From ‘AI-enhanced’ Policy Mogul today: The House of Commons Energy Security and Net Zero Committee has heard estimates that there were 4,706 excess winter deaths in 2022/23 caused by living in a cold home in England, Scotland, and Wales. A report from the Warm This Winter campaign shows that on half of the key measures to tackle the energy bills crisis, the government is making no progress. On one measure, the government has actually gone backwards by increasing reliance on expensive fossil fuels. Evidence suggests that a new class system based on access to energy is emerging in Britain, with … Continue reading Winter 2026 – A Labour win will only ensure at least 500 excess winter deaths caused by cold homes

STV, the National, Herald and Insider have this but BBC Scotland are off on a grouse shoot today. Recently, we’ve seen them hide Kezia Dugdale’s drift toward independence, Labour Party paedophiles and misogynists and the UK Labour Party utterly humiliating their Scottish branch members with orders to u-turn on progressive social policies. Today, see this: Scotland’s energy minister Gillian Martin will this week lead a trade delegation to Denmark, the Scottish Government has announced. Martin will be in Copenhagen to tout the country’s renewable sector in meetings with the Danish Parliament’s Climate, Energy and Supply Committee, the country’s energy agency … Continue reading STV over BBC again as SNP Government acts to strengthen energy links with Denmark but is ignored by Reporting Scotland Down

The Starmer Party candidate above in the Times, where else, with London Labour lies. Here’s the truth about their council tax costs: And another truth: It was the local Labour-led council [South Lanarkshire, Joe Fagan] that increased council tax by 5.5% this year. In Holyrood, Labour voted with the government on income tax rates for this year, their spokesperson stating, “I am pleased to see the proposals being made” and noting “the measures are progressive.” Tom Arthur https://twitter.com/ThomasCArthur/status/1700896348793450905?t=xzDeBueKnUbi-FjkFS6fOA&s=03 Continue reading Rutherglen and Hamilton West voters need to know the truth of their council tax, the lowest in Britain by a mile and how Labour hiked it

By stewartb The BBC is promoting an upcoming three part series called the State of Chaos presented by Laura Keunssberg (first part on BBC 2,  11 September at 21:00). Now I’m really not inclined to promote any BBC output on news and current affairs but there’s something quite ‘sweet’ in the article Ms Kuenssberg has written to give a sense of what to expect from her series. (See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66755345) Given the author – a former BBC political editor undoubtedly sympathetic to and perhaps even an apologist in the past for the UK/Westminster political establishment and reputably to Tory governments too … Continue reading Kuenssberg – yes that Ms Kuenssberg – points to the ‘chaotic, high-stakes soap opera’ of UK government!

The BC Ferries MV Queen of Alberni, above, in 2020. Yesterday, we see: Multiple cancellations set for the next few weeks between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, starting Sunday. According to BC Ferries, the cancellations are because the Queen of Alberni ferry will be used for service on the Duke Point to Tsawwassen route, while the Coastal Renaissance is being repaired. As a result, 27 sailings between Vancouver and the Sunshine Coast will be cancelled, starting with tomorrow’s sailing departing Horseshoe Bay at 3:20 p.m. https://www.mycoastnow.com/72584/featured/27-sailings-cancelled-from-horsehoe-bay-to-langdale-over-the-coming-weeks/ The population of Vancouver is 675 218, comparable to Glasgow’s 635 130. The Sunshine coast … Continue reading Canadian ferry operator forced to shuffle one 47 year-old ferry to serve population the size of Glasgow

Campaigner Laura Young was interviewed by the National yesterday: Young, who is studying for a PhD looking at climate resilience, said she has been astounded at the speed Government officials have committed to act on the problem. But she admitted she fears any Scottish attempt to prohibit the sale of disposable vapes could hit the buffers because of the UK Government’s recent record of blocking the Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) via the Internal Market Act. https://www.thenational.scot/news/23776866.fears-uk-government-block-disposable-vape-ban-scotland/ What could motivate the Tories to do this? The Conservatives have defended accepting a donation from the chief executive of a company accused of … Continue reading What could motivate the Tories to block the Scots vape ban?

I won’t be reading Sandesh Gulhane’s comments but I feel sure this evidence will be absent: 95.4% of the Scottish population were registered with an NHS dentist as at 30 September 2022. Nearly all adults living in the most deprived areas were registered with an NHS dentist in September 2022, compared to 91.9% in the least deprived areas. https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/dental-statistics-registration-and-participation/dental-statistics-nhs-registration-and-participation-24-january-2023/ Meanwhile in England: Thousands of children in England facing ‘heartbreaking’ waits for NHS dental care https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jul/19/thousands-of-children-in-england-facing-heartbreaking-waits-for-nhs-dental-care The Scottish government said that more than 95% of the population were registered with an NHS dentist. It added that the dental workforce in Scotland (54 dentists per … Continue reading SNP ensures 29% more dentists, 95% registered with NHS dentist and 99% in deprived areas

On 3 May 2019, from Unite: Unite, the UK and Ireland’s largest union, has written to the new defence secretary Penny Mordaunt urging her to take action in the Sea King asbestos scandal. This follows a new Freedom of Information release has revealed that the MoD’s records show that on at least 100 occasions workers had been exposed to asbestos. Last year it was revealed that thousands of workers who undertook maintenance on the Sea King helicopter between 1969 and 2018, when it was decommissioned could have been exposed to asbestos. The MoD has been forced to finally admit that … Continue reading Penny Mordaunt did nothing about ‘Victorian’ conditions risking workers’ lives

According to the above FT report: Less than three-quarters of England’s 424 bathing sites are deemed to be of excellent quality, according to England’s Environment Agency data. This contrasts with some of Europe’s stronger performers in terms of the number and quality of bathing sites, such as Greece, Denmark and Germany. All three countries have at least 1,000 bathing sites with at least 90 per cent granted “excellent” status, according to figures from the EU’s European Environment Agency. https://www.ft.com/content/c2ad7745-090d-4163-b7f8-86942189f255 Scotland has 89 officially designated bathing sites. In 2023 so far only 1 (Ayr South) has had a ‘poor rating.’ All … Continue reading Scotland has twice the number of clean officially designated bathing sites