Author: johnrobertson834

Retired Professor of Media Politics Not-for-profit independent political analysis
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‘Almost a decade after Grenfell’ and six Scottish tower block fires contained on one floor, every flat is safe here

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BBC Scotland, today, repeating the same misunderstanding. Impressively titled but otherwise not so much, Angus Cochrane ‘Senior political journalist, BBC Scotland‘, has not thought to look a the history of tower block fires in Scotland, building and inspection standards, before and after Grenfell, to see if, in the very country in which he lives, that might be informative. His report is a passive acceptance of the views of one unqualified person. Here it is the actual evidence again. First, for the time-pressed a short video: Second, the full story with sources: Scotland’s SIXTH tower block fire contained on one-floor further … Continue reading ‘Almost a decade after Grenfell’ and six Scottish tower block fires contained on one floor, every flat is safe here

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How can violent crime by children and adolescents fall so much in last 20 years yet school violence be increasing?

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There’s a constant narrative across all of of the media in Scotland that won’t go away and that is being ramped up in the hope that it might save Anas Sarwar in May. I’m not for a minute saying that violence in schools is not a serious problem which has to be dealt with and I’m agreeing fully that teaching can be a very challenging job but the idea that it is increasing dramatically trigger cognitive dissonance. Why? It’s in my title question. We don’t have any hard evidence of increasing violence in schools, only mostly anecdotal accounts. Again, I’m … Continue reading How can violent crime by children and adolescents fall so much in last 20 years yet school violence be increasing?

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Corridor care shocking 4 times as common in Labour Wales than in SNP Scotland to cast serious doubt on whether Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie could cope as Health Secretary

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From ITV News at 6.30pm tonight based on their own survey: A special report on the corridor care crisis in Wales where it appears to be more common than in anywhere else in the UK. 89 000 treated in corridors in one health trust. and on their website: It comes as new figures reveal almost 89,000 patients were treated in corridors or other non-clinical environments between 2022 and the end of October 2025 in hospitals run by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board. In February this year, an undercover investigation by the S4C current affairs programme Y Byd ar Bedwar filmed dozens of … Continue reading Corridor care shocking 4 times as common in Labour Wales than in SNP Scotland to cast serious doubt on whether Scottish Labour’s Jackie Baillie could cope as Health Secretary

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Higher meningitis vaccine uptake in Scotland at 94.3% by 12 months should reduce infection significantly according to Lancet research report

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. On BBC News at 6 tonight reporting on the Meningitis deaths in Kent, we were surprised to see the above figure of only 90% having had the Meningitis B vaccine by 5 years-old. Why do I say only? From Public Health Scotland’s Childhood immunisation statistics Scotland Quarter ending 30 September 2025 [latest data]: Uptake for children aged 12 months old was: Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) (95.5%), 6-in-1 (94.3%), MenB (94.3%), Rotavirus (92.2%). https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland/childhood-immunisation-statistics-scotland-quarter-ending-30-september-2025/ 94.3% by 12 months in Scotland and only 90% by 5 years in England? Worrying? The World Health Organization … Continue reading Higher meningitis vaccine uptake in Scotland at 94.3% by 12 months should reduce infection significantly according to Lancet research report

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Ayr Conservatives are living in the pre-Truss past and will be lucky to come in 3rd – Only the SNP can keep those monsters, Reform UK, out!

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They did come close in 2021, but the Scottish Conservatives after Liz Truss, whom Sharon Dowey, above, supported enthusiastically, and now facing a near extinction event in May, are so far behind that their claim above is frankly laughable. Things have changed. Look at all the opinion polls since the beginning of 2026. At best, they’re coming in 4th, 25 points behind the SNP. In two of the polls, they’re even 5th, behind the Lib Dems or the Greens! Now I know there are local variations but in the Ipsos poll in 25 February, in the South Scotland region, they … Continue reading Ayr Conservatives are living in the pre-Truss past and will be lucky to come in 3rd – Only the SNP can keep those monsters, Reform UK, out!

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Clydebank Hospital applauded for phenomenal 30% increase in knee and hip ops in just one year

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From the NHS Jubilee today NHS Golden Jubilee has officially become the largest centre for hip and knee replacements in the United Kingdom, marking a major milestone in the delivery of orthopaedic care across NHS Scotland. In the period from 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2025, NHS Golden Jubilee performed 4,308 hip and knee replacements, surpassing all other UK centres in Britain during that period, according to official data from the National Joint Registry (NJR). This represented a 29.6% increase in procedures compared to the previous year (3,323 in 2023/24), reflecting the hospital’s commitment to expanding capacity and reducing … Continue reading Clydebank Hospital applauded for phenomenal 30% increase in knee and hip ops in just one year

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Despite training almost twice as many doctors per head as England, NHS Scotland still retains a higher percentage but BBC Scotland find one lost in Australia

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BBC Scotland‘s insert in BBC Breakfast this morning had the above and online – https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp854pn5meno The bad news was the suggestion that resident doctors in Scotland, despite having settled a pay and conditions deal, unique in the UK, are unhappy and planning to leave the country in numbers. You have to wonder where they got Mike, above, from, and who he is related to/connected to in Scottish Labour. Is there any basis for worrying about this in Scotland as opposed to in England? In Scotland, 22% of doctors reported considering moving to practice abroad, which is lower than the UK … Continue reading Despite training almost twice as many doctors per head as England, NHS Scotland still retains a higher percentage but BBC Scotland find one lost in Australia

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BBC Radio 4 Today on school leaver destinations ignores Scotland’s 96% success rate and England’s 40% higher youth unemployment

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Thanks to Frances McKie, once more for noting and researching this one. BBC Radio 4 Today this morning have been discussing today, the GOV.UK publication of: A major youth employment drive backed by £1 billion will help create 200,000 jobs for young people, alongside the biggest transformation of apprenticeships in a decade. It comes as apprenticeships starts amongst young people are down 40 percent in the last decade and almost one million young people are not earning or learning – a rise of 248,000 between 2021-2024. To be announced today (Monday) in a speech by Work and Pensions Secretary Pat … Continue reading BBC Radio 4 Today on school leaver destinations ignores Scotland’s 96% success rate and England’s 40% higher youth unemployment

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UK Government reserved powers mean Scottish taxpayer will pay £120 million to keep Scunthorpe steel furnaces open

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In the Guardian today: Taxpayer bill for saving Scunthorpe steel furnaces could top £1.5bn by 2028, auditor says – National Audit Office highlights benefits of state rescue for jobs and orders but warns of continuing high cost. The cost of keeping the UK’s last remaining blast furnaces going at British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant could exceed £1.5bn by 2028 if it continues at its current rate, according to the government’s spending watchdog. Ministers took the plant into public control in April last year, after its Chinese owner – industrial firm Jingye – threatened to shut down the loss-making site. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2026/mar/16/taxpayer-bill-for-saving-scunthorpe-steel-furnaces-could-top-15bn-by-2028-auditor-says Will Scots have … Continue reading UK Government reserved powers mean Scottish taxpayer will pay £120 million to keep Scunthorpe steel furnaces open