Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Is Keir Starmer “not genetically programmed” to make political decisions”

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By Anonymous I wonder whether Johann Lamont is at the stage of concluding that Keir Starmer is “not genetically programmed” to make political decisions” as the new PM. Yesterday it was reported that Labour are considering raising tuition fees to what may be £10,500 per year for English Universities. In 2020 Keir Starmer promised to support scrapping fees – during his Labour leadership campaign- but he later abandoned this pledge. (Indeed all of the pledges he, Starmer, made in 2020 in his bid to be the new Labour leader after Jeremy Corbyn have all now fallen by the wayside as in they were “abandoned” also). Which makes one wonder why then some voters in Scotland decided to vote Labour in the 2024 UK GE- … Continue reading Is Keir Starmer “not genetically programmed” to make political decisions”

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Work begins on huge transfer of another of Scotland’s energy resources to power 8 million homes in the rest of the UK for no return whatsoever

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In Energy News Live, three days ago but getting little MSM coverage, the above headline suggesting energy might flow from the UK to Scotland and this: Construction has started on the Eastern Green Link 2 (EGL2), a £4.3bn electricity transmission project. The 2GW subsea cable will connect Peterhead in Scotland to Drax in Yorkshire and will be the UK’s largest electricity transmission project to date. Offshore Delivery Director for National Grid Zac Richardson said: “EGL2 is the first of four currently proposed 2GW projects between Scotland and England to begin construction and in total these projects, delivered in partnership by National Grid, could provide enough renewable … Continue reading Work begins on huge transfer of another of Scotland’s energy resources to power 8 million homes in the rest of the UK for no return whatsoever

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Genetically-challenged Johann Lamont rejects the undeniable truth that universal benefits are good for the economy proved by Jimmie Reid’s research foundation 12 years ago

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By Professor John Robertson Thanks to AR for alerting me to this. Johann Lamont, who in the run-up to the 2014 referendum infamously said ‘We’re not genetically programmed in Scotland to make political decisions’, is in the Scotsman today clearly thinking Scots are not up to reading research on the economy. She argues – ‘Why universal offers such as free bus travel and tuition may not be in the public’s interest.’ That’s just wrong. It’s not a matter of opinion. The research is in. It’s unambiguous and it comes from Johann’s Glasgow, where she went to school and university before … Continue reading Genetically-challenged Johann Lamont rejects the undeniable truth that universal benefits are good for the economy proved by Jimmie Reid’s research foundation 12 years ago

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Media matters – The highest drug abuse in the UK or the highest knife violence in the UK?

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson Professor John Robertson OBA What are the figures? From the House of Commons in 2023, the above. Although the overall trend may have flattened, the actual number, over 50 000 offences where a knife or sharp object was involved1, is … Continue reading Media matters – The highest drug abuse in the UK or the highest knife violence in the UK?

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Rail fares are lower in Scotland

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The Herald is headlining: ScotRail customers face huge price hike as peak fare scheme comes to an end after an experimental, pilot, scheme, cancelled on 20 August 2024, came to an end today. The experiment was unsuccessful: A government trial which scrapped peak-time rail prices ends on Friday after almost a year. The Scottish government previously concluded the costs did not justify continuing the trial as it had not achieved its aim of persuading people to swap car journeys for rail travel. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9vpgzv4x34o Neither the Herald nor BBC Scotland want you to know this: Fares and fares increases remain, on … Continue reading Rail fares are lower in Scotland

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Anas clearly cannot count or read – did he mean the forgotten 4.1%?

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Pau Hutcheon in the Daily Record tells us: Anas Sarwar says the ‘forgotten 60%’ of young people who do not attend university will be his priority as First Minister. He says Scots should not be defined by their school grades. Forgotten 60%? What is his source? Clearly not this: The number of young people in work, training or further study three months after the end of the school year has reached a record high of 95.9%. The Attainment and Initial Leaver Destination statistics 2022-23 also show that the gap between those from the most and least deprived areas progressing after … Continue reading Anas clearly cannot count or read – did he mean the forgotten 4.1%?

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Never mind the police records, when you ask thousands of real folk if they have experienced crime you find it has halved under the SNP and since Labour were last in charge in Scotland – keep that in mind

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: September 2024 published today: Crime has fallen by 53% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that around 1 in 10 adults were victims of crime in 2021-22 (10.0%) compared to 1 in 5 in 2008-09 (20.4%). The estimated number of crimes fell by 53% over the same period, and by 18% since 2017-18.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-september-2024/pages/3/ Everybody agrees that many folk do not report crimes to the police but: The sample used for the SCJS is designed to be representative of all … Continue reading Never mind the police records, when you ask thousands of real folk if they have experienced crime you find it has halved under the SNP and since Labour were last in charge in Scotland – keep that in mind

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The Sustainable Saudi Arabia – renewable electricity generation surges by 27.9% in one year as consumption falls by 18% under SNP

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Hmm…to wee, too few power producers, eh? Without Orkney and Shetland too! https://www.gov.scot/publications/energy-statistics-for-scotland-q2-2024/pages/renewable-energy-capacity/ By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scottish Government today: Total final energy consumption in Scotland continues to fall and as of 2022, is 18% lower than the baseline figure from 2005 – 2007. Scotland’s renewable electricity generation in 2024 quarter 2 was 7,312 GWh – a 27.9% increase from 5,716 GWh in the same quarter in 2023. As of June 2024, there are 830 potential renewable electricity projects including battery and pumped hydro storage within the planning and construction pipeline with an estimated capacity of 51.3 GW. … Continue reading The Sustainable Saudi Arabia – renewable electricity generation surges by 27.9% in one year as consumption falls by 18% under SNP

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Daily Record and Herald try to con you into thinking that 37 mistaken early release prisoners might be in Scotland – none are

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The Daily Record had, yesterday, the above image: Dozens of prisoners released early from jail by mistake after system error. while the National had: Labour Government plan sees dozens of prisoners freed by mistake. The Mirror had: Dozens of prisoners mistakenly released early from jail after system error The Herald had: 37 offenders prosecuted using old harassment law freed in error None clarify that these were prisoners in the English system only. The Mirror, the Herald and the Record had the same photo so I’m guessing it’s an English prison. The Justice Minister, Shabana Mahmood, is not mentioned. Imagine this … Continue reading Daily Record and Herald try to con you into thinking that 37 mistaken early release prisoners might be in Scotland – none are

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Latest polling – Anas Sarwar manages to hang on to position as more popular than Douglas Ross but is now unpopular by nearly 2 to 1

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From the latest Ipsos Scotland poll published today, we see that Anas Sarwar, Labour (Scotland) is significantly less popular than either the SNP leader or deputy leader. Notably, after 10 weeks in power at Westminster, his spineless support for Starmer’s austerity cuts and despite BBC Scotland’s attempts to shield him from criticism, the electorate sees him and is turning away from him, becoming since the last poll almost twice as likely to be dissatisfied as satisfied with his performance: So Scots don’t like him but do they think a Scottish Labour government would do better than the SNP? On every … Continue reading Latest polling – Anas Sarwar manages to hang on to position as more popular than Douglas Ross but is now unpopular by nearly 2 to 1