I’m not, generally, a big fan of GDP as a measure of economic well-being – GDP can go up at the same time as poverty increases in some areas. However, ‘our’ media love to trumpet any decline in Scotland’s GDP, so, see the above and take some comfort, if only some. Continue reading Scotland’s GDP climbing under SNP policies despite UK constraints on the economy
In 2007/2008, the last year of evidence from Labour’s management of the Scottish economy, 1 444 affordable and 4 226 social homes were completed. In the intervening years, those annual figures soared as high as 2 385 and 8 081! After falling in the last year to 2 679 and 6 835, trash media reporting is trying to make hay with the one year fall but note, these figures remain 50% higher than what Labour could do and come at the end of 16 years of consecutive outperforming of them by the SNP Government. In total, 131 758 of the … Continue reading Social housing – 16years of SNP outperforming Labour and still 50% better
At a hustings in Ayr last night, a source said of the troubled Labour candidate for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock, Elaine Stewart : The Labour candidate rewrote the Labour manifesto. She claims Labour support settling with the WASPI women. Also she had a great line when she said” that once Labour have established the financial position they will increase taxes, if needed. Another told us she expressed support for putting an end to the House of Lords. These are all expressions of support quite contrary to the Labour manifesto and reveal deep contradictions in the Labour campaign here. Recently, on … Continue reading Labour candidates forced to stay away or ‘rewrite the Labour manifesto’ as they face the public in hustings across Scotland
From Public Health Scotland today: In NHS Ayrshire & Arran, 81% of referrals began cancer treatment within the 62-day target. The Scottish average was 70.4% The average in Conservative-run NHS England was only 64.6% and in Labour-run Wales, a shocking 53.4%. Sources: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-january-to-31-march-2024/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clkez97p2jdo Continue reading Ayrshire and Arran’s far superior cancer waiting time hits 81% within target
From Public Health Scotland today: 70.4% of patients started treatment within the 62-day standard. The equivalent figure for NHS England is 64.6% meaning that 5.6% of the 287 991, or 16 100, had to wait longer than the target waiting time than they would have had to in an SNP-run NHS. NHS Wales have made it damned difficult to extract the equivalent figures but a BBC Wales report puts it at only 53.4% for February 2024. Sources: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-january-to-31-march-2024/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clkez97p2jdo Continue reading Thousands in England & Wales waiting longer for cancer therapy than in Scotland
From stewartb There have been some escoriating assessments of the Tory and Labour manifestos for the upcoming General Election. They include the one below from the establishment-revered Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). When reading the extracts, written from a London/England-centric UK perspective, reflect on just how ‘distant’ – how lacking in effective agency — Scotland’s electorate and government are in all of this! The IFS is essentially arguing that major fixes are required for a failing UK state but that the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons. Within this Union, Scotland’s ability to influence the nature … Continue reading Major fixes are required for a failing UK state but the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons
On BBC UK this morning, a worrying report on falling immunisation levels among children to well below the 95% immunity level. Of particular concern the effect of low immunisation with the MMR vaccine to cover the deadly measles. Not reported above and as yet unavailable online, the MMR figure from September 2023, was 92.5% Also published today, the Scottish data: 92.6% of children had the first dose of MMR vaccine by 24 months of age. This rose to 95.6% for children who had reached age 5. As of 19 June, there have been 14 laboratory-confirmed measles cases in Scotland in … Continue reading Deadly measles cases more than 7 times as common in England
By Professor John Robertson From the Scottish Government today: Crime figures based only on police reporting do understate the actual level of crime and so we need to find out what people will report to independent researchers about their own experience of crime in their communities. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is based on 5 600 face-to-face interviews. This is a very large sample, scientifically constructed to represent all social groups. Compared with opinion polls with samples of around 1 000, this method is gold-standard for validity and reliability. It found an estimated 494,000 crimes in 2021/22 [Down … Continue reading Crime slightly up in 2023/2024 but still falling in trend down 51% from the days of Thatcherism still scarring England
According to Police Scotland, two years ago, there were around 50 County Lines drugs, child sex and trafficking, gang groups, based in England, now operating in Scottish towns, from Fraserburgh to Dumfries. Only Auchinleck/Cumnock seems to have driven them out, when locals rioted against a Bradford-based group and burned their base, last November. See: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2023/11/29/locals-confirm-ayrshire-riots-were-against-british-drug-gangs-who-abused-under-age-girls/ While the local press and the tabloids will be explicit about this curse, BBC Scotland, STV, and the ‘serious’ press will not. The words ‘County Lines’ almost never make it to a headline and rarely appear in the text. That this is a flow exclusively … Continue reading The plague of English drug gangs terrorising Scotland that cannot be named strikes Falkirk
By Professor John Robertson In April 2024: BMA Scotland, headed up by Dr Iain Kennedy, who has now shed the union flag on his twitter account, have a piece on consultant vacancies all over the media from 06:30 this morning on BBC Scotland. They’ll have had this one oven-ready for some time now. Why today. From the real BMA in London today: The BMA England GP committee has warned health service officials that the profession is ‘now in dispute’ with NHS England following the overwhelming vote to reject the 2024/25 contract. Is the profession in dispute with NHS Scotland? The silence talks. … Continue reading Days before an election, Reporting Scotland and the rogue BMA Scotland rep tell us there is an NHS crisis but only in Scotland – The Facts say otherwise
Talking-up Scotland 