Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Sobering feedback that? I know, TuS gets lots of kindly and encouraging words but only 1 in 100 rate it worth even £1. 14 937 discrete visitors in February 2026 but only 139 make a contribution to the crowd funder, 0.9%, less than 1 in a 100? I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t wonder, what I’m doing here. 7 days a weeks, 340 days, 1 700 hours, a year, 5-7 posts a day to earn, at 74 with all my qualies, less than £1 an hour. don’t tell my wife! If … Continue reading Since the crowdfunder started only 9 days ago, nearly 15 thousand distinct readers at Talking-up Scotland but fewer than 1 in a 100 felt it was worth a contribution?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In BBC Scotland‘s short insert in BBC Breakfast, several times this morning: Hospice leaders say Scotland must must address a severe shortage of end-of-life care for those living with terminal illnesses in rural communities. Next month MSPs face a final vote on assisted dying legislation but the debate has raised concerns that those without access to good palliative care might instead choose assisted death. The Scottish Government has… For those of us regularly monitoring BBC Scotland, that linking of negative news to the Scottish Government is common and this is another of … Continue reading Assisted dying – Rural hospice staff shortages for palliative care will be UK Labour Government’s responsibility but BBC Scotland try to pass it on to Holyrood

a basic decent standard, and the pace of improving them is far too slow, according to a group of MPs…….The Government said it was taking action to drive up… Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. BBC Breakfast today, on the condition of social housing in England. They don’t mention any survey results on tenant satisfaction which might help us grasp the scale of the problem. According to a 2025 survey by the UK Government, the overall service satisfaction is around 76%, with repairs at 74% and fairness/respect at 78%.1 According to a survey by the Scottish Government’s Housing … Continue reading Social housing satisfaction levels 12% higher in Scotland as crisis strikes England

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. The Times in 2009 noting the closeness of PM Brown and his Business Minister. In comments reported by The Times, Brown stated: “Peter is doing an excellent job. He has shown it was a good decision to invite him to come back from Brussels and join the Government.” He added: “We are working together in a common cause.” https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/gordon-brown-praises-lord-mandelson-the-man-who-saved-his-skin-ljmnb7xz2xj The previous year, in the Guardian: Peter Mandelson yesterday buried the threat of a Blairite coup against Gordon Brown, declaring he was ‘joined at the hip’ to the Prime Minister, who would lead … Continue reading ‘Intelligence would have briefed No. 10 on vulnerabilities’ – It’s not just Starmer, Brown was the same – Arrogant Labour elites have always had different rules for their own no matter the offence or the risk for the rest of us

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In the Guardian and other UK media today: UK’s ‘unsung army’ of full-time unpaid carers needs more support, report says – Resolution Foundation finds one in three carers from poorer families unable to work because of responsibilities. A growing “unsung army” of 1 million people with full-time caring responsibilities needs better support, according to a report that found one in three unpaid carers from poorer backgrounds were unable to work because of their duties. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/feb/08/full-time-unpaid-carers-support-resolution-foundation-report In the original report but getting no media coverage: Although Carer’s Allowance cannot compensate for the true … Continue reading Selective media reading of research report to hide Scotland’s stronger support for unpaid carers

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. BBC UK have been reporting 517 incidents of fly tipping, 11 of them ‘super-sites’ like the one above, in England. BBC Scotland, Scottish Labour and other media, you can be sure, have been scouring the country for something they can use to confirm that things are just as bad here. Nothing so far. Could this be why? So a major increase in interventions by police and Sepa inspectors in one year? Newsworthy but not for them? Comparisons with England where all 11 super-sites are? I’ll do the last bullet point first. Scotland’s … Continue reading Why there are no fly-tipping ‘super-sites’ for Scottish media to report – more than twice the level of inspection