Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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After ten years, robbery in England & Wales still FOUR times as common than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA The above map is getting a lot of traffic in social media but critics will pounce on the fact that the UK data is from 2017, 8 years ago. I’ve quickly accessed the 2024/2025 data. In Scotland: Between 2023-24 and 2024-25, recorded crimes of Robbery decreased by 7% from 1,922 to 1,782 crimes.1 That works out at 33 per 100 000, slightly up on 2017. In England & Wales: Police recorded 78,804 robbery offences in year ending (YE) March 2025. 2 That works out at 131 cases per 100 000, essentially the same as in 2017, … Continue reading After ten years, robbery in England & Wales still FOUR times as common than in Scotland

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In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

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Professor John Robertson OBA Headlining on BBC Breakfast this morning and on their website, the above, and this: Nurses are expected to reject their pay award in England this week, raising the possibility of strikes later in the year, the BBC understands. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been holding a consultative vote on their 3.6% pay rise, previously describing it as “grotesque” to award nurses a lower increase than doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge4905eq7o The Scottish Government has already agreed a 4.25% deal for this year, for nurses and midwives.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-staff-pay/ Scotland’s media will no doubt portray this … Continue reading In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

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For those who still maintain it was a voluntary union – the suffocation of Scotland’s independence movement in 1746

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Professor John Robertson OBA The suffocating, intense domination of Scotland’s communities by British Army forces after Culloden is often understated by historians but it’s hard to see the above as other than a brutal and thorough suppression of any surviving independence movement. Further, the myth developed after 1746 and perpetuated for the purposes of indoctrination as late as my own historical education in the 1960s, that the ‘Jacobite’ rebellions were entirely Monarchist and Catholic rebellions rather than a wider pro-independence struggle has been fully debunked by, for example, Murray Pittock of Glasgow University: The Myth of the Jacobite Clans was … Continue reading For those who still maintain it was a voluntary union – the suffocation of Scotland’s independence movement in 1746

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Is YouGov sampling concealing the prospect of an SNP tidal wave that sweeps Jackie Baillie into the radioactive waters of the Clyde in May 2026?

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Professor John Robertson OBA The above predictions are apparently based on the latest YouGov poll for Holyrood voting intentions giving this: The predictions are better than I’d expect given the relatively low SNP figure of 32%. Notably the YouGov poll sample is weighted to include 533 who voted No in 2014 and only 423 who voted Yes then, inevitably reducing the SNP figure. The 32% figure contrasts markedly with the figures of 40% and 41% for the SNP in the recent YouGov Westminster polls based on small samples for Scotland but, importantly, not weighted for the 2014 poll. Further casting … Continue reading Is YouGov sampling concealing the prospect of an SNP tidal wave that sweeps Jackie Baillie into the radioactive waters of the Clyde in May 2026?

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What the Herald won’t tell you about the obscene pay of English water bosses

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By stewartb For The Herald and its ilk that supposedly ‘serve’ Scotland, context and perspective MUST be kept from voters at all costs. The future of the Union depends on it! About the private company, Portsmouth Water, one of the smaller regional water supply/service companies in England: CEO’s remuneration: salary (for 2025) = £222,000; total remuneration (for 2025) including pension and bonuses = £754,000. Facts about Portsmouth Water: area supplied = 868 square kilometres; population supplied = 740,000. The ultimate parent company of Portsmouth Water Limited is Ancala Fornia Topco Pte Limited which is Singapore registered and resident in the UK for tax purposes. Source: https://www.portsmouthwater.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/PW_Annual_Reporting_Accounts_2025.pdf … Continue reading What the Herald won’t tell you about the obscene pay of English water bosses

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Donald – Scotland is not bad at all already and a damn sight safer too

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The homicide rate in Scotland? 0.8 per 100 000. The rate in the USA, 7.2 times higher! Professor John Robertson OBA Suffice to say, by contrast, sometimes stark, with England after decades of Tory/Labour rule, Wales after decades of Labour rule, Scotland has: Shorter hospital waiting times, for all treatments, especially for 18-weeks, cancer, alcohol and drug treatment, IVF and A&E. Far more doctors, nurses, midwives, home visitors and beds. Far better patient protection schemes. Free prescriptions to enable, for example, all asthmatics to access medication, unlike the many in England who died from Covid for this reason. Far more … Continue reading Donald – Scotland is not bad at all already and a damn sight safer too

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For the best water in the world the Scottish Water CE earns only one-quarter of the going rate in England and Wales for rivers that cause sepsis and kidney failure

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday: Total remuneration at companies in England and Wales – many of them under scrutiny for sewage discharge – was £15m in 2024-25 – https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/26/water-chiefs-pay-rises-england-wales-ban-bonuses-sewage Leaving aside the fact that they are responsible for 10 times as much water, serving an eleventh of the population of England and Wales, the Chief Executive of Scottish Water might be expected to earn around an eleventh of the total paid to the CE’s of the water boards there, £1.3m. The chief executive of Scottish Water, Alex Plant, has an annual salary of £290,000 to £295,000, making him one … Continue reading For the best water in the world the Scottish Water CE earns only one-quarter of the going rate in England and Wales for rivers that cause sepsis and kidney failure

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Domestic abuse previous – another factor in Scotland’s lack of riots last summer?

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today, this striking information: Two out of every five people arrested after participating in last summer’s riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse, the Guardian can disclose. Police data released under freedom of information (FoI) laws shows that 41% of 899 people arrested for taking part in the violent disorder last July and August had been reported for crimes associated with intimate partner violence. For those arrested by one police force, this figure was as high as 68%. Previous offences include actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, stalking, breach … Continue reading Domestic abuse previous – another factor in Scotland’s lack of riots last summer?

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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