Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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State of Herald headlines as tourism surges

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald today follows the above headline with these facts: The number of international visitors to Scotland increased again in 2024, as new figures show a record 4.4 million trips were made to the country last year – a 10% rise on 2023. And the amount spent by overseas visitors increased by 7% to £3.9 billion, although the number of nights those tourists stayed in the country decreased. It’s bit of a non sequitur for those of us who speak Scots. ‘The state of’ is always bad. The state of you, of your bedroom, of Sauchiehall … Continue reading State of Herald headlines as tourism surges

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Our NHS is strong and improving but this Unionist part-time GP poses regularly to lie about it

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Professor John Robertson OBA Dr Iain Kennedy above, a trade union rep, sometimes laughably referred to as a ‘top’ doctor, is often platformed to attack the Scottish Government and, today is in the Daily Record to claim ‘OUR NHS IS DYING.’ He approved the above image! I only did two years of psychology but I recognise that personality type. You do too I’m sure. Stay away. Back to his claim. I could go on. Continue reading Our NHS is strong and improving but this Unionist part-time GP poses regularly to lie about it

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The ferry new build and maintenance delays reported so feverishly by media are covered by other vessels and have not affected CalMac’s performance – 98% of sailings completed and 99% of those on time

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald and BBC Scotland continue to deceive with selective reporting of the availability of particular vessels with sensationalist headlines hiding the fact that ferry services are largely unaffected by these as CalMac’s large fleet provides reliable cover. That they are deliberately making up a picture of unreliability due to a few maintenance and new build delays and implying that these result in a loss of service is simply countered by data, in the public domain, which they choose to ignore. CalMac is obliged to publish ‘contractual reliability‘ data (sailings completed as a percentage of those … Continue reading The ferry new build and maintenance delays reported so feverishly by media are covered by other vessels and have not affected CalMac’s performance – 98% of sailings completed and 99% of those on time

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NHS Scotland caring for 8% of the population but with not one of the five major maternity crises and a system that is ‘equitable’

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today: Health Secretary Wes Streeting, has said “we must act now” as he announced a national investigation into maternity care in England. The announcement comes after a series of critical reports into maternity care over the past decade. Dr Clea Harmer, chief executive of the baby loss charity Sands, said the national investigation was “much-needed and long-overdue”. The ‘Scottish’ media are quiet. If they had something, they’d be all over it like nappy rash. I searched for ‘Scotland maternity inspections substandard‘ – only English ‘hits’. I searched the Healthcare Improvement Scotland site – … Continue reading NHS Scotland caring for 8% of the population but with not one of the five major maternity crises and a system that is ‘equitable’

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Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above case study and: Families [well two] worried over lack of specialist speech therapists – A new report seen by BBC Scotland News shows that demand for speech and language therapists (SLT) is increasing in Scotland but that the numbers of therapists is falling behind the rest of the UK. The report, by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), says Scotland needs to increase its full-time equivalent SLT therapists by 370, from a current total of 530. It also says that Scotland is lagging behind England in terms … Continue reading Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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Corruption and incompetence in Scottish Higher Education beginning at least 10 years ago but unresolved today it seems

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair UWS Recent headlines casting doubt on the competence and probity of senior staff across Scotland’s universities, and notably the current UWS principal reminds me sadly of my own attempt, nearly ten years ago, to publicly expose malpractice there, which no public body, no local MP, no government minister and no media oultet would touch. Here it is. Read and weep: Public Interest Disclosure Policy & Procedure (Whistleblowing) To: Chair of Court Discloser: Professor John Robertson, School of Media, Culture and Society Date: 18th November 2015 Key aspects of complaint: Academic or … Continue reading Corruption and incompetence in Scottish Higher Education beginning at least 10 years ago but unresolved today it seems

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What’s the legacy of the British Labour Party after 27 continuous years governing in Cardiff? Think about it before voting Labour in Scotland in 2026!

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By stewartb – a long read British Labour Party MSPs and MPs are ramping up the negative rhetoric about Scotland in advance of the 2026 Holyrood election. And the mainstream media for the most part are playing their part in communicating Labour’s campaign messages – with little challenge, without context, without perspective, and without cross-UK comparative analysis. Moreover, British Labour Party MPs, elected to represent Scottish constituencies, have been standing up every week at PMQs to put a ‘question’ designed ONLY to denigrate the Scottish Government and Scotland’s (devolved) public services. All to entertain their colleagues from English constituencies and … Continue reading What’s the legacy of the British Labour Party after 27 continuous years governing in Cardiff? Think about it before voting Labour in Scotland in 2026!

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NHS Wales slipping into crisis after 27 years of Labour mis-rule

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By stewartb Another question for Dame Jackie Baillie and her ilk! How can this (below) be happening in a nation that has been governed by the British Labour Party for 26 or 27 years? From the Wales page of the BBC News website today (June 19): ‘Treatment wait times up despite extra NHS funding’. This is what we learn about NHS Wales today: The health think tank, the Nuffield Trust now offers users of its website access to an AI powered search facility. It invites them to pose their own questions. To the question ‘What is the state of NHS Wales?’, this is … Continue reading NHS Wales slipping into crisis after 27 years of Labour mis-rule

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18 years after SNP come to power, the 60 areas with the lowest life satisfaction are in England or Wales and the 61st, lowest in Scotland, is Jackie Baillie’s!

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Professor John Robertson OBA From The 2025 UK Wellbeing Report published today, we can see on pages 29 to 39, that the the 60 local authorities with the lowest life satisfaction are all in England or Wales, from an average score of 6.46 out of 10, with West Dunbartonshire, in Jackie Baillie’s constituency, coming in at 61 with an average score of 7.25. It’s bound to have an effect after all that time seeing and hearing her. We get to 77 before East Ayrshire appears and another 15 before a cluster of Scottish local authorities appear. Notably the East Dunbartonshire … Continue reading 18 years after SNP come to power, the 60 areas with the lowest life satisfaction are in England or Wales and the 61st, lowest in Scotland, is Jackie Baillie’s!

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Scotland’s independence drive before 2014 did not reduce inward investment

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stewartb With reference to the graph above, what happened to Scotland’s FDI performance pre-2015, in the years of uncertainty over what Scotland’s people would opt for in a late 2014 referendum. Would they choose that most awful of outcomes, independence? Surely that would have given foreign investors cause to pause – no longer in a UK, out of the EU – fears a plenty? So what happened? From Business Insider (May 27, 2015): ‘Survey: Slight fall in inward investment to Scotland in 2014 – Latest attractiveness survey from accountants EY suggests Scotland attracted 80 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects last year, down from 82 … Continue reading Scotland’s independence drive before 2014 did not reduce inward investment