Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Meagher, slow, performance by Labour councillor to recognise Edinburgh’s outperforming of London, because it contradicts her leader Anas?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Only yesterday, did Jane Meagher, City of Edinburgh Council Leader, manage to post a response to the news from the ONS, on 17 April 2025, showing that her city had overtaken London as the most productive city in the UK. https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/14243/edinburgh-s-economy-outperforms-london-s TuS was not exactly on the ball but we did it two weeks ago: From Regional gross domestic product: all ITL regions published by the ONS in April 2025 but, of course, not reported by any of the so-called Scottish media, the above stunning figures revealing the success of the Scottish Government’s economic policies – https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/datasets/regionalgrossdomesticproductallnutslevelregions In … Continue reading Meagher, slow, performance by Labour councillor to recognise Edinburgh’s outperforming of London, because it contradicts her leader Anas?

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The very real and tragic costs that competent government by the SNP has quietly averted by its handling of health service pay and conditions settlements

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The many strikes in NHS England in 2023, all averted by the Scottish Government, were at a real and tragic cost: From the ONS in March 2023: In total, at least 93,022 outpatient appointments, 18,716 elective procedures, 27,957 community service appointments and 9,634 mental health and learning disability (MHLD) appointments have been rescheduled because of strike action. These are reported figures and not all trusts submitted data, so they will be lower than the true figures.1 From LBC News in April 2023: Deaths rose after first round of junior doctors strikes, new data shows, as 96-hour walkout enters final day … Continue reading The very real and tragic costs that competent government by the SNP has quietly averted by its handling of health service pay and conditions settlements

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Trump still the less bad choice than Biden or Clinton for many in the world?

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Professor John Robertson OBA I wrote this about the Biden/Trump contest in 2020 and there’s a link to the earlier one with the dread Hilary Clinton in it. Trump’s complicity in the horror that is Gaza may moderate my position but it seems likely a Democrat president would have been no better. Here it is: If you live in the US, Trump is clearly the more bad choice. Though Biden is no socialist, there is some (little?) hope, under him, for the sick, the poor, women and ethnic minorities and less (little?) joy for the rich and the corporations. But, … Continue reading Trump still the less bad choice than Biden or Clinton for many in the world?

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Race hate crimes return to pre-pandemic level and remain well below the level under Labour but Daily Record tries to fool you with selective figures to blame SNP

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Daily Record today: Shock new figures from Police Scotland show cases of racial and religious abuse have risen sharply in the past three years. However the vast majority of reported crimes now involve what police term a “racial aggravator.” In 2022 there were 3838 recorded hate crimes where race was a factor, that rose to 3937 in 2023, and 4953 last year. In the first two months of 2025 there were 738 race related crimes reported to police. The rise in crime figures follows the introduction of new hate crime legislation last year by the then … Continue reading Race hate crimes return to pre-pandemic level and remain well below the level under Labour but Daily Record tries to fool you with selective figures to blame SNP

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‘An intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist or be expressed’ – How the insights of a Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’ may predict a disturbing future for the mental state of Scottish Labour politicians and for its followers

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Professor John Robertson OBA In 1975, in my first year at Stirling University, I was introduced to the revolutionary ideas of the Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’, R D Laing. I was struck by the clarity and coherence of Laing’s central thesis in ‘The Divided Self’: A central tenet of Laing’s thesis is the concept of the “divided self.” He proposed that individuals under severe duress, particularly within emotionally oppressive or manipulative family environments, might develop a profound split between their “true self” and a “false self.” The false self emerges as a protective mechanism, a way to conform to external expectations or … Continue reading ‘An intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist or be expressed’ – How the insights of a Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’ may predict a disturbing future for the mental state of Scottish Labour politicians and for its followers

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As resident (junior) doctor strikes begin today in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

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Professor John Robertson OBA After the last set of Junior Doctor strikes in 2023/2024, there were serious concerns about postponed appointments and excess deaths due to these. Above, the shocking picture of 52 out of the last 365 when doctors were on strike in England. There were no days lost to action in Scotland. According to the Guardian on 10 January 2025, junior doctor strikes caused around 1.3 million appointments to be cancelled. Had there been comparable action in Scotland, around 130 000 appointments would have been lost. According to the Telegraph on 2 January, there were nearly 53 000 … Continue reading As resident (junior) doctor strikes begin today in NHS England, SNP settlement praised by BMA means NHS Scotland set to avoid thousands of excess deaths again

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‘I’d rather be a teacher in Scotland than England’ – research review confirms the sense in this

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By JB The headline above is from Teachers Education Supplement magazine 2019 in an article about a teacher from England who came to work in Scotland. “Teachers have a far better time of it north of the border, says this educator who has experienced school life in both countries”  He goes on to say that “On balance, I think teaching in the Scottish state- education system is better than in the English one. It seems foolish now that I never considered there would be differences; it’s just that my English-centric view had me assume that the two systems would be identical. Believe me, … Continue reading ‘I’d rather be a teacher in Scotland than England’ – research review confirms the sense in this

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Talking of water

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Liz S Talking of water…..as in ‘uisge beatha’ the ‘water of life’……this below was on the UK Politics page but when you click onto the story it takes you to the Asia page of the BBC website. “India PM Modi in UK to sign ‘landmark’ trade deal with Starmer” “India and Britain are set to sign a free trade deal to cut tariffs on goods and increase market access for the two countries”. “India will lower tariffs on British whisky, gin and other drinks as well as cars. The UK in turn will import more of India’s textiles, gemstones and other goods”. At last someone has … Continue reading Talking of water

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NHS Scotland treats 98% of urgent skin cancer cases within 31 days compared with only 82% in England but Herald platforms Sandesh Gulhane (Con) to misrepresent the data from a different report

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Cancer waiting times 1 January to 31 March 2025 published on 24 June 2025, the above table reveals target-busting performance by NHS Scotland in treating urgent cases of skin cancer (Melanoma). This performance is never reported by the MSM.1 For the same period, the figure for NHS England was only 81.56%.2 Sources: Continue reading NHS Scotland treats 98% of urgent skin cancer cases within 31 days compared with only 82% in England but Herald platforms Sandesh Gulhane (Con) to misrepresent the data from a different report

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Independent Water Commission for England and Wales – providing a partial and flawed assessment of significance of ownership for performance outcomes?

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By stewartb The ‘Independent Water Commission Final Report’ (aka the Cunliffe report) published on July 21 has a lengthy section examining any possible relationship between water company ownership and performance outcomes. British Labour Party politicians are at work with the mainstream media to allege poor performance of Scottish Water in order to convince the electorate that public ownership is ineffective and/or unnecessary. In this context, it’s worthwhile examining what the Commission’s report actually stated on this subject and worth assembling other relevant evidence to counter Labour’s talking down Scotland – again! From the Water Commission’s report From Para 693: ‘The … Continue reading Independent Water Commission for England and Wales – providing a partial and flawed assessment of significance of ownership for performance outcomes?