Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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‘Glasgow city centre is proving remarkably resilient after the recent fire’ and drop in footfall is part of a longer trend unconnected to the fire but BBC Scotland is hiding that from you for some reason today

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has dropped by a million since the fire near Central Station in March. Notably missing are the figures we need to see how big a percentage that 1million is and neither Glasgow Chamber of Commerce nor BBC Scotland have posted these. That’s very interesting because on 7th April the same BBC Scotland reporter, Jamie McIvor, told us this: Glasgow city centre is proving “remarkably resilient” after the recent fire in Union Street, according to new statistics. Glasgow Chamber of Commerce said the number of people in the city centre every day – including workers and shoppers – was back at … Continue reading ‘Glasgow city centre is proving remarkably resilient after the recent fire’ and drop in footfall is part of a longer trend unconnected to the fire but BBC Scotland is hiding that from you for some reason today

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NHS Scotland cancer treatment service now performing better than before pandemic and ahead of NHS England

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STV giving the 6th biggest, ie teeny, party, the Lib Dems, a platform for another of their attempts to mislead. No health service anywhere, meets waiting time targets like those the NHS across the UK imposes on itself – 95% on time. Anywhere I’ve read more on targets, in Europe and in North America or in Australia and New Zealand, I find the targets seen as aspirational and failure to hit them of little concern to media or opposition politicians. Here’s what the Lib Dems and STV are missing: NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic … Continue reading NHS Scotland cancer treatment service now performing better than before pandemic and ahead of NHS England

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A rape in Glasgow shocks as it should but a proper news service should tell you it’s an offence twice as common across even average places in England & Wales

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Any rape is shocking and utterly unacceptable but a rape in Glasgow, reported with no context, reinforces an outdated but deeply embedded stereotypical image of the city. BBC Reporting Scotland, based in Glasgow offered no explanatory context last night. Is rape an increasing offence and is it higher than the Scottish average. In the last 5 years, that seems to be true though several researchers put the increase down to more victims having the courage to come forward, better policing and historical cases being dealt with. From Recorded Crime in Scotland: year ending December 2025 Published 24 February 2026 Source: … Continue reading A rape in Glasgow shocks as it should but a proper news service should tell you it’s an offence twice as common across even average places in England & Wales

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Return of the Poseur – BMA Scotland’s Dr Iain Kennedy gets over BMA UK’s fondness for SNP Government’s respectful dealings which meant NO NHS strikes to dishonestly attack the SNP

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Iain Kennedy, GP PT, poses, POSES, with a stethoscope trying to remember when he last used it, reflected by himself posing again in the mirror. Kennedy, known for the Union Flag in his twitter account, has been missing recently, as his bosses in BMA UK have praised the SNP Government’s recent respectful dealings with their colleagues resulting in NO, NO NHS strikes.. He’s back today, in Scotland on Sunday with this: Reality? This one? This one? This one? This one? This one? Oh come on Iain. What don’t you like about these? Continue reading Return of the Poseur – BMA Scotland’s Dr Iain Kennedy gets over BMA UK’s fondness for SNP Government’s respectful dealings which meant NO NHS strikes to dishonestly attack the SNP

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As Ayr remembers the tens of thousands of Scots who died in the Battle of the Somme a reminder that ‘It can be said with certainty that men born in Scotland did suffer disproportionately more deaths during the First War’

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In the Ayr Advertiser today, the above and: From July 1-13, 140 silhouettes are being displayed in Wellington Square to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. 1 From the National Records of Scotland in January 2001: The Battle of the Somme was a mass allied offensive of the First World War by the British and French armies against the Germans. Conceived by General Haig, the prelude to the attack was a week-long bombardment of the German lines. Over 1.5 million shells were fired, in an attempt to destroy the German defences and allow the allied armies … Continue reading As Ayr remembers the tens of thousands of Scots who died in the Battle of the Somme a reminder that ‘It can be said with certainty that men born in Scotland did suffer disproportionately more deaths during the First War’

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‘Independent Scotland as foreign country could get no Royal Navy work’ argument is ‘blown out of the water’ as deadly enemy in two world wars buys UK company essential for Type 26 frigates

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Many thanks to reader rptscott for alerting me to this: From the UK Defence Journal, yesterday, only two years after the one above: German propulsion specialist RENK Group has entered into a binding agreement to acquire David Brown Defence, the Huddersfield-based manufacturer of gearboxes for the Type 26 frigate and other major naval programmes, from private equity firm Stellex Capital Management, the UK Defence Journal understands. The transaction, announced in London on 3 July, gives the Augsburg-headquartered group access to what it describes as high-value naval programmes across the Five Eyes nations. David Brown Defence supplies main propulsion transmission systems … Continue reading ‘Independent Scotland as foreign country could get no Royal Navy work’ argument is ‘blown out of the water’ as deadly enemy in two world wars buys UK company essential for Type 26 frigates

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Scotland’s Ross Kemp spots Blackshirts ‘on our streets’

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In the place where you can trust it to provide fake news, The Herald, another of Neil Mackay’s ‘Horrible Hyperbole‘ series, yesterday. I take the laughable graphic was done by the same guy who delights in wee girls in red running down dangerous alleyways clearly in Rochdale and sad wee rough-sleepers to represent weans in temporary accomodation. Neil writes: ‘It’s been a while now since the myth that Scotland was immune to racist and fascist extremism melted away. Once, we thought we were above all that; neo-Nazi thugs on the street was an English phenomenon, we naively believed So, around … Continue reading Scotland’s Ross Kemp spots Blackshirts ‘on our streets’

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When illegal drugs have been flooding across your border for more than 20 years you need to really toughen it up

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From Memorandum submitted by the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency (CS 1) submitted to the UK Parliament in May 2003! The great majority of Class A drugs enter Scotland across the English border, either as a result of secondary distribution in England or drugs destined for Scotland but smuggled through English ports. Crime groups make extensive use of the UK infrastructure, particularly the motorway networks. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200203/cmselect/cmsctech/911-i/3070102.htm From Police Scotland yesterday: From BBC Scotland in July 2020: Routes like the M74 (a key northbound motorway from England) are practically significant for enforcement. Police Scotland’s Organised Crime and Counter Terrorism Unit frequently conducts … Continue reading When illegal drugs have been flooding across your border for more than 20 years you need to really toughen it up

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How have we known for at least a decade that Scotland’s maternity services were not troubled like those in NHS England? More than three times per head, the cost of settling negligence lawsuits in NHS England

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In the Guardian 19 February 2026, the above and: The NHS will have to spend more money settling lawsuits involving negligence during childbirth after a supreme court ruling that lawyers said puts right a “historic injustice”. The court ruled on Wednesday that children in England who suffer catastrophic injuries while they are being born can claim damages for future earnings they would otherwise have had. The ruling on “lost years damages” means that children whose life expectancy is shortened can recover compensation for being unable to work. It comes amid mounting concern at the rising cost of medical negligence to the NHS in England – its liabilities have … Continue reading How have we known for at least a decade that Scotland’s maternity services were not troubled like those in NHS England? More than three times per head, the cost of settling negligence lawsuits in NHS England

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Patient sexually assaulted and killed in her bed, six staff jailed including surgeon for sexually assaulting five colleagues and a culture of systemic bullying and harassment in Blackpool hospital but neither health secretary nor government blamed and BBC ignore it – imagine that had been in Inverness?

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You could be forgiven for thinking that NHS England’s worries were confined to maternity services and to NHS Nottingham with its criminal police investigation labelled perversely ‘Operation Perth.’ After decades of centre-right, cost-cutting, government and unprotected by a centre-left SNP government, protecting public services from the worst of austerity politics, all public services in England are struggling badly and to a greater extent than, as TuS reveals on a daily basis, their equivalents in Scotland. The above claim can be checked by searching here: Just type in ‘NHS’ or ‘waiting’ or ‘crime’ or…………… On 4 December 2025, we reported an … Continue reading Patient sexually assaulted and killed in her bed, six staff jailed including surgeon for sexually assaulting five colleagues and a culture of systemic bullying and harassment in Blackpool hospital but neither health secretary nor government blamed and BBC ignore it – imagine that had been in Inverness?