Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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As the Herald and a London-based charity ‘launch’ a campaign, the FACTs on homelessness and housing in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson To read in full with all sources, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=homeless To read in full with all sources, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=homeless To read in full with all sources, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=homeless Continue reading As the Herald and a London-based charity ‘launch’ a campaign, the FACTs on homelessness and housing in Scotland

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Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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From the BMJ yesterday: Nine infants died from whooping cough in England between November last year and the end of May 2024, the UK Health Security Agency has reported. Altogether a total of 7599 cases of whooping cough have been confirmed in England this year, with cases continuing to rise from 555 in January to 920 in February, 1427 in March, 2106. https://www.bmj.com/content/386/bmj.q1545.full I’ll be accused of being a ghoul for this but by the same folk who love to blame our drug deaths on the SNP Government, so from our regular contributor stewartb in May 2024: My suspicion – … Continue reading Why there have been no whooping cough deaths in Scotland but 9 in England

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So simple and effective but Scottish – The SNP Child Payment scares other UK child poverty activists and experts into deathly silence

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The omission by a leading poverty charity on BBC Woman’s Hour  – it’s hard to conceive of a discussion of the ‘two-child benefit cap’ in which reference to the Scottish Child Payment could have been more apposite!  Inexplicable or what? By stewartb – a long read I listened to a lengthy piece on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour (11 July) on the ‘two-child benefit cap’. This is arguably a ‘flagship’ BBC programme with a UK-wide target audience: it is a valuable platform for advocacy groups. The item was prompted by a new Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)  report on … Continue reading So simple and effective but Scottish – The SNP Child Payment scares other UK child poverty activists and experts into deathly silence

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The Cringe Cartoonist

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The Herald’s Steven Camley has a long track record of cringy comments on the communities he lives among. Not for him, the wit, not the courage, to satirise the powerful who keep us down. Today he sneers at Scotland’s GPs and housing supply to reinforce that kind of ill-informed personal experience-based moaning that Reporting Scotland can always find. Never mind the facts when a cheap laugh at yer ain folk is what you love. Never mind: From the Scottish Government on 28 May 2024: 84% of people who needed to see or speak to a doctor / nurse quite urgently were … Continue reading The Cringe Cartoonist

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Already a better society after 17 years of SNP rule and Scottish universities buck UK trend to attract more not fewer international students

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In the Guardian today, their Education editor daft enough to to use a Glasgow Uni shot, writes: UK universities face financial turmoil as figures from the Home Office show plunging numbers of international students applying for courses starting in the next academic year. Applications for sponsored study visas have fallen by 40%, suggesting the visa restrictions applied by the previous government continue to hamper recruitment. The Home Office received 28,200 applications last month, compared with 38,900 in June 2023. But three days ago, BBC Scotland had: Net migration to Scotland more than doubled in the year between 2021 and 2022 – up to … Continue reading Already a better society after 17 years of SNP rule and Scottish universities buck UK trend to attract more not fewer international students

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Swinney’s evidence that Labour’s new nuclear start-up costs are more than twice as expensive as renewables, confirmed

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From a Freedom of Information response published yesterday: Information requested At FMQs on At FMQs on 20th June 2024, John Swinney said this: Evidence shows that new nuclear is more expensive than renewable alternatives. Bearing this in mind, the information I am seeking is the evidence to which John Swinney was referring at FMQs on 20th June 2024.   Response The below figures are central cost estimates for projects commissioning in 2025 (in real 2021 prices), and can be retrieved from the following Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) publication: Electricity generation costs 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). New nuclear: £109/MWh[1]Offshore Wind: £44/MWhOnshore Wind: £38/MWhLarge-scale … Continue reading Swinney’s evidence that Labour’s new nuclear start-up costs are more than twice as expensive as renewables, confirmed

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Chief Inspector of Prisons – “Overcrowding places the public at greater risk than emergency release”

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By Professor John Robertson An LBC report today either deliberately or stupidly misinterprets the words of His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Prisons for Scotland Wendy Sinclair-Gieben. Their headline – ‘Crisis point’ prison conditions mean inmates released early ‘pose risk’ to public, watchdog warns She says: “Overcrowding is huge and it’s at crisis point. I’m glad we’ve decided on the emergency release but it is a short term fix and we need to do longer. “We need to recognise overcrowding places the public at greater risk than emergency release. It means people are locked in rooms 22, 23 hours a say. … Continue reading Chief Inspector of Prisons – “Overcrowding places the public at greater risk than emergency release”

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Even Japan just dumps radioactive waste in the sea as will Starmer’s UK

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Labour, contrary to all the evidence, plan new small modular reactors (SMRs), above, across the UK unless Scottish planning authorities stand firm. The new small plants actually generate more waste to be dealt with. Yesterday, we saw in Global Times: Chinese nuclear power industry insiders told the Global Times at an event in Beijing on Wednesday that China offered Japan a technology specifically for tritium wastewater treatment for their crippled Fukushima Daiichi complex, but due to the high costs, Japan eventually chose what was the simplest and cheapest method for them – to discharge it into the sea. At a … Continue reading Even Japan just dumps radioactive waste in the sea as will Starmer’s UK

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Factcheck – 60% more Scots children do well at end of Primary School than in England

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Image PA By Mr Robertson, P7, Room 14, Bainsford Primary School, Mungalhead Road, Falkirk, 1984 I’ll keep this very simple. Is one in four pupils failing better or worse than four in ten failing? Sad to say, I know adults who’d get a migraine with that but we know don’t we? One in four is 25% failing and four in ten is 40% failing. Easy now isn’t it? Where are 25% failing in basic reading, writing and maths by the age of 11? Scotland In December 2023, BBC Scotland had all the opposition parties confused but angry with the SNP … Continue reading Factcheck – 60% more Scots children do well at end of Primary School than in England