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

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

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

In response to my FoI request to them, today: Based on analysis of the most recent Police Scotland data, the number of ‘County Lines’groups operating across Scotland, including in Scottish cities, is assessed to be around30. Police Scotland, on a site surely a regular go-to for crime reporters, have reported on county lines gangs specifically, 60 times: https://www.scotland.police.uk/search/?query=County%20Lines&page=1 BBC Scotland? Twice only and not once in the last three years? Why? Clearly an editorial line. STV? Better but still not representing the scale of the problem. Scottish Daily Mail? Regular reports and this year: We get a never-ending reporting of … Continue reading Latest – Police Scotland are aware of 30 County Lines groups in Scotland, have reported on them 60 times but BBC Scotland…..twice and not at all for more than 3 years