See that wee ‘ah but‘ there? The message for us, once more, is ‘don’t go thinking things are better here.‘ Where does the message come from? It’s Mike Tipton of the Physiological Society (not a meteorologist): Mike Tipton, the society’s group co-ordinator, said although Scotland is not affected by heatwaves now, this will change over time – and people should be prepared. He said: “The likelihood is that these will spread over more of the UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61838517 Just how northern Britain will somehow get out of its current geographical location, exposed to life-saving North Atlantic blasts is not explained. Mike … Continue reading Reporting Scotland weather presenter on heatwaves- ‘There will still be a marked difference between Scotland and England’

From STV News today: The number of youngsters under the age of 18 jailed at Scotland’s main young offenders institution has fallen to a record low. There are now 150 people imprisoned at Polmont, near Falkirk, and only 12 of them are under the age of 18, according to figures from the Scottish Prison Service. A decade ago, there was (sic) 800 youngsters at Polmont. Alternatives to custody such as electronic monitoring means a significant number of offenders under the age of 21 are now accommodated within society. As part of its commitment to improving the lives of care experienced … Continue reading Massive reduction in young people imprisoned under SNP

By Alasdair Galloway Where now for the good ship indyref2? Today the Westminster Government have lodged papers with the UK Supreme Court urging it to refuse to hear the request by the Lord Advocate concerning the lawfulness, or not, of the proposed Referendum Bill that the Scottish Government want to put into Holyrood. Not surprisingly a good deal of Westminster’s case is that the Scottish Parliament lacks the power to hold a referendum without a S30 Order. However, they have gone further, asking the Supreme Court not to hear the Lord Advocate’s request, as, it argues, the Bill is presently … Continue reading Does Scotland have to become ungovernable to secure independence?

By stewartb The BBC’s newly appointed political editor Chris Mason recently wrote an article for the Corporation’s news website under the headline ‘Political landscape being re-shaped before our eyes’. And indeed it is. As we spectate, the ‘re-shaping’ is once more BEING DONE TO Scotland: before our eyes is the suppression of our democracy. From the sideline that is North Britain, the internal machinations of the Tory Party are selecting the UK’s Prime Minister from candidates lining up to flaunt their ‘Muscular Unionism’. In TV interviews they pluck, seemingly casually, numbers from the air regarding when a Westminster government might … Continue reading The Old Suppressionists – Tory candidates for PM show off their ‘Muscular Unionism’

in poverty according to research by the End Child Poverty Coalition. From BBC Scotland this morning and throughout the day on a drip, the above story from an activist group. I wrote only yesterday: We see regularly, on BBC Scotland, that Scotland has the most drug deaths in Europe or the most Covid cases or, today: ‘Scottish bank branch closures highest in UK‘. As you know, we never hear that our A&E service is the best in the UK, that we have more hospital beds and nurses than the others or that crime is far lower than in England & … Continue reading Scotland’s lower child poverty must be concealed

Making her fifth appearance in a Herald headline story as the face of the industrial action on the rails, the First Minister is used to help the once-half decent rag win the 2022 Misrepresentation of the Facts award. That headline is very special in its combined stupidity and mendacity. Who, in their right mind, thought you might have an immediate return to normality? Who has ever suggested there could be? It’s just another sad ‘ah but‘ from these masters of the Scottish Cringe and another desperately lazy attempt to blame the FM while ignoring the roles of the UK unions … Continue reading Five times wrong

We see regularly, on BBC Scotland, that Scotland has the most drug deaths in Europe or the most Covid cases or, today: ‘Scottish bank branch closures highest in UK‘ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-62120998 As you know, we never hear that our A&E service is the best in the UK, that we have more hospital beds and nurses than the others or that crime is far lower than in England & Wales. Today, BBC Scotland tells us that Aslef have settled their dispute with Scotrail but use the opportunity only to repeat the tales of football and music fans inconvenienced and tell us nothing … Continue reading Comparing Scotland with England but only when it hurts Scotland’s image of itself

By stewartb Smaller Western democracies have been demonstrating once again their capacity, capability and willingness to make substantial contributions to the international community. This time it is in supporting Ukraine following the Russian invasion. Governments of different countries are opting to make distinctive contributions, in type and scale. Decisions are being taken in accordance with longstanding close alignments or otherwise with major powers or multi-national alliances; the size of domestic economies; the nature of domestic military capability; perceived future threat to national security; and also basic principles and values.  No doubt contributions may also have been influenced by immediate, domestic … Continue reading Smaller European countries and their support for Ukraine