Moving on from his previous campaigns to open the economy early, against the tide of scientific advice but using instead the views of individuals with with a vested interest in doing so, his latest takes the opportunity to join the playground chants suggesting that the SNP has failed to narrow the gap on attainment before comparing state and private responses based on one teacher working in the state sector while sending her children to a private school. First, on attainment, Cook relies on one source: The SNP says progress has been made but a report last month from public spending … Continue reading BBC Scotland’s James Cook’s research methods fail us all again

From SNP Media today: Following reports that the Labour party went as far as looking at moving borders to undermine support for Scottish independence, the SNP has said this shows neither the Tories nor the Labour party has ever had Scotland’s best interests at heart – and they never will. The Times revealed today that the Callaghan government plotted to move maritime borders to bring North Sea oil into “English waters” as part of a “clandestine publicity and propaganda” unit to counter the SNP – amid growing concern over the likelihood of an independent Scotland. The shadowy attempts to undermine … Continue reading Labour plotted to take Scotland’s North Sea oil

Mark Drakeford told BBC Radio 4’s Today on 8 April 2021: “I’ve always believed that if a party won an election in Wales with a referendum on independence in its manifesto then it would’ve won the right to hold such a referendum.”  Meanwhile in Scotland: From SNP Media today: The SNP today challenges Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar to explain why he refuses to respect Scottish democracy while his Welsh counterpart supports his country’s democratic right to choose independence. Welsh Labour leader and current First Minister Drakeford has said his party would support holding a referendum if pro-independence Plaid Cymru … Continue reading One rule for Wales, a different one for Scotland

Regulars here will have read more than once that Scotland has 50% more nurses per head of population than England. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-19-00620/ The Scottish Tory leader would not or could not say where £600 million of ‘efficiencies’ would be made to enable his proposed pay rises. From SNP Media today: The SNP has challenged Douglas Ross to “come clean” on which NHS Scotland frontline services would face the chop under Tory plans for £600million of cuts. Yesterday, the Scottish Tory leader admitted his party would make £600million of “efficiencies” cuts from “other parts of the NHS” to fund his manifesto commitments, … Continue reading Tory efficiencies equivalent to 15 000 fewer nurses in Scotland

I watched Channel 4’s special report from India. It was misleading, because India is experiencing far lower levels of infection and death than the UK did in January or over the whole pandemic: Cases are climbing fast in India but per head of population, the level remains far lower than in the UK or England in January 2021. Over the space of the year, the accumulated level of infection is even more notably lower: Deaths, even more so, are currently, not significantly higher at 0.1 per 100K in India and 0.04 per 100K in the UK. Over the space of … Continue reading UK Covid death rate 8 times higher than India

His words, ‘lagging behind.’ The facts: So, only Wales has done more, as they might after their mistakes and death rate, but Scotland ‘lags’ ahead of the UK, England and Northern Ireland? Continue reading Alex Cole-Hamilton fake news unchallenged by BBC Scotland

Regulars will know I’ve done this story in a BBC report already but the Herald version is even more farcical. Senior New Reporter, Martin Williams, tells us: Pub and restaurant owners are furious that “bombshell” guidance over social distancing indicates that they need to have 11 foot long tables. Leaving aside that it’s just one restaurant owner who clearly missed the Primary 5 Mathematics class on tessellation (tiling), our Furniture Correspondent, Margaret Robertson (91), suggests this admittedly highly complex solution: Will lone restauranteur, Carina Contini of Edinburgh, come back with: That’s all very well but where will I get staff … Continue reading FARCE! As our researcher finds solution to ‘non-existent’ 11ft tables

Minutes after Reporting Scotland staff have concluded their attempt to lay care home deaths at the door of the Scottish Government, the story is relegated, from top-left big, to bottom left small. From guidance that allegedly was not strict enough according to common sense, to guidance that pub and restaurant-owners declare to be too strict and not common sense. No internal coherence or consistency of logic or values is required by BBC editors, other than one criterion – is it SNPbad? If it is, it goes in. Wait, the BBC guidelines for editorial decisions require that they do not rely … Continue reading Does this show the enormity of the decisions those in power take?

Tory government guidance, 2 April 2020 – ‘negative tests are not required prior to transfers / admissions into the care home’ Long read – the perspectives you won’t get from BBC Scotland! By stewartb There continues to be much coverage regarding the Scottish Government’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic as it affected the vulnerable in care homes. There is a relentlessness in the negative commentary on this subject in the corporate media and the BBC, and by political opponents. Despite the research evidence referred to frequently here on Talking up Scotland, the chosen point of ‘attack’ is often the practice … Continue reading Long Read: The perspectives on Covid infections you won’t get from BBC Scotland!

In Reporting Scotland tonight, we hear: Andrew we’re in the middle of an election campaign and the whole care homes issue really does show the enormity of the decisions those in power take.….There is a huge burden of responsibility for those that seek office. Heavy is the head that wears the Crown. It doesn’t. It isn’t. The decisions to discharge from hospital into care homes were taken, in the interests of the patients, many of them traumatised there by dementia, by highly qualified medics in consultation with care home managers, skilled in the isolation of infected residents from decades of … Continue reading The biggest pack of lies ever from Reporting Scotland?