Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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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

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Pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian today: Pharmacy closures in England threaten plan to use them instead of GPs for some care There’s no mention of Scotland, of course. The Herald and the Glasgow Times are just repeating the the same story with no mention of Scotland. From May 2023, here’s why: Scotland scheme ‘more patient-focused’ Pharmacists in England look to Scotland, where a scheme called Pharmacy First includes a contract between the sector and the Scottish government setting out what services are expected, with payment for every consultation. These cover minor ailments and illnesses, some of which might once have … Continue reading Pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.

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stewartb How hard is it for companies operating on Arran – how hard relative to businesses elsewhere? The ‘Auchrannie Resort’ is one of the largest, plushest hotel, spa and leisure offerings to tourists visiting Arran. It must be one of the island’s largest companies and wholly dependent on its customers wanting to – and being able to – get to the island. On the home page of its web site its states: ‘Did you know that 750,000 journeys are made to and from Arran each year?’ The company web site describes its history in the following terms: ‘Auchrannie was acquired by … Continue reading Arran – history of remarkable transformation enabled by a ferry service delivered by a publicly-owned company subsidised by tax payers across Scotland.

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Given the British Labour Party’s approach to power seeking in Scotland, whataboutery is legitimate – ‘what about Wales?’

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By stewartb The logic of the British Labour Party’s messaging for the 2026 Holyrood election – that the SNP is holding Scotland back – would be open to ridicule amongst voters if it wasn’t for the support – the complicity – of pro-Union news media. The latter’s lack of critical assessment of this and other Labour negativity about Scotland is palpable. Context- and perspective-free reporting has long been a characteristic of the mainstream media that supposedly serves Scotland. Labour’s view of the UK Before and since the UK General Election we’ve been told by the British Labour Party’s leadership just … Continue reading Given the British Labour Party’s approach to power seeking in Scotland, whataboutery is legitimate – ‘what about Wales?’