Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Scotland’s dramatically better cancer waiting times

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC UK’s Nick Triggle has: The cancers with longest treatment waits revealed with the above graph for NHS England data. I’ve added, where possible, equivalent Scottish data. While skin and prostate/kidney waiting times do seem slightly longer in Scotland, in 5 key areas, including breast, lung and liver cancers, NHS Scotland ‘s performance is dramatically better, saving thousands of lives. Triggle only mentions Scotland once: See what he’s done there? Scotland, on that measure alone, seems worse than England because he is careful not to tell us how close the two countries were to the … Continue reading Scotland’s dramatically better cancer waiting times

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Fourth New Zealand ferry drifts out of control or runs aground in less than two years

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In New Zealand’s Cook Straits, two ferry operators have large elderly vessels with recurring safety problems. Today from Radio New Zealand: The Bluebridge ferry Connemara has arrived back in Wellington, about five and a-half hours after it lost power and started drifting in Cook Strait. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder says it blacked out around 10.30pm, not long into its freight sailing bound for Picton, near Sinclair Head. By 2am Friday, the tug boat Tapuhi was towing Connemara back to Wellington, and a second tug, Tiaki, was providing steerage. By 6am it was towed to Pipitea Wharf but all people remained on board. … Continue reading Fourth New Zealand ferry drifts out of control or runs aground in less than two years

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BBC Scotland’s ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler is a London footballer who has played in the country where the drugs came from:

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Earlier today, BBC Scotland were delighted to tell us: A man in Scotland has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to import £600,000 of cannabis from Thailand through Stansted Airport. Jay Aston Emmanuel-Thomas (33) born in London and an England U17 and U19 international, has played for 14 different teams in only 16 years, from Aberdeen to Thailand! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Emmanuel-Thomas Continue reading BBC Scotland’s ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler is a London footballer who has played in the country where the drugs came from:

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BBC Scotland find ONE ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler through Stansted Airport to Gourock but ignore the SIXTY English groups bringing a plague of drug abuse, death, violence and sexual abuse to Scotland

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BBC Scotland today: A man in Scotland has been arrested on suspicion of attempting to import £600,000 of cannabis from Thailand through Stansted Airport. The 33-year-old was arrested by National Crime Agency (NCA) officers in Gourock, Inverclyde, after an investigation supported by Police Scotland. English County Lines gangs, based on Police Scotland estimates, have for at least five years now, brought a wave of terror into at least 60 Scottish small towns and villages. They bring with them cheap drug supplies, extreme violence, the use of child drug carriers on the rail lines, people trafficking, prostitution, the exploitation (cuckooing) of … Continue reading BBC Scotland find ONE ‘Scottish’ drug smuggler through Stansted Airport to Gourock but ignore the SIXTY English groups bringing a plague of drug abuse, death, violence and sexual abuse to Scotland

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Vote Labour in 2026 and here’s your Deputy First Minister

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The latest Opinium poll for the Times suggests that the SNP in Holyrood will remain the largest party but, crucially, there will be a Unionist majority: Based on the above, the SNP, with or without a Greens deal, could have a go as a minority government but with 57% of the MSPs Unionist in some form, the signs are not good. More likely, Labour would put together a coalition with the Cons and LibDems and just assume Reform would support most of their agenda. In return for that support the Cons would demand some ministerial posts – Murdo Fraser as … Continue reading Vote Labour in 2026 and here’s your Deputy First Minister

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How the SNP’s Child Payment would save more than 100 000 children in England from the extreme poverty caused by the less talked-about ‘absolute’ benefit cap

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, always Anglocentric, there’s this: Statistics released today reveal that 123,000 households in England, Scotland and Wales were affected by the benefit cap in May 2024, a rise of about 46,000 in just three months according to government figures. Introduced by George Osborne in 2013, the cap means the most a family without regular work can claim is £25,323 in London and £22,020 in the rest of the country. and this example: In our research with families affected by the benefit cap, we have spoken to parents such as Lucy, who pays £1,375 a month to rent a mould-ridden, … Continue reading How the SNP’s Child Payment would save more than 100 000 children in England from the extreme poverty caused by the less talked-about ‘absolute’ benefit cap

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Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

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stewartb In so many different places, ferry services seem to be ‘problematic’. in some way. Below gives an insight into Mersey Ferries: The current fleet consists of two vessels, the Royal Iris of the Mersey and Snowdrop. They entered service in the early 1960s on the Mersey – under different names – after being being launched in 1959 and received refits as long ago as 2002 and 2004, (according to Wikipedia) The Mersey Ferries company website confirmed (in 2023) a plan to build “the first new Mersey Ferry for more than 60 years’’. The plan has a longish history though. Back in … Continue reading Ferry ‘cross the Mersey? No thanks, I can’t swim!

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56% for Yes with EU membership and they’d welcome us with open arms and fast – this must be the SNP strategy now

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Today’s YouGov poll has 56% of people would vote for independence if it meant EU membership, while just 32% would vote No. https://ygo-assets-websites-editorial-emea.yougov.net/documents/Internal_IndyRef_240903.pdf While the No majority without that, will get the mainstream headlines, the message for the SNP and the other pro-independence parties is clear. In September 2020: Tory List MSP, Dean Lockhart, helpfully took the time to remind us of the level of support for Scotland’s return to the EU by asking Mike Russell for confirmation of his claim that a former president of the EU had said to his face that Scotland would be able to join … Continue reading 56% for Yes with EU membership and they’d welcome us with open arms and fast – this must be the SNP strategy now

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Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

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From a September 2022, Ernst and Young LLP survey for the Scottish Government’s Transport Scotland department, CalMac ferries are, on average, newer (22) than those in Norway (26), Australia (24) and British Columbia, Canada (35!). https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-framework-of-options-for-the-chfs-network-project-neptune/benchmarking From the Tyee in October 2023: The Crisis at BC Ferries – Why no reservations frequently means long waits on the main routes. https://thetyee.ca/News/2023/10/23/Crisis-BC-Ferries/ So, time to get on with so new ferry-building eh? From Marine Link, today: Canadian ferry operator BC Ferries announced it is moving forward with a program to build a series of new vessels for its busiest routes. The company said on … Continue reading Struggling Canadian ferry service, average vessel age 13 years older than CalMac to replace seven by 2037

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The Herald’s so-obvious Cartunionist has another lazy dig at the best ferry service in the world

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The Herald’s third-best cartoonist, Steven Camley, like one of those drunk ‘wits’ in a bar, tries to turn the news of whale-spotting made easy by Scotland’s ferries into one of those ‘Aye, aye, very good, I’m sure but my pal in Brodick wiz late for a medical appointment because that Sturgeon messed up the ferries’ moments. It’s his regular, lazy, thick trope. See these: It’s a sad state of affairs that the above pub-level banality passes for political satire at the Herald. To waste more time on his output considered, see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Camley On ferries, here’s why his infantile pokes are not … Continue reading The Herald’s so-obvious Cartunionist has another lazy dig at the best ferry service in the world