Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours

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By stewartb Latest update for the Labour politicians in Scotland who constantly berate the Scottish Government and NHS Scotland on A&E waiting times: Latest on waits in the main A&E departments in the NHS in Wales – from the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (https://rcem.ac.uk/summer-provides-no-respite-for-over-stretched-emergency-departments/ ) 1) ’44.1% of patients (more than 2/5) waited four hours or longer (up 10.6% on April 2024)’ – so just 58.6% discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The RCEM reports ‘the number of patients having to wait more than four hours has almost doubled since 2017’. 2) ’23.2% (more than 1/5) of people waited … Continue reading In Labour Wales A&E nearly twice as many wait more than 8 hours and three times as many wait more than 12 hours

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Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media

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By stewartb The chameleon that has been the Labour Party’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media. This deficit in critical assessment is important – is to be deprecated – given that GB Energy (GBE), and the location of its HQ, is clearly being pushed by Labour as its big inducement to voters in Scotland. IMHO GB Energy is the GREAT OBFUSCATION! What follows is just one example of the gushing, uncritical reporting that may well prove successful in seducing some voters in Scotland: ‘Thousands of Scottish jobs’ created by Labour’s … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy policy merits so much more objective appraisal than it has received from the media

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Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter

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By stewartb It’s not often that I’m inclined to write anything positive about a BBC Scotland journalist’s contribution. But here goes! The BBC’s ‘Business and Economy Editor, Scotland’, Douglas Fraser had an article (24 June) in the Scotland Business section of the BBC News website under this headline: ‘What would ‘GB Energy’ mean for Scotland’s green economy?’ (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyxxxljq070o ) (Never unalloyed reaction to BBC Scotland tho’! Curiously, this article which attempts a critical appraisal did NOT appear in the Scotland Politics section despite this being six lines in: ‘Labour makes a big play of setting up GB Energy.’) – (my emphasis). We … Continue reading Labour’s GB Energy has been a bit of a shapeshifter

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GREWDOG

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I’ve never liked the taste of any BREWDOG beers but the latest news from this company, confirms my distaste for the owner and his business culture. In the business news site, Insider, today: BrewDog has been criticised for sacking an Asian woman after she complained about members of the English Defence League (EDL) meeting in the London bar she worked at. Members of the far right group met unchallenged at the Scottish brewer’s flagship bar at Waterloo, ahead of a St George’s Day rally. https://www.insider.co.uk/news/brewdog-sacks-asian-worker-after-33125447 The EDL: Kind of puts the England beer cans into perspective but this tolerance of … Continue reading GREWDOG

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Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

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I know Tarves. A small, just over one thousand population town/village, only half an hour bus journey away from Aberdeen’s railway station. Why the railway station? County Lines drug, child abuse and people trafficking, gangs send their young dealers and armed enforcers into the heart of smaller ‘county’ towns, by rail. In these towns they ‘cuckoo’ vulnerable adults, moving into their homes to deal drugs at lower cost than local dealers can, backed up by threats and attacks at a level of violence previously unseen. Children as young as 11 have been known to be bullied into working as dealers. … Continue reading Tentacles of English drug gangs using children to fuel Scotland’s drug deaths reaches into every corner, even wee towns like Tarves in Aberdeenshire

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Electricity – Scotland will soon be able to power every home in the UK and more

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From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q1 2024, today, the above dramatic achievements of the SNP Government from 2007 and these updates: In the first quarter of 2024, 10,722 GWh of electricity was generated from renewable sources. This is a 4% increase compared to the same period in 2023. There is 15.4 GW of renewable electricity operational capacity in Scotland as of the end of March 2024. As of the end of March 2024, there are 790 renewable energy projects, with an estimated capacity of 46.8 GW in the planning pipeline. The largest contributor to this potential increase in capacity … Continue reading Electricity – Scotland will soon be able to power every home in the UK and more

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Never mind police reporting, people themselves are massive 53% less likely to report having been victims of crime than they were under Labour

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From Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report : June 2024 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 202122 (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-june-2024/documents/ Continue reading Never mind police reporting, people themselves are massive 53% less likely to report having been victims of crime than they were under Labour

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Conservative candidates too feart to attend public hustings

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Conservative candidate, Martin Dowey (right), failed to turn up last night at a public hustings in Ayr, for the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency. We must assume he feared the kind of hostility his party is getting everywhere outside of the South of England. What could he have said to the several WASPI women in the crowd or in response to questions about their mismanagement of the economy, their corruption, their betting scandal and umpteen other dark traces of their 14 years in power? Strangely, their former MP for the constituency, Bill Grant, whose views on the Union seem clear, … Continue reading Conservative candidates too feart to attend public hustings

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Mussel-bound – Scotland’s shellfish industry booms

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From the Scottish Government today: In 2023, 10,311 tonnes of common mussel were produced for the table market, this is the highest level of common mussel production recorded in Scotland; During 2023, 3.9 million Pacific oyster shells were produced for the table market; Common mussel and Pacific oyster remain the main species produced in terms of value and tonnage. Common mussel production increased by 13%; The Scottish shellfish farming sector is estimated to be worth approximately £14.1 million at first sale value, an increase of 36% on the 2022 value. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-shellfish-farm-production-survey-2023/documents/ Continue reading Mussel-bound – Scotland’s shellfish industry booms

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Scottish productivity soars by 30% above the level under Labour after SNP investments in new technologies

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The Unionist media in Scotland will focus on last year’s, statistically insignificant, 1%, fall in labour productivity and ignore the actual news in the above trend. Note – the number of hours worked (blue line) under Labour was as high as it is now but output (green and black lines) was far lower. Which means? Under Labour, low skill, low pay, slog with old plant, like Soviet Russia. Continue reading Scottish productivity soars by 30% above the level under Labour after SNP investments in new technologies