Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
3 Comments

Up to 80% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, 93% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

johnrobertson834

From Public Health Scotland’s National drug related death database (Scotland)Analysis of Deaths Registered in 2019 and 2020, published today, it’s clear that Scotland’s drug deaths are to a very large extent a legacy of the Labour and Tory governments that ruled the UK and devolved Scotland for decades before the SNP came into power, with limited powers over drug use, in 2007. Treatment for these users has been, for years, top notch, with above the 90% target seen within three weeks or less: Between 1 April and 30 June 2024, 7,361 referrals to community-based services started treatment. Of these referrals, … Continue reading Up to 80% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, 93% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

8 Comments

The first snows of winter only in Scotland – Why Scottish Labour’s shameless sitting on their hands during the Winter Fuel Allowance is such a betrayal

johnrobertson834

In the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express, yesterday, a link to the above map and: Snow is forecast to fall over much of Scotland this week as temperatures take a tumble. And much of the country could be covered in a white blanket as polar air sweeps in from the north. Temperatures will take a tumble from Wednesday with weather maps turning an icy blue for 120 hours. The mercury will dip below freezing widely as things take a distinctly wintery turn. Still months away from the real Scottish winter, we see the first signs of how different Scotland is from the southern parts of … Continue reading The first snows of winter only in Scotland – Why Scottish Labour’s shameless sitting on their hands during the Winter Fuel Allowance is such a betrayal

3 Comments

Not-for-profit water should be better but Welsh Labour mess that up too

johnrobertson834

stewartb It’s useful to have comparisons of the performance of key public services in different parts of the Union – and for a number of reasons. I’ve become especially interested in getting much better informed about what can be achieved by electing the British Labour Party to govern with devolved powers. Fortunately, we have Wales with its longstanding British Labour Party government in Cardiff to use as a benchmark. After all, we need to know what we might expect from a British Labour Party government in Edinburgh after 2026! In this context, how with the British Labour Party in power in … Continue reading Not-for-profit water should be better but Welsh Labour mess that up too

8 Comments

The SNP’s phantom decorators – A new sisterhood in Scotland’s mainstream media revealed – Daily Record/Sunday Mail and Scottish Daily Express!

johnrobertson834

By stewartb Once upon a time not so long ago these ‘Scottish’ newspapers – the Daily Record/Sunday Mail and the Scottish Daily Express – would occupy quite different places on the political spectrum on most issues.  That was then and after all, we’ve been told we are in a time of ‘change’!  Of course they would be united for the Union and this is probably the key factor in this tale! On Sunday 6 October, the Sunday Mail on its front page and website had this ‘exclusive’: On the same day, the Scottish Daily Express had this: Note the journalists … Continue reading The SNP’s phantom decorators – A new sisterhood in Scotland’s mainstream media revealed – Daily Record/Sunday Mail and Scottish Daily Express!

4 Comments

Is it still Ireland 44 Scotland 0? The other ferry fiasco story not being covered

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Linda Graham of Broadcasting Scotland (Support them!) for alerting me to the above dramatic image that sums up just how bad it is to stay in the UK. Two years ago, I wrote: Post-Brexit, Ireland has become almost completely free of its former dependency on congested and expensive land routes, through England from Liverpool to the channel ferries at Calais. Thomas Byrne, Ireland’s Minister for European Affairs, told RTÉ News in 2021: “The whole port, the [Nord Pas de Calais] region, the [Dunkirk] chamber of commerce, is behind this, to get even more connections to Ireland. We only had 12 … Continue reading Is it still Ireland 44 Scotland 0? The other ferry fiasco story not being covered

3 Comments

Water companies in England & Wales fined ‘infinitely’ more per head for poor performance than Scottish Water

johnrobertson834

From BBC Science & Environment, this morning: Water companies have been ordered to return £158m to customers via lower bills next year after missing key targets on issues like pollution. The industry regulator Ofwat announced the rebate following its annual review of water and wastewater companies’ performance in England and Wales. Google AI searches find no examples of rebates from Scottish Water but does suggest discounts for those businesses on lower incomes. With regard, to fines, the AI Overview does seem to have some cheer for Unionists, with: Scottish Water has been fined multiple times for environmental and health and … Continue reading Water companies in England & Wales fined ‘infinitely’ more per head for poor performance than Scottish Water

Leave a comment

Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland

johnrobertson834

From CTV News today: The ferry service between Saint John, N.B., and Digby, N.S., will be out of commission for nearly two months due to mandatory work in Quebec. The MV Fundy Rose will go to the Verreault Shipyard at Les Méchins, Que., for biannual drydock and refit work, according to a news release from Bay Ferries Limited(opens in a new tab). The work will put the ferry out of service from Oct. 15 to Dec. 3. https://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/more/saint-john-ferry-going-out-of-service-for-nearly-two-months-marine-atlantic-ferry-sailings-disrupted-1.7064591 There is only one ferry operating this 2 hour 30 min service, to a population of around 5 000 in Digby, Lunenberg and … Continue reading Population size of Arran to have no ferry service at all for nearly two months in affluent Canadian Nova Scotland

4 Comments

How being chained to the UK makes us unwell

johnrobertson834

The researchers of the Spirit Level, in 2010, correlated many negative indicators with inequality including crime and drug abuse. In particular they noted that more equal countries, like Japan and several in Northern Europe, seem to have fewer people, pro rata, affected by depression and anxiety but increasingly unequal countries, like the US and the UK, had more. Today, I spotted this fascinating personal case study explaining how that might happen. Here’s an extract: Reading that a society that is more unequal will lead to people internalising the society’s evaluation of them made complete sense to me and I could … Continue reading How being chained to the UK makes us unwell

1 Comment

The whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Welsh NHS workforce!

johnrobertson834

stewartb ‘BBC Scotland is, undoubtedly, using a Scottish psychiatrist as part of its continuous attritional narrative, ‘that Scots are incapable of running things for themselves’. I’m inclined to check out – for comparison and useful learning – how capable the British Labour Party, long in government in Cardiff, have proven itself to be in running NHS Wales. After all, we in Scotland need to know what might be ahead of us in 2026! For example, Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) released its latest NHS Wales Workforce Trends Report (as at 31 March 2023) on July 25, 2024 – see https://heiw.nhs.wales/news/heiw-releases-latest-nhs-wales-workforce-trends-report/ . Here are some … Continue reading The whole agency locum question is a reflection of a real crisis in the Welsh NHS workforce!

1 Comment

Only the place with the least poverty seems to require a BBC reminder of it but one which carefully hides that crucial detail

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today, above, based on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation Scotland‘s report today: From the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s UK Poverty 2024: and: Child poverty rates in Scotland (24%) remain much lower than those in England (31%) and Wales (28%) and are similar (if slightly higher) than in Northern Ireland (22%). This is likely to be due, at least in part, to the Scottish Child Payment. This highlights the effect benefits can have in reducing poverty. BBC England today? Nothing. BBC Wales? Nothing. It’s almost as if BBC England and Wales don’t have an agenda to undermine their Labour governments. Sources: … Continue reading Only the place with the least poverty seems to require a BBC reminder of it but one which carefully hides that crucial detail