Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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‘Alarming’: ‘Scots’ newspaper tries to suggest Scots nationalised railway provider is to blame for pay-outs for service disruption caused by UK Government-owned Network Rail

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Headlining in the Herald today, the above, and: The publicly-funded owner of Scotland’s railways has had to pay out £220m in compensation over five years to train operators including ScotRail because of disruption to services, The Herald can reveal. The huge bill is £106m higher than what was allowed for in Network Rail’s delivery plan which outlines the activities, expenditure and proposals for the maintenance, renewal, and operation of the nation’s mainline railway infrastructure. You’d be forgiven for thinking this has something to do with the Scottish government but in reality it’s all to do with failures by Network Rail, … Continue reading ‘Alarming’: ‘Scots’ newspaper tries to suggest Scots nationalised railway provider is to blame for pay-outs for service disruption caused by UK Government-owned Network Rail

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Scottish Labour in a panic as Welsh Labour plan to ban liars like Jackie Baillie

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From the National on 23rd January 2024: MSPs were threatened with expulsion from the Holyrood chamber amid a raucous First Minister’s Questions which saw John Swinney accuse Jackie Baillie of giving false information about the NHS. Baillie had lied about NHS Scotland A&E waiting times. She criticised the ‘SNP’s‘ handling of A&E performance, saying: “Each week the First Minister says sorry and each week it gets worse.” The SNP leader said Dame Jackie’s assertions were “not true”. The FM was correct in pointing out that an increasing percentage has been seen [full ED] in 4 successive weeks from 56.7% to 62.4% by week-ending … Continue reading Scottish Labour in a panic as Welsh Labour plan to ban liars like Jackie Baillie

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Airports ‘across the UK’ could be expanded but only if they’re in London

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By Liz S The BBC published an article on their website on 21 January 2025. In this article they stated that “Airports across the UK could be expanded, including the controversial third runway at Heathrow under government growth plans” However “across the UK” was an exaggeration as within the article the only airports that the BBC specified were all in London, with only Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick noted. So much for “Scotland at the heart of the UK government” with Labour. As it seems the only money available for “infrastructure” and “growth” is for projects in England and not in … Continue reading Airports ‘across the UK’ could be expanded but only if they’re in London

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Patient satisfaction surveys rate NHS Scotland improving and far more highly than NHS England to cast doubt on 4th Health Secretary media witch-hunt

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: In the Guardian today: A quarter of people in England experienced poor NHS care over the last year but fewer than one in 10 of them complained about it, a report by the patient watchdog has revealed. 1 From the Health and Care Experience Survey 2023/24: National Results published on 28th May 2024, only 12% of the 104 000 Scots responding, rated their experience as poor or very poor, down from 15% in the previous year.2 The patients are not wrong. NHS Scotland is doing far better than other NHS areas. See: Once more we witness a gormless witch-hunt … Continue reading Patient satisfaction surveys rate NHS Scotland improving and far more highly than NHS England to cast doubt on 4th Health Secretary media witch-hunt

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The shortest waiting lists in the UK but BBC Scotland quote Sandesh Gulhane and Jackie Baillie in a 2 minute report to lie about NHS Scotland – factually better on the 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: The 3 minute Reporting Scotland inserts, on BBC Breakfast this morning, but as often before not covered on the BBC Scotland website, exploits the news that the First Minister is speaking today on increasing access to healthcare, to platform the opposition claims, unchecked: This is a longstanding practice on BBC Scotland to platform opposition tirades with unreliable evidence uncontested. BBC England, Wales and Northern Ireland almost never do this. The NHS performance of their parties in England & Wales is never mentioned. Their own editorial guidelines are, in this way, broken every day. It’s not news, … Continue reading The shortest waiting lists in the UK but BBC Scotland quote Sandesh Gulhane and Jackie Baillie in a 2 minute report to lie about NHS Scotland – factually better on the 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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Privately-educated Alex Massie of the Times with more fake news on Scotland’s state schools

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former schoolteacher, education lecturer and Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS Alex Massie of the Times and Spectator, today claims: Scotland’s schools are failing, but it doesn’t have to be this way He’s right. It doesn’t have to be this way because it isn’t. Massie knows little of anything but of education, even less. Massie was educated at St. Mary’s School, Melrose, Glenalmond College in Perthshire and at Trinity College Dublin but offers no detail of degree subject or classification. Given the kind of guy he seems, a first would have been mentioned. What he doesn’t know: From Literacy and numeracy standards reach record high, published … Continue reading Privately-educated Alex Massie of the Times with more fake news on Scotland’s state schools

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Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks again to AR for alerting me to this. Gillian Bowditch is a columnist for The Sunday Times. She is founder of the personalised jewellery company Lily Blanche (lilyblanche.com)  and chair of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Scotland).  Today in the Times, she has this: Toxic Work Culture in the NHS is a matter of life and death Her argument is that toxic work environments in NHS Scotland are leading to worse care and thus unnecessary deaths, and that competition in healthcare will push standards up and, presumably, remove these. That she imagines the private … Continue reading Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

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Why are Scotland’s MSM not reporting Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence?

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson In the Strathspey & Badenoch Herald, today but nowhere in Scotland’s MSM, not even on BBC Scotland’s Highlands & Islands latest news website: Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence after working with Merseyside … Continue reading Why are Scotland’s MSM not reporting Highland police ‘success’ tackling County Lines drug gangs from Liverpool behind 2023 violence?

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After 10 years local MP fails to encourage improvement in his local A&E – Will Labour Scotland’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie offer advice based on NHS Scotland?

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Wes Streeting has been the local MP [Ilford North] in which the above hospital sits, for nearly 10 years and has been Secretary of State for Health since July 2024. On Friday January 24 2025, The Times, had the above shocking images, and: It is 4pm on a Tuesday and the tea lady is slowly wheeling her metal trolley up the crowded corridors of the A&E unit at Queen’s Hospital in Romford. She stops one by one at the makeshift bedsides of the patients crammed in beside one another, offering tea, coffee and biscuits while they wait — and wait … Continue reading After 10 years local MP fails to encourage improvement in his local A&E – Will Labour Scotland’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie offer advice based on NHS Scotland?

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Ant-Semitic hate crime level in Scotland only one sixth of UK level and not one of the 266 physical assaults elsewhere in the UK but Kevin McKenna has this

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Not for the first time, a Herald journalist tries to transfer a very real problem over the border. As always, no facts. Here they are. From the Community Security Trust (CST)‘ most recent Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023 published on 15 February 2024 CST’s Antisemitic Incidents Report 2023, published today, shows 4,103 instances of anti-Jewish hate recorded across the UK in 2023. This is the highest annual total ever reported to CST. It is a 147% rise from the 1,662 antisemitic incidents in 2022, and 81% higher than the previous yearly record of 2,261 incidents, reported in 2021. CST recorded 1,684 antisemitic … Continue reading Ant-Semitic hate crime level in Scotland only one sixth of UK level and not one of the 266 physical assaults elsewhere in the UK but Kevin McKenna has this