Much is being made of an earlier YouGov poll, still not available for scrutiny, suggesting major SNP Westminster losses. It will be interesting to see how the above today, from IpsosScot, for 15-21 May 2023, is reacted to, if at all. It comes as the latest in a trend suggestion SNP consolidation, perhaps recovery, and Labour stagnation with resulting, at best, minor gains for Labour in 2024: Also, interesting regarding SNP resilience for the future: Continue reading Latest poll suggests recovering SNP will lose few seats as Labour stagnates

From Global Witness yesterday: In March, Shell released its annual country payments, showing that the UK received £15 million in taxes and fees from the company in 2022. This placed the UK 20th out of the 25 countries Shell paid tax to.   That’s 22p per citizen, and 430 times less than Shell paid Norway (£6.3 billion). This despite the fact that Shell doesn’t report any oil production at all in Norway, and only produces 2.5 times more gas in Norway than it does in the UK.   The UK’s windfall tax clearly isn’t working, and is undermined by a series of … Continue reading Why does Shell pay the UK 430 times less tax than it does to Norway?

John Boothman, was moved aside from Head of News in 2015, after bullying Zoe MacDonald, a camerawoman. He was/is married to Susan Deacon, a former Labour MSP and Health Minister at Holyrood and is said to have offered media training to Labour Party wannabe politicians.  Now a regular gammon with the Times, kind of like Macwhirter at the Spectator, here he is today: The SNP could be facing a political graveyard where its seats disappear at next year’s general election. Every Westminster constituency in an area that includes Glasgow and almost all of Lanarkshire is now at risk of becoming a … Continue reading Former BBC Scotland Head of News still punting for Labour with evidence-free prediction of ‘SNP wipeout’

In the Guardian yesterday: A 58-year-old woman died alone curled up in a blanket on the floor of her bedroom as she waited more than five hours for an ambulance. Relatives of Rachel Rose Gibson believe she had a heart attack at her home in Wrexham, north Wales, only a short drive away from a hospital, but died before an ambulance reached her.The Welsh ambulance service said that on the day Gibson died, its crews spent more than 700 hours waiting outside hospitals for patients to be admitted, which meant they could not respond quickly to people needing help. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/may/22/woman-died-home-waiting-over-five-hours-ambulance-wales#:~:text=A%2058%2Dyear%2Dold%20woman,before%20an%20ambulance%20reached%20her. No … Continue reading Welsh Health Secretary not asked about woman who died on floor after waiting over five hours for ambulance

New Scilly ferries?  – in service by 2024, then by 2025 and now a date cannot be given  – and tender not issued yet! By stewartb I see that the Westminster government is soon to convene the second meeting of its ‘Islands Forum’. It will be held on the Isle of Wight on 24–25 May and chaired by Secretary of State Michael Gove. The first meeting took place in Orkney in September last year. Part of the Tories’ so-called ‘Levelling Up’ policy, it’s always seemed to me like a crude  wheeze to by-pass devolved governments and funnel economic development funds … Continue reading Islanders betrayed by Sunak as essential new Scilly Islands ferries have no completion date

stewartb MPs from Unionist parties may feel unable to acknowledge publicly the quality, the expertise of Police Scotland in this regard. But law enforcement bodies in the USA and elsewhere in the world do, in this subject and others. This is from May 2022: ‘Police Scotland hosts American officers in policing masterclass’ Source: https://www.scotland.police.uk/what-s-happening/news/2022/may/police-scotland-hosts-american-officers-in-policing-masterclass/ ‘Police Scotland senior officers have come together with their opposite numbers from American police departments in an effort to improve public trust and confidence in policing in both countries. ‘For several years, Police Scotland has been involved with work with the Police Executive Research Forum (PERF) and … Continue reading Police Scotland recognised globally but not in Westminster

From the House of Commons Library today: Over the past decade, the number of dentists providing NHS treatment per 100,000 population peaked in 2014/15 at a rate of 44.1 dentists per 100,000. In 2021/22 the figure was 42.9 per 100,000 population.  Concerns have also been expressed about the number of NHS dentists turning to private practice. In May 2022, the BDA reported 3,000 dentists had stopped providing NHS dental services since the start of the pandemic and their survey of high street dentists found nearly half (45%) reported reducing their NHS commitment since the onset of the pandemic. 75% said they were likely … Continue reading 40% more NHS dentists in Scotland

From Politics Home today: A group of Conservative and Labour MPs are making a trip to the United States this week to learn from the police forces in New York City and Dallas.​ The Home Affairs Select Committee, a cross-party committee of MPs which scrutinises the work of the Home Office on policing and a range of other areas, is carrying out an inquiry into national policing priorities, in the wake of a string of scandals involving the Metropolitan Police in particular. https://mail.google.com/mail/u/2/#inbox/FMfcgzGsmhXrzQfzKhnClWPkGQbhsWpl In February 2023, YouGov found: Half of Londoners (51%) say they don’t trust the Metropolitan Police very … Continue reading Trust in Police Scotland more than twice that in the Met but Labour and Tory MPs go to US for ideas!

stewartb I recall this written for Bella Caledonia back on 3 October, 2021: ‘.. readers with long memories will remember Offord’s astroturf ‘No Borders’ campaign from 2014 which posed as a grassroots group but had loads of money. As National Collective pointed out at the time No Borders begin life with a warchest of £140,000 – despite the group having absolutely no profile prior to their launch .. ‘No Borders – and Offord – portrayed themselves as the real deal – just spontaneous interested non-political actors. Their site said at the time: “It’s a people’s campaign voiced by ordinary Scots. … Continue reading Offord!

Thanks to Dottie’s Phone for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: A [UK] government scheme to support the natural regeneration of trees has in two years created an area of new woodland smaller than Regent’s Park in London. And way down the page: In 2019, about 1,400 hectares of new woodland were created in the Cairngorms national park in Scotland through national regeneration – the same area of new woodland as was created in the whole of England that same year. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/may/20/woodland-creation-offer-england-trees-forests-natural-regeneration Dottie also directed me to this from Forestry Statistics 2022 Chapter 1: Woodland Area & Planting, Forestry Commission: … Continue reading 8% of the population, 76% of the new trees