Professor John Robertson OBA The above map is based on data for 2019, showing Scotland to be one of the safest, from robbery, countries in Europe while England & Wales are amongst the most dangerous. Were this the other way round, the SNP Government would be blamed so, given what it is, they must get at least some of the credit. The figure for 2023/2024 is 20.4 per 100 000: https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2023-24/documents/ In the last days of Labour (2006) it was 70 per 100 000, more than three times higher! https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2005-06/ The map below, looking more closely on regions within European … Continue reading No longer raised on robbery? Scotland after 18 years of SNP rule has a robbery rate one quarter of the rate in England & Wales now and less than a third of the rate it had under ‘Scottish’ Labour

Professor John Robertson OBA From Scotland’s unpaid carers over £4,400 better off published yesterday: This Carers Week (9 – 15 June), unpaid carers across Scotland are being encouraged to find out if they are eligible for social security support – through Carer Support Payment, Carer’s Allowance Supplement and Young Carer Grant.    Carer’s Allowance Supplement – a payment only available north of the border – was the first benefit delivered by Social Security Scotland in 2018 to provide extra financial support for carers, recognising their important contribution.    Since the payment’s introduction, unpaid carers in Scotland will be up to … Continue reading Only in Scotland, unpaid carers will be over £4,400 better off than in rest of UK but BBC Scotland ignore that and the Herald find an unreliable survey to cast some gloom instead

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: People living with sickle cell disease in England are to benefit from quicker and more accessible treatment due to a £9m investment, the government has announced. Apheresis services, which are a type of treatment that removes harmful components from a patient’s blood, are to improve across England through the funding of more specialist treatment centres. The funding will ensure the wider availability of machines that remove a patient’s sickled red blood cells and replace them with healthy donor cells. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/jun/13/sickle-cell-patients-quicker-more-accessible-treatment-england Typically there’s no mention of Scotland in the above nor is … Continue reading Sickle cell patients to have quicker and more accessible treatment in England nearly one year after Scotland

Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair It’s kind of sad that when I see headlines like the one above, in the Guardian today, I immediately think: Did they bother checking NHS Scotland? When they say ‘England’, do they mean ‘UK?’ There’s no mention of Scotland in the report, but not for the first time, I find something that shows their habitual Anglocentrism. From Myeloma UK, undated but posted in March 2025: Approval – the licensed treatment is approved for general use on the NHS. Approval is based on clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Two of the appraisal bodies … Continue reading Blood cancer patients in England first in world [not including Scotland] to be offered ‘Trojan horse’ drug

Professor John Robertson OBA In the last few months, we’ve seen the MSM in Scotland support the Labour Party’s plans, across the UK and in Scotland, to build new nuclear power stations. Coverage has largely ignored the international research pointing to massive real costs, increased waste and health risks, as well as Scotland’s zero need for nuclear power as new windfarms and battery farms have us on the brink of full sufficiency and security. YouGov today, however, are headlining majority support for new nuclear at around 55% across England, 58% in the South of England. Looking closer, the figure for … Continue reading Despite mass media misrepresentation most Scots still do not support new nuclear power stations