivered-over-1000-new-affordable-homes-in-last-year Birmingham City has nearly twice the population [1.16m] , thus revenue, of Glasgow City [622k], so all things being equal, might be expected to have built at least 2 000 new affordable … Continue reading SNP-run Glasgow City builds more than SIX times as many affordable homes as Labour-run Birmingham City thanks to £94 million from SNP Government

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Lisa Summers reporting NHS Scotland down as Unison talks it up

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Brenda Robb for alerting me tot his. In Nursing Times yesterday: The latest NHS pay offer in Scotland “sends a really powerful message” to other UK countries about what can be achieved through direct pay negotiations, Unison Scotland’s co-lead for health has said. Speaking with Nursing Times, Matt McLaughlin said other UK countries were “hiding behind bureaucracy” when it comes to NHS pay and it was “no good” for the health service. “In the other parts of the UK, it seems that people are hiding behind bureaucracy” Matt McLaughlin Scotland is the first UK … Continue reading Lisa Summers reporting NHS Scotland down as Unison talks it up

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Dysfunction, rats, rubbish is all that Labour offer you

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Professor John Robertson OBA We’ve seen the chaos that is Labour-run Wales after decades of misrule, reported here, over and over. Labour-run UK will soon be revealed for the same. Today, in the Guardian, we see how 1.6 million people have now suffered from 40 years of Labour corruption and incompetence: Reform and the Tories are rubbing their hands with glee as residents once again pay the price for the disarray of the city’s Labour council. The failure of Birmingham’s leaders to get to grips with the situation is a symptom of the council’s deeper disarray. As far as dysfunctional … Continue reading Dysfunction, rats, rubbish is all that Labour offer you

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English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: In emergency departments, 75% of patients were seen within four hours last month [March], up from 73.4% in February. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/10/hospitals-in-england-to-get-unlimited-incentive-payments-for-patients-taken-off-waiting-lists This is a common, sometimes confused, sometimes intentional, misrepresentation of the facts to suggest A&E in England is performing better than it is and, in BBC broadcasts, to suggest it is performing better than in Scotland. In the above NHS England table, you’ll see that for Type 1 emergency departments, only 60.9% were treated within 4 hours. What is Type 1? Type 1 A&E department = A consultant led 24 hour service … Continue reading English media misinterpret A&E waiting times* to let Labour of-the-hook and conceal gap with NHS Scotland treating 11 000 more on time, every month, than would have been treated in NHS England

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Is UK Labour’s new ‘unlimited’ bonuses for removing the sick from waiting lists just a repeat of a 2013 Tory scheme giving them for placing patients on ‘death lists?’

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: Hospitals in England are being offered unlimited bonus payments to remove people they decide do not need treatment from their waiting lists amid warnings that thousands of patients most in need are still facing unacceptable delays. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/10/hospitals-in-england-to-get-unlimited-incentive-payments-for-patients-taken-off-waiting-lists This scheme triggered a memory which concerned me. The so-called ‘serious’ media said little in 2013, but the Mail and other tabloids had: GPs have been paid bonuses to put elderly patients on controversial ‘death lists’ in an attempt to save the NHS money by cutting the number of people who die … Continue reading Is UK Labour’s new ‘unlimited’ bonuses for removing the sick from waiting lists just a repeat of a 2013 Tory scheme giving them for placing patients on ‘death lists?’

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Revealing how BBC Scotland skewed the response of the Institute for Fiscal Studies to a Scottish Fiscal Commission report: – but why, is there a legitimate, public service reason?

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By stewartb The Scottish Fiscal Commission published April 8 a report entitled ‘Fiscal Sustainability Report – April 2025’. An article in the Scotland section of the BBC News website covered this under the headline: ‘Significant challenges’ for health funding, warns report.’ (See: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgxyegeelyo ) As will become apparent, two things about the BBC article are significant: (See https://ifs.org.uk/articles/scottish-fiscal-sustainability-report-immediate-response) By avoiding any mention of the UK or of Westminster, the BBC misses important context- and perspective-giving references prominent in the IFS’ commentary. The IFS response states right up front: ‘Today’s Scottish Fiscal Commission (SFC) report highlights the fiscal challenges facing the … Continue reading Revealing how BBC Scotland skewed the response of the Institute for Fiscal Studies to a Scottish Fiscal Commission report: – but why, is there a legitimate, public service reason?

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How England’s ‘complex’ health and care system is harming patients by creating a waiting list for care at home packages more than 50% longer, per head, than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today, the above and: Navigating England’s “complex” health and care system is “extremely difficult” and carers and patients are experiencing burnout, distress and harm as a result, a damning report says. There were frequent failures by NHS and care organisations in coordinating care for people with long-term health conditions, the Health Services Safety Investigations Body (HSSIB) found. Figures show 41% of adults and 17% of children have at least one long-term health issue. The report said patients unable to navigate the health and care system were getting sicker as a result, missing vital appointments, and … Continue reading How England’s ‘complex’ health and care system is harming patients by creating a waiting list for care at home packages more than 50% longer, per head, than in Scotland

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As families face up to one hundred year waits for social housing in England, Miles Briggs (Con) reveals it’s ‘longer than a year’ in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: In the Guardian today, the above and: The wait for family-size social housing has risen to more than 100 years in parts of England, which charities have condemned as “ludicrous” and a “national scandal”. Analysis from the National Housing Federation (NHF), Crisis and Shelter found that in 32 local authority areas across England, the wait for a home with at least three bedrooms was longer than 18 years – the duration of an entire childhood. The worst three councils, all of which are in London, have waiting lists exceeding 100 … Continue reading As families face up to one hundred year waits for social housing in England, Miles Briggs (Con) reveals it’s ‘longer than a year’ in Scotland

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Sickening hypocrisy – Will the Browns now condemn Starmer as their research project proves that poverty risks the development of babies as much as premature birth?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Only 18 paragraphs down in this headlining story, after much detail on the loss of a baby to former PM Gordon Brown and his wife, do we see this key finding mentioned: Prof James Boardman, from the University of Edinburgh, is the cohort’s chief investigator. His team uses a series of brain scans and psychological studies at various ages. He says one of the key findings so far is that poverty has an impact on brain development. “It would be fair to say that a baby born at full term to a more deprived couple has … Continue reading Sickening hypocrisy – Will the Browns now condemn Starmer as their research project proves that poverty risks the development of babies as much as premature birth?

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The English Connection keeping Scotland’s drug deaths high

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Graham for alerting me to the above: In just one day, Aberdeen’s P&J has two reports of English drug gangs occupying homes in the city to sell new more powerful low cost drugs and, in so doing keep drug deaths high, despite the efforts of the SNP Government which has oversight of a world-leading opium overdose reversal drug programme (Naloxone) and a drug treatment programme running a a target-busting 95%+ treated within three weeks. The P&J has been reporting this plague for years. In December 2021, more than three years ago, the had In … Continue reading The English Connection keeping Scotland’s drug deaths high