Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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New Zealand’s ‘catastrophic’ ferry service may be worse than CalMac judging by Mull councillors silence these days

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Today in the NZ Herald: Another fault with a Cook Strait Interislander ferry is being investigated after the vessel experienced an engine issue at sea today. The engine issue is the latest in a string of faults experienced by the increasingly unreliable and ageing Interislander fleet. In November last year, sailings for Kaiarahi were cancelled after a large hole was ripped in the hull of the boat. Wellington harbourmaster Grant Nalder said at the time the hole above the waterline in the Interislander ferry looked “quite dramatic”. “You can actually see through to the other side of the ship.” In a … Continue reading New Zealand’s ‘catastrophic’ ferry service may be worse than CalMac judging by Mull councillors silence these days

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Labour MP claims ‘UK’ has 50% of Europe’s tidal energy – will he be mocked for dodgy statistics

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Readers may remember Andrew Neil in the Express mocking a claim in a National headline which had mistakenly left out the word ‘stream’ from ‘Scotland has more tidal power capacity than the rest of the world combined’ There was a bit of a pile-on, as expected. I clarified the claim here: Yesterday in the House of Commons, Mick Whitely (Lab) claimed: The UK, more than any other country in the world, is uniquely positioned to harness the power of its tides. Ten per cent of the world’s tidal resources, and half of Europe’s, are found in Britain.  Tidal Range Energy Generation … Continue reading Labour MP claims ‘UK’ has 50% of Europe’s tidal energy – will he be mocked for dodgy statistics

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7 years after the evidence and 4 years after the SNP call for them ‘UK’ researchers find that safe consumption areas work

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In the Guardian today: Thousands of lives could be saved if safe rooms were set up in UK cities where people could be supervised while they get high, the world’s largest review of the effectiveness of drug-consumption rooms and overdose-prevention centres (OPCs) has found. “OPCs can help save lives in an urgent and growing drug-death crisis in the UK,” said Dr Gillian Shorter, reader in psychology at Queen’s University Belfast, who worked with academics at the universities of Oxford, Kent, East Anglia, West London and Bristol on the study.  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/jan/11/drug-consumption-rooms-could-save-thousands-of-uk-lives-study-finds No Scottish researchers despite the Scottish Government having called for … Continue reading 7 years after the evidence and 4 years after the SNP call for them ‘UK’ researchers find that safe consumption areas work

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NHS Scotland staffed and equipped for 98% of operations to be done on time despite major increases

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From Public Health Scotland yesterday: The number of planned operations has been steadily increasing since pandemic restrictions first affected provision of services in March 2020. In the 12 months to November 2023, there was a 11.3% increase in the number of planned operations compared to the previous 12 months. This compares to a 16.8% year-on-year increase when comparing year ending November 2022 to year ending November 2021.  Of all planned operations during November 2023 in NHSScotland, 820 (3.2%) were cancelled by the hospital based on clinical reasons, 737 (2.8%) were cancelled by the patient, 582 (2.2%) were cancelled by the … Continue reading NHS Scotland staffed and equipped for 98% of operations to be done on time despite major increases

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Poisoned Waters: The War Between BC Ferries in Canada and its workers but in Scotland….

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From the Penticton Herald, today: A four-letter expletive ended talks aimed at bringing peace between BC Ferries and its union — and better service for travellers. It was Nov. 28, and union leader Eric McNeely had just logged in to a video conference call with two company executives. The stakes were high. The company and the union had accused each other of intransigence and lying in a series of memos to employees. The meeting ended badly. McNeely said he left the call after Dean Dobrinsky, the corporation’s executive director of labour relations, told him and another union official to “just … Continue reading Poisoned Waters: The War Between BC Ferries in Canada and its workers but in Scotland….

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Does BBC refuse to release viewing figures for Reporting Scotland because they’re even worse than we’d guess?

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The response to my FoI requesting the viewing figures for Reporting Scotland, below. Note that they freely tell us the tiny figures for the Seven and the Nine, broadcast only in Scotland, on the BBC Scotland channel. What are they hiding? I think we know. British Broadcasting Corporation Information RightsWogan House, 99 Great Portland Street, London, W1W 7NY bbc.co.uk/foifoi@bbc.co.uk John Robertson10 January 2024 Dear John,Freedom of Information Request – RFI20231614 Thank you for your request to the BBC dated 16 December 2023 seeking thefollowing information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (‘the Act’):“Please provide me with the annual viewing … Continue reading Does BBC refuse to release viewing figures for Reporting Scotland because they’re even worse than we’d guess?

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Will my crime be solved? In Scotland, there’s a chance but not elsewhere in Britain

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..Clear-up and charging rates in Scotland and Northern Ireland have stayed broadly the same and so have (sic) the number of recorded crimes The above brief mention of Scotland in the above Panorama broadcast last night has not been picked by any of Scotland’s media including BBC Scotland who, you might think, speak to their buddies at Panorama. BBC Scotland’s Disclosure team, the equivalent show to Panorama seem to be too chicken for this kind of thing, preferring in the past to follow the wrong lorry of calves they thought was travelling to France for slaughter or shortages of pan drops … Continue reading Will my crime be solved? In Scotland, there’s a chance but not elsewhere in Britain

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Mistakes and ‘mafia-like’ culture at Sussex NHS Trust but it’s not the Health Secretary’s concern

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Again, imagine this was in Scotland? Imagine ‘our’ media hounds on this? Last night, BBC Newsnight revisited their story from 29 November 2023 in the light of new whistle-blowers coming to them. Here are the key points from the Patient Safety Hub, the next day: Summary The first 14 minutes of this programme are focused on a Newsnight investigation into allegations of cover-up, avoidable harm and patient deaths relating to University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. At the time of broadcast, Sussex Police were investigating 105 claims of alleged medical negligence at the Trust. Content This programme features: Simon Chilcott, speaking about the death of … Continue reading Mistakes and ‘mafia-like’ culture at Sussex NHS Trust but it’s not the Health Secretary’s concern

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Post Office Scandal – Just one more result of the Labour PFI curse

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By Frances McKie The Post Office Scandal has surely cast terrible doubt on the UK Justice System. Without open, determined,  legal action against the lies, persecutions, blackmail and silencing of the victims, it will be very hard to restore public trust. Furthermore, before the public inquiry  into the lethal consequences of the Fujitsu Horizon  contract  comes to an end, it is vital that  Gordon Brown , Tony Blair,  Hilary Armstrong and  all those associated with the imposition of  PFI  contracts on vital public services throughout the UK are required to give an account of their responsibility, under oath . This … Continue reading Post Office Scandal – Just one more result of the Labour PFI curse

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‘Exposing Scotland to risk’ – Some reflections on the devolved fiscal settlement

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By Alasdair Galloway Once Scotland took powers over income tax a settlement with the UK became necessary for several practical reasons There would be a diminution of income tax coming from Scotland to the UK. Which would require a cut in the block grant to reflect the revenue collected by the Scottish Government itself with Scottish income tax. The problem is that settling the amount of income tax raised is not possible by the end of the tax year. Thus there has to be an estimate for any year as the actual figure won’t be known. This is done by, … Continue reading ‘Exposing Scotland to risk’ – Some reflections on the devolved fiscal settlement