Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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Conspiracy to push drugs across ‘county lines’ into Dumfries and Scotland

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From Greater Manchester Police news two days ago but not being covered by the Dumfries newspapers or wider Scottish media: Officers in GMP’s Challenger South team, along with forcewide resources executed 12 warrants across Manchester, West Yorkshire and in Scotland in relation to an investigation into a conspiracy to supply class B drugs. Seven people aged between 24 and 58 were arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to supply the class B drug of cannabis. They are all suspected to be involved in a conspiracy to … Continue reading Conspiracy to push drugs across ‘county lines’ into Dumfries and Scotland

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South Uist islanders refuse ‘offer’ of HMS Prince of Wales as replacement ferry

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From the Daily Mail today: The future of Britain’s second aircraft carrier is under threat due to funding issues, naval sources have claimed. Senior figures have spoken out after it emerged next week’s Budget will not include any significant rise in defence spending. They fear HMS Prince of Wales, which cost £3.5billion to build, could be mothballed or sold for a knockdown price to a friendly nation, over the fleet’s flagship HMS Queen Elizabeth. In a shock move Lord Marmaduke Pocklington-Henry, community councillor for South Uist, has demanded … Continue reading South Uist islanders refuse ‘offer’ of HMS Prince of Wales as replacement ferry

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The risk of trans men – today’s big moral panic

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ In my long time in Higher Education and among my family and friends, I’ve never heard a young woman express concern about trans women (former men) or opposition to the Scottish government’s proposed gender recognition reforms. These trans women are remembered as gentle, sensitive and more than any other group in our society, the most brutally abused. In police recording, no doubt a massive understating of the phenomenon, they suffer physical assaults far more often, and verbal assaults, by the day. The media, of course, neglect this … Continue reading The risk of trans men – today’s big moral panic

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Audit Scotland satisfied with SNP ferry contract awards

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Scotland’s narrowest ferry correspondent cannot hide his huff as Audit Scotland decide not to carry out further inquiries into the new ferry procurement procedures. In 2022, they had concerns but, according to the Herald today (unsourced), they appear to have accepted that due process was followed. Here’s the end after all the hissyfitting: Audit Scotland previously questioned why a builder’s refund guarantee – which would protect the buyer – was not part of the contract with Ferguson Marine despite usually being a mandatory consideration. But Audit Scotland … Continue reading Audit Scotland satisfied with SNP ferry contract awards

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100 000 children to be kept out of poverty in 2024-25 as a result of Scottish Government policies

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From the Scottish Government today: The First Minister has welcomed analysis which estimates 100,000 children will be kept out of relative poverty in 2024-25 as a result of Scottish Government policies. Updated modelling of the cumulative impact of policies such as the Scottish Child Payment indicates the relative child poverty rate will be 10 percentage points lower than it would otherwise have been. Speaking after joining a Book Bug session at Drum Brae Library Hub in Edinburgh with the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Mr Yousaf highlighted estimates … Continue reading 100 000 children to be kept out of poverty in 2024-25 as a result of Scottish Government policies

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Latest crime statistics too nice to talk about

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ From the Scottish Government yesterday: The police in Scotland recorded 302,076 crimes in the year ending December 2023. This was 5% higher than the 287,678 crimes recorded in the year ending December 2022, but 2% lower than the 308,434 crimes recorded in the year ending December 2019. https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-year-ending-december-2023 I’ve had to get the above graph from June 2023 to reveal the trends – more than 300 000 fewer crimes per year reported than at the end of Thatcherism and around 150 000 fewer since the SNP took … Continue reading Latest crime statistics too nice to talk about

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The murderous reality of life in Scotland through BBC Scotland’s lens as homicides drop 90% in 20 years unnoticed

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ I’m not saying they shouldn’t headline a murder. I am saying they should also also inform the public of the risk of being murdered especially as the latest figures from Police Scotland were released only yesterday: As you can see the homicide rate in Scotland has plummeted from 130 cases per year 20 years ago to just over 40 in the last year, a 70% decline. That is a staggering phenomenon, unknown globally and, I suspect, far more interesting to citizens than our drug deaths figures so … Continue reading The murderous reality of life in Scotland through BBC Scotland’s lens as homicides drop 90% in 20 years unnoticed

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Climate change – SNP Scotland plants 20 times more trees than Labour Wales

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ …about cuts to tree planting. Reporting Scotland this morning. Have you ever seen UK Government advisers headlined raising concerns about tree planting on the main new broadcasts? Me neither. Have you ever seen any context on Reporting Scotland’s coverage of tree-planting? This kind of thing? First, from State of Nature 2023: So, 8% of the population but 60% of the trees. Second, 8% of the UK population but 76% of the new tree planting. chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.forestresearch.gov.uk/2022/09/Ch1_Woodland_2022.pdf Third, 20 times the tree-planting of Labour Wales: https://www.confor.org.uk/news/latest-news/scotland-leads-way-on-uk-tree-planting-but-misses-target What’s that saying about wood and trees? … Continue reading Climate change – SNP Scotland plants 20 times more trees than Labour Wales

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Two Labour men who would not dare to ask Keir Starmer to copy this to take 5 million English kids out of poverty

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Today, from the Scottish Government but nowhere on BBC Scotland: Scottish Child Payment was helping the families of more than 327,000 children at the end of December last year, official statistics have shown.  The £25-a-week payment helps families as part of a wider package of Scottish Government actions to tackle child poverty and support people during the cost of living crisis.  The figures published today show more than 4,000 extra children were being supported since the previous quarter – the fourth consecutive rise.  Scottish Child Payment launched … Continue reading Two Labour men who would not dare to ask Keir Starmer to copy this to take 5 million English kids out of poverty

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Scottish education sees several signs of attainment gaps narrowing

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This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Absent, of course from MSM, several positive indicators of a narrowing gap between school leavers from the least and most deprived areas: This site costs nothing to run so donate to our friends at  https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ Continue reading Scottish education sees several signs of attainment gaps narrowing