Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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SNP plants nearly 20 times as many new trees as Labour Wales and more than 3 times as many as Conservative England

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From Forest Research, Time Series in 2024: In the period of SNP administration in Scotland, from 2008 to 2024: Scotland planted 131 460 new trees including 67 000 broadleaves. England, with 10 times the population and nearly twice the landmass, only planted 40 720, less than a third. As for Labour-run Wales – 7 800! Source: https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/tools-and-resources/statistics/time-series/ Continue reading SNP plants nearly 20 times as many new trees as Labour Wales and more than 3 times as many as Conservative England

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What’s behind Reform’s ‘surge’ when it’s only half as high in Scotland?

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Lucy Dunn, above (I’m getting that artist to do me a lovely caricature of me for the blog) , clearly has no idea at all about reality. A Reform surge in Scotland? Between 9% and 13% in the last 10 Holyrood polls but between 22% and 25% in the last 10 Westminster polls. At best, only half as popular in Scotland. Why? We have bams in Scotland but, thanks to people like Chief Commissioner Cameron Miekelson, only half as many as in England. We’ve known that for decades as the Tory vote in Scotland comes in at half that in … Continue reading What’s behind Reform’s ‘surge’ when it’s only half as high in Scotland?

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Labour MP attacks her ‘local’ A&E in Fife, Scotland, despite it treating 3 000 patients per month more within the target time than her preferred local A&E in Croydon, England

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Yesterday on BBC Politics Scotland, from Westminster (see the backdrop), Melanie Ward, Scottish Labour MP for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy joined the horde of ‘Scottish’ Labour MPs serving up and humiliating their local communities in the service of the UK Labour Party. From the local Courier in May 2024: A Palestine medical charity boss based in London has been picked to stand for Labour in the Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy seat at the next election. Melanie Ward was chosen to replace disgraced candidate Wilma Brown, who was ditched by the party after she liked “racist” posts on social media.1 Only 6 months earlier, … Continue reading Labour MP attacks her ‘local’ A&E in Fife, Scotland, despite it treating 3 000 patients per month more within the target time than her preferred local A&E in Croydon, England

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Sandesh Gulhane in the Herald today to mislead you on the state of cancer care in Scotland based on less than 1% of the cases and another infantile counting up to get a big number

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Based on a Scottish Conservatives Freedom of Information request, the Herald today has: 2 000 young scots faced delay to cancer treatments The figure, 2 418 is based on that primary school method of counting up for as many years as you need to, in order to get a big number for a headline. In this case it’s from 2014, so presumably 10 years, giving an average of around 240 per year. There are 35 400 cancer cases per year in Scotland1 so we’re looking at only 0.68% of the total. The Herald report does not … Continue reading Sandesh Gulhane in the Herald today to mislead you on the state of cancer care in Scotland based on less than 1% of the cases and another infantile counting up to get a big number

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The lure of a negatively framed headline about Scotland’s environment to conceal what the expert actually said

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By stewartb So a highly experienced journalist with the Guardian – its Scotland editor no less – demonstrates how to manufacture a negative frame for a news story.  As you read on, is the editor revealing that it’s OK for journalists supposedly serving the public in Scotland to mis-report – to  manipulate – the content of an interview in order to create a damning headline? As it’s well know that headlines impact readers, is this a blatant example of seeking to influence by deception? Note the headline (from January 19, 2025): ‘We are resting on our laurels’: Scotland faces significant challenge … Continue reading The lure of a negatively framed headline about Scotland’s environment to conceal what the expert actually said

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Where’s the official evidence for the 50 hour ‘agonising’ wait in Wishaw A&E? Like Douglas Ross and the made up 80 hour wait in 2022?

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In response to my earlier post about this: a reader helpfully observed: Exactly, so lets keep an eye out for the Wishaw hospital response to the complaint they surely made – 50 hours in agony? If that was my wife, genuinely in agony for 50 hours , 50 bloody hours (!), I’d be making serious formal complaints up and down the line, not least to my local MP – Michael ‘Friend of Israel’ Shanks? Has the councillor thought of that? Shanks is a Tory. Then I remembered another Tory with dodgy news on NHS A&E waits. September 23rd, 2022 and … Continue reading Where’s the official evidence for the 50 hour ‘agonising’ wait in Wishaw A&E? Like Douglas Ross and the made up 80 hour wait in 2022?

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12 hour A&E waits TWICE as long in England and nearly THREE TIMES as long in Wales

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By stewartb Re long periods of time spent in A&E: Performance statistics for A&E waits, NHS England, November and December 2024: Source: https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/ae-waiting-times-and-activity/ae-attendances-and-emergency-admissions-2024-25/ Over 12 hour delays = 54,207 patients – from decision to admit to admission. This equates to 1,749 decision to admit delays over 12 hours per day, an increase of 23.6% (334 patients daily) from December 2023. Question: how long had these c.54k patients already spent in an A&E department up to the time the decision to admit them was made? In other words what was the TOTAL time they spent in A&E – how much longer than 12 … Continue reading 12 hour A&E waits TWICE as long in England and nearly THREE TIMES as long in Wales

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84 000 Scots are paid the living wage [but not by Mrs Sarwar]who would not be in England and 840 000 more in England are not but would be if they lived in Scotland

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In the Guardian yesterday: Low-paid cleaners have accused the Living Wage Foundation of giving accreditation to an “uncaring” outsourcing company paying less than the living wage. Facilities services giant OCS is accredited under a bespoke scheme for outsourcing firms. But the company has only committed to paying a living wage to its centrally employed staff. The scheme does not cover the majority of OCS’s 50,000 workforce, who are tied to external contracts. 1 What’s the picture across the UK? Scotland has the highest proportion of workers aged 18 and over who are paid the real Living Wage at 89.9% – ahead of … Continue reading 84 000 Scots are paid the living wage [but not by Mrs Sarwar]who would not be in England and 840 000 more in England are not but would be if they lived in Scotland

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Is this a Larkhall Conservative & Unionist councillor using his own wife’s ‘agonising’ A&E experience to attack the SNP and the NHS both are employed by?

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Mother of 2, Lynn Nelson and husband Richard, front page in the Mail to accuse the NHS in Scotland (UH Wishaw) of failing them and to allow the Mail a second go at the recent RCN report, based on less than 1% of nurses responding, to say they have experienced corridor care. They don’t reveal any details of who the Nelsons are but there is a Richard Nelson, South Lanarkshire Councillor (Ward 20 Larkhall 1), with a wife Lynne and two sons. They are both NHS employees.1,2 Agonising? Does anyone believe that would be allowed for 50 hours? Now, in … Continue reading Is this a Larkhall Conservative & Unionist councillor using his own wife’s ‘agonising’ A&E experience to attack the SNP and the NHS both are employed by?

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Putting the Scotland’s below inflation cost increases into context

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By stewartb Mr Whittle chooses to be a Tory. He has no doubt been delighted that the UK had a Tory government in Westminster for more than a decade prior to mid-2024, with his Tory colleagues responsible for setting most UK fiscal and all monetary policies. Plus responsibility for determining the financing of local government in England, with its knock on impacts for the ‘block grant’ transferred to NI, Scotland and Wales. And so he really does need to face up to and acknowledge his own party’s impact! in government! From the Swim England website dated November 21, 2023: ‘Ongoing high … Continue reading Putting the Scotland’s below inflation cost increases into context