Once more BBC Scotland hides the facts in an attempt to put the viewer on the side of the ASLEF members and against Scotrail who run the system on behalf of the Scottish Government. Why is there no reporting or discussion of their 10% claim and whether or not that is reasonable? Why is this context not offered? ScotRail drivers typically earn more than £50,000 a year and a 2.2% pay increase was offered, with the opportunity to take part in a revenue share agreement, which would take the total package to 5%. https://www.insider.co.uk/news/scotrail-boss-says-train-driver-27039221 The total offer is 5% for … Continue reading 10% claim on salaries greater than £50 000!

On BBC Scotland this morning at 07:30 and throughout the morning, Scotland’s drug deaths are still being trumpeted as ‘record‘ despite haven fallen in 2020 and 2021 and expected to fall further in 2022, as the lost generation of Thatcher’s children disappear from the data and as younger Scots become far less likely to die. 10 days ago, we were able to report: Scotland’s drug death figures were largely a product of the effects of Thatcherite economic polices in the 80s and that as that generation died tragic early deaths, as a result of overdoses and their ruined bodies, the … Continue reading Hanging onto Scotland’s drug deaths

By stewartb Perhaps you too missed the news coverage of a recent announcement concerning Scotland’s higher education sector. This relates to a publication on 17 May by the Scottish Funding Council on widening access to universities and colleges. Some key findings are summarised in the table below, from the SFC report. (CE = care experienced; COWA = Commission on Widening Access; MD20 = Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation, most deprived quintile) It shows that: in 2020-21, 16.7% of all Scottish-domiciled full-time first-degree entrants were from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland – up 3 percentage points since 2013-14, a … Continue reading Widening access to higher education – Scotland’s progress

In the Herald today: More than 8,000 A&E patients were forced to wait over four hours to be seen last week, according to the latest figures.  The statistics, published by Public Health Scotland statistics on Tuesday, revealed that 70.2 per cent of those who attended emergency departments in the week up to May 15 were seen in less than four hours. The Scottish Conservatives described the statistics as ‘atrocious’ while Labour said the Government risked ‘normalising chaos.’ https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/20161102.thousands-waiting-four-hours-seen-e/ There are no comparisons with the equivalent data for NHS England. NHS England doesn’t release weekly figures but the March monthly data is available. … Continue reading Scotland’s emergency services 22% better

By stewartb Oh dear, not PISA again? This supposed hammer blow to the SNP government and to the credibility of Scotland’s school system is becoming tiresome – and the claims based solely on it are just plain wrong and for lots of reasons. The claims are IMHO often driven by a political agenda. I venture the alarmist claims also run counter to most parents’/carers’ and school students’ direct experience of our schools. Could Scottish education be better? Of course – it would be daft to deny this for any education system as it would to deny it for any area … Continue reading Oh dear, not PISA again?

Only 10 years ago, the RMT leader in the Express and the Daily Mail. His death at only 52 was put down, by some, as partly due to endless media hostility and intrusion. Who is the ASLEF leader in the current dispute with Scotrail? It’s Kevin Lindsay. That’s him. See him much in media coverage? You’re more likely to see the First Minister: The saturation daily coverage of the pay dispute which is not even a strike yet with images of SNP politicians rather than ASLEF or even Scotrail reps, is classic media war by proxy. Glasgow University research in … Continue reading Rail Unions: From ‘most hated’ to useful against the SNP

The BBC reports carefully focus on the cuts, hide ASLEFs claim and omit to give Scotrail’s reaction to the claim. What is the actual ASLEF Here it is: Why does the BBC coverage omit this important fact and the Scotrail reaction to it? Because it might shift the reader into siding with them and by association the Scottish Government? In contrast with the above article in Insider, BBC Scotland take ASLEF’s side: ScotRail and the train drivers’ union Aslef have said they will return to talks in an ongoing dispute over pay. About 700 daily services were cut on Monday … Continue reading Hiding the facts to politicise the dispute

Scotland on Sunday headlines research from Keele University hypothesising significant public disorder due to the breakdown of the social contract beginning with the Dominic Cummings case and exacerbated by the PM’s apparent escape from punishment. This is just another attempt by those of a Unionist disposition to make Scots think they are no different from England and to predict social unrest against the popular Scottish Government regardless of a lack of meaningful evidence. We know from previous experience that the Scottish Government, unlike the Conservative UK Government, will act to mitigate the worst of the consequences of the cost-of-living crisis. … Continue reading There will be no ‘significant civic disorder’ in Scotland

Herald writers at work. Above, the First Minister, not the Transport Minister, not the Chief Exec of Scotrail and not the ASLEF union leader, is identified as the person somehow to blame for the cuts made due to industrial action by union members. The Herald’s leading stories (note correct use of apostrophe unlike above) feature the FM pictured three times, the railways twice and the ferries again. Two days ago, we had this headline story: And two days before that, this one: I said my bit about the demonisation of SNP leaders there: Continue reading Herald’s feeding frenzy on First Minister