Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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FIVE TIMES as many wait more than 12 hours in two English A&E departments than in Glasgow as 57% of NHS England hospitals fail to declare critical incidents despite ‘out-of-control waiting times

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks to AR for alerting me to this: In the Independent today: Dozens of hospitals are failing to declare critical incidents despite having out-of-control waiting times at A&E. New figures handed to The Independent have revealed that more than half of NHS trusts have longer A&E waiting times than those which have already been forced to take emergency measures to deal with overwhelming demand. More than a dozen hospitals announced incidents at the start of January, but the health secretary later revealed the true figure was 24. At Blackpool Teaching Hospitals and Countess of Chester Hospital Trusts, 27.5 per cent … Continue reading FIVE TIMES as many wait more than 12 hours in two English A&E departments than in Glasgow as 57% of NHS England hospitals fail to declare critical incidents despite ‘out-of-control waiting times

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‘My eye-opening day at overrun A&E department’ – who’s culpable for what BBC Wales found in Swansea?

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Should we borrow from Labour’s rhetoric in Scotland: ‘NHS staff do an incredible job in caring for us but they are let down by Labour time and time again’;  an ‘out of touch and hopeless Labour government presiding over a crisis in the Welsh NHS’;  “… Labour’s record on the NHS in Wales is one of abject failure”? By stewartb BBC Wales is reporting what its journalist found on a visit to an NHS Wales hospital in Swansea: ‘My eye-opening day at overrun A&E department’ (BBC News website January 23, 2025). The article reveals the poor state of a hospital … Continue reading ‘My eye-opening day at overrun A&E department’ – who’s culpable for what BBC Wales found in Swansea?

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In its 45 year lifetime how many childhood cancers were caused by refuelling at this Ayrshire nuclear power station?

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks to JB for researching this. Hunterston B Nuclear power station, in North Ayrshire, Scotland, was in operation for nearly 45 years, from February 1976 until November 2021.1 In that time, there will have been around 30 re-fuelling instances2 and up to 300 inspections.3 During these events, there are spikes of radioactive emissions. Researchers in Germany, published this in 2011: According to the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) in Germany, the normal emission concentration during the rest of the year is about 3 kBq/m³, but during inspection/refuelling (in the afternoon and evening … Continue reading In its 45 year lifetime how many childhood cancers were caused by refuelling at this Ayrshire nuclear power station?

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The evidence that UK Government ‘suspicion of the Scots’ led to inferior Covid-19 pandemic measures and the unnecessary deaths of thousands in England and Wales

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA In the National today: Mark Drakeford: Tories’ ‘suspicion of the Scots’ hindered UK in Covid THERE was an “inherent suspicion” in the way the UK government dealt with its devolved counterparts during the Covid pandemic because they were “worried about the Scots,” the former first minister of Wales has said. The above table is summarised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on page 100 of UK Poverty 2023 published on 26 January 2023, as: Scotland has the lowest mortality rate per 100,000 people for every degree of deprivation across the UK [p100] https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2023-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk That the above variation … Continue reading The evidence that UK Government ‘suspicion of the Scots’ led to inferior Covid-19 pandemic measures and the unnecessary deaths of thousands in England and Wales

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Radioactive tritium emissions which ‘slam into’ your DNA, DOUBLE around Clyde nuclear sub base

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Yesterday, I saw the above report and read further on the topic in The Engineer, that: Fusion power plants will rely on hydrogen isotopes deuterium (which can be extracted from seawater), and tritium (which is rare on Earth) to produce energy. To address this scarcity, tritium must be produced (or ‘bred’) in a lithium-containing blanket that surrounds the fusion reaction. The LIBRTI programme aims to demonstrate controlled tritium breeding, which will be a critical step for future fusion power plants. Tritium jumped up into my mind again as it had done three weeks ago as I … Continue reading Radioactive tritium emissions which ‘slam into’ your DNA, DOUBLE around Clyde nuclear sub base

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Labour’s decision to keep the cracked Torness nuclear reactor going is ‘an experiment and hoping nothing will go wrong’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks again to Alan Gordon for alerting me to this. In December 2021, spreading cracks were found in the aging nuclear power station at Torness in East Lothian and its operator EDF decided to shut it down two years early, in 2028. Then in December 2024, the new Labour government’s energy minister, Ed Miliband, in pursuit of their carbon reduction strategy decided it should stay open. Why is this a concern? In 2023, prior to the above decision, Dr Ian Fairlie, an independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment, gave evidence in a briefing … Continue reading Labour’s decision to keep the cracked Torness nuclear reactor going is ‘an experiment and hoping nothing will go wrong’

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Starmer’s pledge of named police officers for every neighbourhood in England & Wales becomes laughable as staffing falls to lowest since 2022 and far below the level in Scotland

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: Police officer numbers in England and Wales at lowest level for two years, figures show The number of police officers in England and Wales has slipped to its lowest level in two years, PA Media reports. PA says: The headcount of officers employed by 43 forces stood at 148,886 at the end of September 2024. This is down 883 from a peak of 149,769 at the end of March and the lowest total since the end of September 2022 (144,346), according to Home Office data published today. Last month, Keir … Continue reading Starmer’s pledge of named police officers for every neighbourhood in England & Wales becomes laughable as staffing falls to lowest since 2022 and far below the level in Scotland

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Comparison of educational performance across UK at odds with Labour Party spokesperson’s claim of ‘failure’ in Scotland.

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By stewartb A report from the Centre for Cities provides striking comparative analysis of levels of educational qualifications across 65 of the UK’s cities and large towns. Source: Centre for Cities (January 2025) Cities Outlook 2025 (https://www.centreforcities.org/publication/cities-outlook-2025/ ) The Centre’s research is summarised in two tables (reproduced below). In Table 10, the remarkable finding is that all four areas in Scotland within the scope of the Centre’s study of UK urban locations appear in the top ten in terms of the percentage of the working age population with high-level qualifications. (The report explains ‘high-level qualifications’: equivalent to Regulated Qualifications Framework … Continue reading Comparison of educational performance across UK at odds with Labour Party spokesperson’s claim of ‘failure’ in Scotland.

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Recent research reported in the Lancet suggests that Labour’s plans to impose new nuclear plants in Scotland risks increased leukaemia spikes amongst workers and children living nearby

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By JB I found these articles by Dr Ian Fairlie, an independent consultant on radioactivity in the environment, from The Ecologist very interesting, the first is about a study in Lancet Haematology, “it provides “strong evidence”, as stated by the authors, of a “dose-response relationship between cumulative, external, chronic, low-dose, exposures to radiation and leukaemia”.……. https://theecologist.org/2015/oct/09/risks-leukemia-nuclear-workers-more-double-previous-estimate https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanhae/article/PIIS2352-3026(18)30106-6/abstract  The Ecologist published very clear evidence of increased cancers among children living near nuclear power stations around the world, including the UK. Radioactive spikes from nuclear plants – a likely cause of childhood leukemia….. https://theecologist.org/2014/sep/29/radioactive-spikes-nuclear-plants-likely-cause-childhood-leukemia Continue reading Recent research reported in the Lancet suggests that Labour’s plans to impose new nuclear plants in Scotland risks increased leukaemia spikes amongst workers and children living nearby

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Factcheck – Scotland a richer employment environment for 16 to 24 year-olds

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Labour Market Statistics for 16 to 24 year olds: Scotland and the United Kingdom – October 2023 to September 2024, published today: Compared with the United Kingdom as a whole: Data are sourced from the Annual Population Survey (APS), first released on 11 December 2024 by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/labour-market-statistics-for-16-to-24-year-olds-scotland-and-the-united-kingdom-october-2023-to-september-2024/ Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/ The Oliver Brown Award for advancing the cause of Scotland’s self respect, previously awarded to Dr Philippa Whitford, Alex Salmond and Sean Connery: https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116 About Oliver Brown, the first Scottish National Party candidate to save … Continue reading Factcheck – Scotland a richer employment environment for 16 to 24 year-olds