Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Access to NHS dentistry in Scotland shocking 21% higher than in UK and Lib Dems run with it

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From Public Health Scotland, today: 5,182,993 people were registered with an NHS dentist as at 31 March 2024 (94.6% of the Scottish population). 732,618 extensive clinical examinations were paid in the quarter ending March 2024 under the new pay arrangements I can’t find directly comparable figures for NHS England, but from a UK Parliament report in 2023: 1 in 5 Britons (22%) are currently not “registered” with a dentist. Of those who were not “registered” 37% said this was because they couldn’t find an NHS dentist. Only 78% in UK registered, 16.6% lower than the 94.6% in Scotland. So access … Continue reading Access to NHS dentistry in Scotland shocking 21% higher than in UK and Lib Dems run with it

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Labour pushing their pet prof ‘under a bus?’

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Prof Arthur Bloom, who died in 1992, had been based in Cardiff and was one of the UK’s leading haematologists In the Times Higher Education, today: Infected blood: how academics both caused and exposed tragedy Report into scandal highlights danger of relying on singular sources of knowledge, in contrast to inquiry itself, which utilised vast range of expertise to get to the bottom of what happened. Particularly criticised was Arthur Bloom, a professor in haematology at what was then the University of Wales College of Medicine, now part of Cardiff University, whose views were said to have been “overly influential”. Last … Continue reading Labour pushing their pet prof ‘under a bus?’

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Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts

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From RNZ yesterday: A Bluebridge ferry passenger says people were plunged into darkness when a ship briefly lost power coming into Wellington Harbour on Saturday afternoon. Wellington Harbourmaster Grant Nalder said the ferry had a problem on board which caused it to lose power about 4.45pm. “They passed that on, assistance was called, there was a tug heading out towards them. They actually resolved it themselves, got power on, carried on up towards the berth and used the tug as a precaution getting into the berth,” he said. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/517826/bluebridge-ferry-loses-power-while-entering-wellington-harbour From Maritime Executive in January 2024: New Zealand Prosecutes RoRo Operator … Continue reading Second New Zealand ferry loses power and drifts

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Rutherglen and Hamilton get a second chance to reject the Friends of Israel Labour Candidate

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Read in detail at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Rutherglen Read in detail at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Rutherglen Read in detail at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Rutherglen Read in detail at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Rutherglen Read in detail at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=Rutherglen Continue reading Rutherglen and Hamilton get a second chance to reject the Friends of Israel Labour Candidate

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Is this the Labour candidate who leads the union that conveniently covered Sarwar’s poverty wages shame at the last minute?

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Fresh start? Not change? That’s clever. From BBC Scotland today: But late on Sunday evening an Usdaw spokesman issued a clarification, saying: “Usdaw has a trade union recognition agreement with United Wholesale Scotland and we negotiate on pay with the company. “In our last negotiation we agreed a pay deal that delivered an income higher than the real living wage for all employees.” The spokesman went on to say: “We would urge political parties to get their own house in order.” Usdaw: Get their own houses in order? That’s a very partisan, political thing for local shop steward to be … Continue reading Is this the Labour candidate who leads the union that conveniently covered Sarwar’s poverty wages shame at the last minute?

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At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Picture: John Devlin Today, BBC Scotland are headlining a story that a Usdaw (who?) union rep says Anas Sarwar’s family business are now paying the living wage. The rep is clearly camera shy. Might the workers be unhappy with the claim? BBC Scotland attempt to cover up the fact that Sarwar’s wife and kids get dividends and have been for years on the back of low-page workers. In September 2017, I wrote: Anas Sarwar is a shareholder in United Wholesale (Scotland) Ltd which is currently advertising jobs at £7.50 an hour rather than the £8.45 ‘real’ living wage and far … Continue reading At least SEVEN long years later Anas Sarwar’s multi-million family firm is forced to stop paying poverty wages….maybe….says unnamed union rep…just in time before the election

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Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage

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From the Herald, today: The Labour Party which is the favourite to form the next UK government has pledged to ban ‘exploitative’ zero hours contracts as their use hit record levels in Scotland, the Herald on Sunday can reveal. Official figures reveal that the average number of Scots on zero-hours contracts has soared to an average of 100,000 in the past year – a 42% rise on 2019, the year before the pandemic. According to Statista, there are around 1.2 million zero hours workers across the UK. The Scottish rate is now exactly the same as in the rest of the … Continue reading Labour to ban Scots zero-hours contracts, maybe, as they climb to levels already in England & Wales but offer no rebuke to Mrs Sarwar as Scotland leads on Real Living Wage

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Labour candidate sets out priorities for Central Ayrshire to return to 1980s poverty

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The Irvine Times on 24th May, platformed Labour candidate, Allan Gemmell to studiously ignore the awful prospect of what a New Labour UK Government and a client government in Holyrood, might mean for the good folk of Central Ayrshire. I’ll come back to the promises he made after listing only a few of the losses he forgets to mention: He promised: More on the candidate: I’m sure the photographer was just trying get in all the food brought to an Irvine food bank by local rich guy, the former Director of the British Council in India, the former Her Majesty’s … Continue reading Labour candidate sets out priorities for Central Ayrshire to return to 1980s poverty

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Cryptosporidium in the Capital, Diarrhoea in Devon, a Toilet in the Thames, a Lavvy in the Lake and Sick sheep in the Swale? Eh…drug deaths…..ferries…

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By Professor John Robertson Today, in the Guardian, we see: Thames Water has sent samples of water for lab testing after dozens of people reported becoming unwell with stomach cramps, vomiting and diarrhoea in south-east London. Earlier this month, unsafe drinking water led to more than 100 cases of a waterborne disease in Devon, with people asked to boil their water because of contamination fears. After cryptosporidium, a disease that can cause symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting, was detected in the water supply in the Brixham area of Devon 10 days ago, 17,000 households and businesses were told by South … Continue reading Cryptosporidium in the Capital, Diarrhoea in Devon, a Toilet in the Thames, a Lavvy in the Lake and Sick sheep in the Swale? Eh…drug deaths…..ferries…

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Police Scotland less likely to stop and search children and minorities

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this> By Professor John Robertson The Guardian today has the above and: Hundreds of children under 10 faced stop and search by police last year, including some who were strip-searched, the Observer can reveal. At least 432 children under the age of criminal responsibility were searched by the police forces in England and Wales in 2023, according to data.police.uk, an official site for open data on crime and policing. Nearly a quarter of all the searches were conducted on those from black, Asian, or other minority ethnic backgrounds – disproportionately high compared with population representation. First, putting the … Continue reading Police Scotland less likely to stop and search children and minorities