Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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From crew murdering a passenger to dangerous overcrowding – Greece’s really troubled ferry services

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By Professor John Robertson From the Daily Mail today: A tourist has issued a warning after being caught off-guard when visiting the Greek Islands for the first time.  Audrey, from Canada, went on a birthday trip with her sister last May to the picturesque destination but didn’t expect the ferry rides between islands to be so chaotic. ‘Once you get on, you have to take about an hour to recover from the chaos,’ one commented. ‘This is the part they don’t tell you about,’ another said. ‘I’m really nervous about the suitcase situation,’ a third added. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/travel/article-13282419/TikTok-traveller-grim-reality-Greek-islands.html From the Guardian in … Continue reading From crew murdering a passenger to dangerous overcrowding – Greece’s really troubled ferry services

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Prison activity time – Lib Dumbs cannot count as trend is upward but assaults remain at half the level of England & Wales

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By Professor John Robertson Headlining on the Herald website today, another Lib Dem (5th biggest party) ‘investigation’: Overcrowding in Scotland’s prisons has led to a significant drop in the number of “purposeful activity” hours being offered to inmates, new figures have revealed. The Scottish Liberal Democrats have warned of a “vicious cycle” with prisoners reoffending because they have been deprived of education and training while inside that would help them rehabilitate. The evidence? This: So, once more, selective, inaccurate, use of stats from the Lib Dumbs. First the fall of 3, from 16 to 13 hours, is not 25%, but 18.75%. Did … Continue reading Prison activity time – Lib Dumbs cannot count as trend is upward but assaults remain at half the level of England & Wales

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ASLEF don’t have a problem in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson Thanks to Jimmock for alerting me to this. Justin of Radio 4’s Today programme just before 8am: Putting money to one side what more are these strikes about? What is it that is not happening that you say should be happening? Mick Whelan of ASLEF: Well basically nobody talking to us at all in any way shape or form. We haven’t seen the Transport Minister since 2022. We haven’t seen the Railways Minister since January of 2023. We haven’t seen the employers since April of last year, some twelve months ago. When people say ‘Why aren’t … Continue reading ASLEF don’t have a problem in Scotland

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Train drivers, doctors and teachers all expected to work but only in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson From the Guardian today: Rail passengers across England will face significant disruption on Friday as train drivers at five operating companies carry out industrial action. The 24-hour strike will be the first of three days of rolling strike action being taken by the train drivers’ union Aslef, with services on Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, East Midlands Railway, London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway all affected. Yesterday, from the Guardian: Teachers in England and Wales could strike again as early as September, according to the head of the UK’s largest education union, who warned of “growing frustration” within the profession … Continue reading Train drivers, doctors and teachers all expected to work but only in Scotland

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Rudder and Crewless in Angry Canada

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By Professor John Robertson One of Andy Fairweather Low’s lesser known releases? From CTV News, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in February 2024: BC Ferries is cancelling multiple sailings between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island until Sunday due to a mechanical issue with one of its vessels’ rudders. The ferry company says its Queen of New Westminster vessel has been taken out of service until the problem can be fixed. Only a few months ago, CTV News had: Once again, staffing issues have forced BC Ferries to cancel sailings on a major route between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island. The … Continue reading Rudder and Crewless in Angry Canada

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GMB – The Generally Male Bullyboy union?

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By Professor John Robertson In the Guardian today: One of Labour’s biggest union backers has been accused of employing “bullyboy tactics” in an alleged attempt to take over a smaller rail union and seize control of its assets. Maryam Eslamdoust, the left-leaning general secretary of the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA), claims that the GMB union is using an in-house agreement to block staff recruitment and take control of the white-collar union to access its buildings. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/apr/04/gmb-accused-of-bullyboy-tactics-in-alleged-attempt-to-take-over-tssa Anyone shocked to hear that the GMB leader is accused of bullying, again? Nope, here’s why: Only last month, the GMB union leader was exposed … Continue reading GMB – The Generally Male Bullyboy union?

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Under Labour, NHS Wales has a waiting list 36% longer than England and 150% longer than Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson As the Guardian reports today a surge in waiting times in England, after a year of strikes, I thought I’d have a look at NHS Wales, led by the Labour Party, to see if that might offer us hope for better performance as the they take over in England next year. England has 18 times the population of Wales. Scotland has 1.7 times the population of Wales. According to the BMJ in March 2023, there were 734 000 on the NHS Wales waiting lists (presumably more now). https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/nhs-under-pressure-wales#:~:text=Waiting%20lists%20remain%20high&text=In%20March%202023%2C%20there%20were,it%20was%20in%20March%202020. All things being equal, you’d then expect England … Continue reading Under Labour, NHS Wales has a waiting list 36% longer than England and 150% longer than Scotland

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After more than 50 days of strikes and more than a million appointments cancelled NHS England’s waiting list swells to proportionally TWICE that in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson More than 50 days of NHS strikes in England, and counting, the Guardian today reports: Almost 10 million people across England could be waiting for an NHS appointment or treatment, 2 million more than previously estimated, according to a survey by the Office for National Statistics. The ONS survey of about 90,000 adults found that 21% of patients were waiting for a hospital appointment or to start receiving treatment on the NHS. When extrapolated, this equates to 9.7 million people. In January, the waiting list stood at 7.6 million, according to official NHS statistics. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/apr/03/almost-10-million-people-in-england-could-be-on-nhs-waiting-list The Guardian report does … Continue reading After more than 50 days of strikes and more than a million appointments cancelled NHS England’s waiting list swells to proportionally TWICE that in Scotland

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New Zealand’s super-ferries will never be late, just never built and yet still cost millions

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By Professor John Robertson From the NZ Herald today: KiwiRail only terminated its mega ferry ship-building contract after receiving a letter from Finance Minister Nicola Willis and two months after the Government pulled the plug on the project. A scheme to replace the current ageing Interislander fleet with two larger ships was left dead in the water in December after costs for the overall project, including new terminals and wharf upgrades, ballooned to almost $3b and the new Government refused to fund the blowout. However, KiwiRail took until February 14 to announce it was terminating the $551m fixed-price contract with Hyundai Mipo Dockyard to build … Continue reading New Zealand’s super-ferries will never be late, just never built and yet still cost millions

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BBC reporting of County Lines drug gangs getting closer as BBC Cumbria carries story – When will BBC Scotland face this dark shadow on the Union?

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By Professor John Robertson BBC Cumbria becomes the latest of BBC regions to report on the devastating plague of County Lines gangs spreading drug death, extreme violence, people trafficking and child abuse, across the UK and now from Manchester to small towns in Cumbria. Imagine if these gangs were based in Scottish cities and crossing into England? BBC Scotland’s last and only report on County Lines gangs in Scotland, estimated at 55 groups, from Dumfries to Dingwall, more than three years ago. the report is careful not to mention the word ‘England’ nor even name the all-English cities where the … Continue reading BBC reporting of County Lines drug gangs getting closer as BBC Cumbria carries story – When will BBC Scotland face this dark shadow on the Union?