Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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As it surges across UK, youth homelessness falls steadily under SNP

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The Guardian today has There has been a dramatic rise in the number of homeless young people in the UK since Christmas, charities have warned. The New Horizon Youth Centre in London said a record number of young people had asked it for help in the first week of January, while the charity Akt, which supports homeless LGBTQ+ young people, said it had seen more referrals than it would expect in a month. Roundabout in Sheffield and YMCA Trinity, which operates in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk, also reported increases. Research by the charity Centrepoint estimated that 135,800 young people approached their … Continue reading As it surges across UK, youth homelessness falls steadily under SNP

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Horrifying video shows how seawater enters ferry – Imagine this happened in Scotland

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From Spark Chronicles yesterday: Ferries are one of the most efficient modes of transportation for transporting goods or people over short water distances. That doesn’t mean they’re protected from the elements. A video showing how seawater entered a ferry in Washington shocked social networks this week. In this 1 minute and 14 second video, you can see how water filled part of the boat called the M/V Issaquah due to strong waves, an incident that occurred in northeastern Washington state. The ferry was heading to Anacortes near the Strait of Juan de Fuca, according to Washington State Ferries, which clarified … Continue reading Horrifying video shows how seawater enters ferry – Imagine this happened in Scotland

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This is a bullying Labour administration and the GMB leader doesn’t care about it

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Gary Smith of the GMB, a regular here, siding with Labour, the private care home owners and others in the private sector who privately despise him and his members, blaming the SNP/Green government for delayed bin collections in Glasgow. He’s the GMB UK leader now so why hasn’t he gone to Labour-run Wales to see how they deal with refuse? See this: A long-running strike affecting waste collection in Cardiff is to be extended by another month in the latest bout of disruption. Unite union members have been on strike since December 28 with the industrial action due to end … Continue reading This is a bullying Labour administration and the GMB leader doesn’t care about it

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Scottish Labour – a parcel of rogues

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LEAH GUNN BARRETT The new Scottish Labour MP Michael Shanks will speak at the Scotland in Union Burns supper later this month. Quelle surprise.  During the by-election campaign Shanks said the constitutional debate was something ‘we have to completely ignore’ because it’s too divisive. Yet he’s voicing full-throated support for the failing union, because those are his orders from London. Scottish Labour is controlled by its English masters and if Shanks and his fellow Scots MP Ian Murray don’t fall in line with the unionist ‘better together’ lies, they can’t be members of the English Labour club with all its remunerative perks.  As a reward for his fealty, … Continue reading Scottish Labour – a parcel of rogues

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SNP Government protecting Scotland from deadly measles outbreak spreading across Europe and ‘third world’ UK

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Thanks once more to Dottie for alerting me to this. After the bombing of Yemen, this was the top story at 6pm on BBC News. The focus was on the West Midlands after describing a surge in cases across Europe and attributing this to a fall in vaccination rates. No Scottish data were presented and Reporting Scotland at 6.30pm clearly felt no need to inform let alone reassure. Typically in the West Midlands, they’d see no cases but in the last month they’ve had 50! Globally infections, according to the WHO had gone up from less than 1 000 to … Continue reading SNP Government protecting Scotland from deadly measles outbreak spreading across Europe and ‘third world’ UK

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Herald attempts to scare with UK health data on deaths among mothers

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Above, the Herald’s online headline this morning, with this: There seems to be no room for ‘UK’ in the headline. We don’t see any breakdown for Scotland. The graph scaling seriously distorts reality to a suggest significant spiking in maternal mortality. Remember, we’re looking at an increase of around 5 per 100 000 births over 3 years and there are only around 48 000 births in total per year in Scotland so there has been an increase in Scotland, if these data apply here, of 1, 2 or 3 at most. Continue reading Herald attempts to scare with UK health data on deaths among mothers

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Labour incompetence leads to 80% of operations cancelled

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From BBC Wales today: A health board has postponed 80% of planned operations as junior doctors in Wales prepare for three strike days. British Medical Association (BMA) members called it a last resort to stop more leaving due to pay erosion. Dr Emily Sams said they were offered less than England and Scotland, meaning they “don’t need to go halfway around the world to Australia for better pay”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-67950473 Here’s the bit in the report where the opposition parties in Wales accuse the Labour Government of failing, being incompetent and being responsible for deaths: ………….. Here’s the bit where Labour … Continue reading Labour incompetence leads to 80% of operations cancelled

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Is this why the Scottish Government wisely rejected catamaran project as two 20 year-old $460 million Canadian catamaran ferries go on Facebook Marketplace for only $15 million?!!

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On 1 May 2022, the Herald’s Ferry Correspondent, Martin Williams, announced: MINISTERS have been accused of a “scandalous” waste of over £110m  by failing to use catamarans instead of two new alternative lifeline vessels which are now being built in Turkey. This was the catamaran project: Ministers have come under fire as an £800m scheme to create a Clyde shipbuilding revolution and solve Scotland’s ferry crisis with a fleet of 50 catamarans has been sunk. Fronted by Stuart Ballantyne, a Scottish naval architect and chairman of Australian marine consulting firm Sea Transport Solutions whose designs are used in around 50 countries, the … Continue reading Is this why the Scottish Government wisely rejected catamaran project as two 20 year-old $460 million Canadian catamaran ferries go on Facebook Marketplace for only $15 million?!!

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Why are radioactivity in food safety standards in Japan up to 100 times more protective of consumers than they are in the UK?

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In the National, today, form the above SNP MP, Allan Dorans and extended and well-researched piece on the presence of radioactivity in seafood and larger mammals on the Ayrshire coast, resulting from leaks in the Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plan in Cumbria, just down the coast and subject to tidal flows. Here’s the chunk that most made me think: In 2016, researchers at Glasgow University reported ‘enhanced’ radioactivity levels, in shellfish catches, at a number of coastal locations in Cumbria, near the Sellafield plant, and on the west coast of Scotland, including the village of Maidens, in my Ayrshire constituency.[i] The … Continue reading Why are radioactivity in food safety standards in Japan up to 100 times more protective of consumers than they are in the UK?

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When pass rates fall in England the opposition parties don’t hear them

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Thanks to Brenda Robb for alerting me to this. From BBC UK today: The pass rate for GCSE maths resits in England has fallen, after more students had to take their exams again. November’s exam results show 22.9% of maths entries were marked at a grade 4, a standard pass, or above, down from 24.9% in 2022 and 26.9% in 2019. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-67937273 There are some things missing in the above report. First there’s no mention of the attainment gaps between the results for the most and least disadvantaged, an obsession with opposition politicians in Scotland because cynically they can use them … Continue reading When pass rates fall in England the opposition parties don’t hear them