Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Prison population – back-to-front thinking from BBC Scotland to hide Scottish Government competence in maintaining 234 times more spare places

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From BBC Scotland, two days ago: Scotland’s prison population is now higher than it was before hundreds of prisoners were released early in a bid to ease overcrowding. A total of 477 prisoners were let out early in June and July under an emergency scheme introduced by the Scottish government in response to a sharp rise in the number of people in jail. In the week before the programme began in late June, the prison population sat at 8,232. It has now reached 8,241 – raising questions about whether further releases will be needed. See, stupid, that’s why they released … Continue reading Prison population – back-to-front thinking from BBC Scotland to hide Scottish Government competence in maintaining 234 times more spare places

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Cancer patient misses check-ups in ‘cut off’ village but SNP Minister not accused of anything? Well, he is in Wales

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From BBC Wales today: A deaf cancer patient in a remote village with no internet or mobile phone signal says he has missed medical appointments because hospital emails did not reach him in time. John Bowler, 74, a former architect, is a resident in Llangwm near Usk, Monmouthshire, where residents say the issue is causing a number of difficulties. Local people also said there is no Instagram, Netflix or home-working in their “cut off” village. The internet provider Voneus said the infrastructure it acquired from the previous provider “did not meet our high standards and we are now investing significantly … Continue reading Cancer patient misses check-ups in ‘cut off’ village but SNP Minister not accused of anything? Well, he is in Wales

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England’s national debt is on course to treble over the next half a century

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BBC Business yesterday, reported: UK [sic] national debt is on course to treble over the next half a century due to several pressures, according to the government’s official forecaster. Those pressures include an ageing population, climate change, and rising geopolitical tensions, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in a report. Remarkably, the report does not mention the most important reason for the UK’s historical debt going back decades now, since the British Empire could no longer force its manufactured goods onto colonies and extract their raw materials free of charge. England does have a surplus of around £130 billion … Continue reading England’s national debt is on course to treble over the next half a century

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Calls for UK carers to be given uplift to Scottish level of support kept quiet

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today: More than a million unpaid carers in the UK who look after disabled, frail or ill relatives are living in poverty, with one in 10 experiencing such extreme hardship they struggle to afford to eat regularly or heat their homes, new research shows. There’s no mention of Scotland in the Guardian report despite the Carers UK original report mentioning it 35 times, with references to this: The DWP should increase the value of Carer Element, Carer Premium and Carer Addition by £11.10 per week. As an immediate first step towards reducing poverty … Continue reading Calls for UK carers to be given uplift to Scottish level of support kept quiet

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Scotland’s drug and alcohol services both hitting 90% seen with 3 weeks target, year after year, but that’s not relevant because we’ve one group to criticise the Scottish Government on them

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that’s according to ‘Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems’. The organisation says both that both issues are important but that recent political focus has been on trying to reduce drug deaths without the same attention to alcohol. A ministerial statement will be made later on how to improve the lives of people impacted by drugs and alcohol. The Scottish Government continues to do all it can on the issue. By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Reporting Scotland staff with another report linking the SNP Government with problems which are the direct responsibility of health boards. What is the actual evidence of … Continue reading Scotland’s drug and alcohol services both hitting 90% seen with 3 weeks target, year after year, but that’s not relevant because we’ve one group to criticise the Scottish Government on them

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NHS Scotland’s better performance is preventing around 1 400 ‘unnecessary’ deaths every year

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian yesterday: Long NHS delays leading to thousands of unnecessary deaths, inquiry finds – Darzi’s scathing indictment of the Conservatives’ 14-year stewardship of the NHS says that A&E is in “an awful state”. He cites evidence he received from the body representing A&E doctors that “long waits are likely to be causing an additional 14,000 more deaths a year – more than double all British armed forces combat deaths since the health service was founded in 1948”. Improvements in survival from cancer “slowed substantially during the 2010s”. More than 7.6 million people were awaiting … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s better performance is preventing around 1 400 ‘unnecessary’ deaths every year

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Views of a children’s charity whose boss is ‘angry, very angry’ but ‘unleashes fury’ towards just one government. 

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By stewartb – a long read This considers the news and views of a major children’s charity in Scotland gleaned from its website. It offers insights into the charity’s relations with the Scottish Government. But why is this worth writing about it? On September 8, an interview with the charity’s CEO was published in The Herald under the headline: ‘Scottish charity boss unleashes fury over poverty under SNP rule’. Here we learn that the CEO of the “acclaimed” Aberlour Children’s Charity is ‘angry, She’s very angry’. (my emphasis) So something is seriously amiss with this charity’s relations with Scotland’s government … Continue reading Views of a children’s charity whose boss is ‘angry, very angry’ but ‘unleashes fury’ towards just one government. 

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They’re eating cats and dogs in Trump’s Springfield USA – no really

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The above is a hoot. Last night, USA time, Donald Trump said: The idea of eating cats and dogs horrifies me. These are our two – the formidable (£80) Indy frae the Milton in Glasgow and the gentle (free) Molly, rehomed, failed gun dog, from Freuchie in Fife: Unlike most allegedly sensible folk in Scotland, I cannot choose between Trump and Harris. Devil and deep-blue sea. Harris would maybe (she’s keeping quiet on details) be a wee bit better for the folk in the USA of course but, as a mainstream US interventionist and foreign policy hawk Democrat, bad for … Continue reading They’re eating cats and dogs in Trump’s Springfield USA – no really

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England is primary school class overcrowding capital of the world…except only Chile

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today: UK [sic] primary class sizes are among the biggest in the industrialised world, larger than Mexico, Turkey and Colombia, according to an international report. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) study, which compares the state of education in about 50 countries, found primary school teachers in the UK face bumper classes of 27 children. Only classes in Chile are bigger with 28 pupils, while in Japan classes at primary level are also 27-strong. Luxembourg and Croatia by comparison have just 15 children a class, while the OECD average is 21. https://www.theguardian.com/education/article/2024/sep/10/uk-primary-class-sizes-among-biggest-in-industrialised-world-report-finds Typically blinkered, … Continue reading England is primary school class overcrowding capital of the world…except only Chile