Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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How Labour treat their voters when they have no opposition for 50 years

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By cuckooshoe It’s despicable how Labour treat their voters when they have no opposition. From Sky News, last week: Hundreds of people are facing imminent homelessness after their Merseyside flat blocks were condemned by the fire service as being unsafe. Residents of Beech Rise and Willow Rise in Kirkby, Merseyside – consisting of 160 flats in total – have been told they need to find somewhere else to live “immediately”. Sky News understands a meeting took place this morning involving the government to discuss the situation, although one source described the circumstances as a “waiting game” to see what other parties … Continue reading How Labour treat their voters when they have no opposition for 50 years

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Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK

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By JB “Institutional lies are at the level of organisations or public discourse. Many politicians use the common interpretation that telling a falsehood is lying whereas concealing or distorting the truth is not, leading to tortuous statements that technically avoid falsehoods but are certainly deceptive. Political lies in office and during campaigning are necessarily institutional: they are in the public domain. In contrast, private lies by politicians are individual lies, but they can become institutional lies when they are brought into the public domain.” Commentators and voters are less likely to believe a politician with a reputation for lying, especially … Continue reading Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK

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New evidence emerging that Glasgow’s New Safer Drug Consumption Facility leads to a massive reduction in discarded needles, drug taking and anti-social behaviour contrary to BBC Scotland reporting but in line with more than 300 European studies

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Professor John Robertson OBA A source with a flat in a block 10-15 minutes from the the United Kingdom’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility, The Thistle, in Glasgow, has a very different story to tell from that gathered by BBC Scotland, based on one group of residents, suggesting a counter-intuitive increase in drug taking and anti-social behaviour near the facility. Multiple research studies across Europe have clearly demonstrated significant reductions in drug deaths and crime around more than 300 such facilities, over the last 7 years: https://gov.wales/sites/default/files/publications/2019-01/180320atisn12038doc2_0.pdf You have to wonder just how BBC Scotland managed to find evidence contrary to … Continue reading New evidence emerging that Glasgow’s New Safer Drug Consumption Facility leads to a massive reduction in discarded needles, drug taking and anti-social behaviour contrary to BBC Scotland reporting but in line with more than 300 European studies

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As knife crime and murder by minors plummet an image can tell a different story to harm the SNP

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Professor John Robertson OBA Above, BBC Scotland reporting in the least violent part of the UK and, below, BBC England reporting in the most violent part of the UK: The BBC Scotland report does actually allow Police Scotland and the Justice Minister to mention the downward trend but, too late, once more an image of an SNP leader has been associated with something apparently very bad about Scotland. Not in the BBC Scotland report, these key facts: Continue reading As knife crime and murder by minors plummet an image can tell a different story to harm the SNP

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A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland continue to report and of course misreport from Spain, Scotland’s gangland feud. How did they misreport from Spain to try to add two deaths to the list? See this: What is the list of crimes affecting Scotland? This: Timeline: How the gang feud developed Very upsetting, I know, for all involved but only damage to property and no serious violence, no deaths. How does the above compare with the effects of the now 6 years, at least, of County Lines gangs from cities in England? In the Express July 20th 2024, we read: Knife crime epidemic … Continue reading A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

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Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph yesterday and across media in England, the above astonishing decision by this Labour government, to follow from a series of cuts to services and tax increases for the less well-off, which can only further degrade the performance of the NHS in England and strengthen to role of the private sector, which funds many leading Labour politicians. What would a Labour presence in government at Holyrood, say with Reform UK, put at risk here? The Scotsman in February 2025 was front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from … Continue reading Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters

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stewartb How to ‘play’ Scotland’s voters – how to attempt deceit or manipulation for political advantage? Is there a recurring mainstream news reporting pattern in Scotland? Step 1: mainstream media outlet/s make ‘judicious’ selection of a ‘newsworthy’ item about Scotland – to qualify, it must be a negative story and ideally linked to a topic of natural concern to many; 2: report this on newspaper front page with a ‘scary’ headline – big black font visible from metres away on a supermarket rack and visually impactful when the front page is pictured on the BBC News website’s Scotland page; 3. avoid giving … Continue reading How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters

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Why is there a ‘cancer ticking time bomb’ only in Scotland where radiologist staffing is highest in UK?

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stewartb What of the ‘cancer time bomb’ that is headline news in several newspapers in Scotland and above the BBC News website’s ‘Scotland’s papers’ feature and also in a separate BBC Scotland article on the the same website? This has all been catalysed by the following Royal College of Radiology (RCR) reports: (i) ‘Clinical Radiology – Workforce Census 2024’ and (ii) Clinical Oncology – Workforce Census 2024. Both reports cover all four nations of the UK although one would be hard pressed to realise this from the newspapers front pages. One would not know of the UK-wide scope EVEN after careful reading the BBC Scotland … Continue reading Why is there a ‘cancer ticking time bomb’ only in Scotland where radiologist staffing is highest in UK?

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More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

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….about the number of discarded needles that are being left outside it. Now the council have introduced bins to try to address the problem Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland tonight reporting for the area around the pilot safe injection facility in Calton in Glasgow, now six months in operation, are uncritically accepting a few local residents’ claims that it has increased drug taking in the area. No reliable figures are offered. The report, typically, has no balance and lazily does not refer to the large body of existing published evidence on such facilities. From 8 years ago: The … Continue reading More than 300 published studies prove that safe drug injection facilities reduce mortality and crime in surrounding areas but Reporting Scotland find a handful of locals to claim otherwise.

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‘We remind everyone to vote for the Unionist party most likely to defeat the separatists’ – did an Orange order make the difference yesterday?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Last night’s Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse by-election result: This result surprised everyone, including all the pollsters and the bookies. Labour were expected to come third as in all recent Scottish opinion polls. That tells you there was something particular, ‘local’, going on. What might that be? From Bylines Scotland in July 2024: The Orange Order is motivated by a desire to preserve the union, using social media for easier organisation. For example, the Loyal Orange Institution of Scotland posted on Facebook on June 18th: “Today is the last day (11:59 pm) to register for a postal … Continue reading ‘We remind everyone to vote for the Unionist party most likely to defeat the separatists’ – did an Orange order make the difference yesterday?