Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Arran ferry users should beware of what they hope for – a similar crossing in Canada costs nearly THREE times as much

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By Professor John Robertson The 14 mile ferry crossing from Prince Edward Island’s Wood Island ferry terminal to Caribou in Nova Scotia, Canada, takes 75 minutes and costs $94 [£75] for a standard car. The similar 13 mile crossing from Ardrossan to Brodick, Arran, takes 55 minutes and costs only £25.50 for a standard car with two passengers. How can this be? Is that SNP government subsidising the Arran crossing by a huge amount to help those sometimes ungrateful islanders? There are 157 000 people on Prince Edward Island and 5 000 on Arran. There is a PEI bridge but … Continue reading Arran ferry users should beware of what they hope for – a similar crossing in Canada costs nearly THREE times as much

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Lorry driver ignores bridge weight limit, who you gonna blame? BBC Scotland ask ‘Did the Scottish Government build the bridge?’

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By Professor John Robertson Thanks to Bob Lamont for alerting me to this: Lorry damage puts CalMac ferry out of action BBC Scotland note: CalMac told ferry users the damage was caused by “large commercial vehicles” whose weight exceeds the ramp’s design load, but it has been unable to identify which lorries were to blame. Who’s to blame, children? Yes, the lying lorry driver and the lorry owners. What do BBC Scotland suggest instead? Cumbrae Ferry Users Group held a public meeting to discuss the ferry problems on Tuesday, attended by 130 people – about 10% of the island’s population. … Continue reading Lorry driver ignores bridge weight limit, who you gonna blame? BBC Scotland ask ‘Did the Scottish Government build the bridge?’

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If you claim free prescriptions that you’re not entitled to, you could have to pay a penalty charge of up to £100 – in one of the 4 nations

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stewartb I stumbled across an online article from the ‘UK edition’ of The Sun dated 5 April with this headline: ‘DRUG DEAL Brits face having to make ‘unbearable’ decisions ahead of NHS prescription charge rise next month – The exact amount your prescription will rise by and who is exempt from charges.’ The main news is that ‘Charges for prescriptions will increase by 2.59 per cent as of May 1, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) announced.’ There are a less serious remark to be made about the piece and a wider and more serious observation. Throughout the … Continue reading If you claim free prescriptions that you’re not entitled to, you could have to pay a penalty charge of up to £100 – in one of the 4 nations

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BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight -‘Unreliable ferry services causing huge stress’

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By Professor John Robertson From BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight today: A ferry operator has cancelled several high-speed services across the Solent due to staff shortages. Red Funnel confirmed its Red Jet service between Southampton and Cowes, Isle of Wight would not be running due to “limited availability of crew”. It is the latest in a series of cancellations, with the most recent happening in March due to an “unexpected technical issue”. Passengers told the BBC in February that the unreliable ferry services were causing “huge stress”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-68795557 No staff? Unexpected technical issues? No service? Now that’s a ferry fiasco, friends. It’s hard … Continue reading BBC Hampshire & Isle of Wight -‘Unreliable ferry services causing huge stress’

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You’re almost TWICE as likely to be on a waiting list for cardiac care in England than you are in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today, we see that 408 548 are waiting for cardiac care in England. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/11/number-waiting-for-nhs-care-for-serious-heart-problems-in-england-rises-fivefold You know the drill. With one-tenth of the population, all things being as equally bad as our media would hope, Scotland might expect to have around 40 000 on the waiting list for cardiac care but according to the Herald on 6 February 2024, it’s 23 000, just over half. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/24091977.cardiology-waiting-lists-at-highest-level-record Is it just this or is there a wider picture of NHS Scotland waiting lists being shorter after 16 years of the SNP in Government? Search: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=wait to … Continue reading You’re almost TWICE as likely to be on a waiting list for cardiac care in England than you are in Scotland

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11 year-old arithmetic pupils scoff as Scottish Labour promise ‘piddling’ 0.68% extra for NHS

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By Professor John Robertson and Mr Robertson Primary 7 class teacher, Bainsford Primary School, Falkirk (1984). Headlining in the Herald this morning, Scottish Labour’s promise of an extra £134 million for NHS Scotland. Me, 40 years ago: Now, Primary 7, £134 MILLION!!! Sounds great, or does it? Victoria: It might not be Mr Robertson! Me: Why Victoria? Victoria: We’d need to know what percentage that is of the total budget! Me: Exactly! Fast forward to another Primary 7 in 2024 – What is the NHS Scotland budget for this coming year. On your phones, go! Bobbie: £19.5 BILLION! Up 3.4% … Continue reading 11 year-old arithmetic pupils scoff as Scottish Labour promise ‘piddling’ 0.68% extra for NHS

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Police Scotland recruitment teams are experiencing a drop in candidate standard

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By stewartb On recruitment, Police Scotland submitted a paper to the Scottish Police Authority dated 24 February 2024: ‘Recruitment and Protected Characteristic Impact Report’ (https://www.spa.police.uk/spa-media/pn0n522u/item-6-1-recruitment-and-protected-characteristic-impact-report.pdf ) It summarises police officer intakes across the period 2021/22 and 2022/23 up to 18 September: between intake dates of 18 June 2021 to 18 September 2023 there were a total of 1,924 new officer recruits. Police Scotland uses three metrics to monitor its recruitment ‘pipeline’: On application levels, between the year 2019/20 and 3 October 2023, monthly average recruitment rates each year have ranged from a high of 468 per month in 2020/21 (with no … Continue reading Police Scotland recruitment teams are experiencing a drop in candidate standard

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Prime Minister Sunak defends wrong NHS record

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By stewartb From the BBC News website today (11 April): ‘PM defends NHS record as targets missed in England’. Today’s release of waiting times performance data for NHS England merited a high profile on Radio 4’s Today programme this morning. So what have we learned? In this online BBC article we’re told: ‘The NHS recovery plan set a target for the end of March for 76% of patients attending A&E to be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours.’ (The target used to be 95%.) And then this: ‘.. some 74.2% of patients were seen within four hours in A&Es … Continue reading Prime Minister Sunak defends wrong NHS record

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New Zealand’s ferry fiasco as Finance Minister pays advisors $2 000 a day for two months so far

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From the New Zealand Herald today: Finance Minister Nicola Willis has defended wanting independent advice on the future of Cook Strait ferries from experts charging $2000 a day, “given KiwiRail got us into this mess”. The Herald has revealed members of the ferry ministerial advisory group have been paid more than $80,000 between them since being appointed just two months ago. The group was announced after the Government refused to give KiwiRail more money for its mega ferry project – leaving the plan to replace the ageing Interislander fleet dead in the water. Overall costs, including new terminals and wharf upgrades, had ballooned to almost $3 billion. KiwiRail is now negotiating … Continue reading New Zealand’s ferry fiasco as Finance Minister pays advisors $2 000 a day for two months so far

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Crime and police staffing in Scotland – Factcheck finds more officers than under Labour and only half the crime!

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are making them feel vulnerable and sometimes unsafe. The Inspectorate of Constabulary says resources are a major concern, as well as the state of police buildings and disruption to days off. From Reporting Scotland this morning, the above. Note the word ‘feel‘ twice. We then hear from the Chief Inspector of Constabulary: It is glowing white hot. It is massive in the growth of demand and it’s more than I’ve ever seen. Resourcing is a challenge. You’re reducing the officer numbers. You’re reducing the amount of people available to work on a shift. It will cause problems because it will … Continue reading Crime and police staffing in Scotland – Factcheck finds more officers than under Labour and only half the crime!