A9 – the one way road to Inverness from a city that must not be named in a country that must not be named

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON BBC Scotland: Highlands Islands, today, has the above and : A man and a woman have been arrested and charged in connection with drug offences after £100,000 worth of cocaine was discovered during a stop-and-search. Police Scotland halted the vehicle on the A9 near Crubenmore in the Highlands at about 12:55 on Friday. They said a quantity of the class A substance and a three-figure sum of cash had been recovered by officers. A 43-year-old man and a … Continue reading A9 – the one way road to Inverness from a city that must not be named in a country that must not be named

Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON BBC Scotland, Glasgow & West today has: Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? Supporters talk of it revitalising the region, bringing new jobs and investment that would be ploughed back into the community. But the plans have met strong opposition from locals concerned about the impact on the wider area. Some of those opposed have contacted BBC Your Voice, and say the firm has not provided concrete details about a building that would dominate … Continue reading Could a huge data centre revitalise Ayrshire – or ruin it? How Scotland’s massive water and electricity resources make it the perfect location for an industry which we could, after independence, tax fully

As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON On the front page of Scotland on Sunday – Mothballed Hunterston B nuclear site may yet be revived. By whom? Junior Minister Michael Shanks (above left) of course. Here’s a reminder of Shanks’ insignificance: First, electricity costs From stewartb in June 2025: I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA of – (perhaps even conditioned to have no interest in?) – Scotland’s indigenous energy assets and their potential significance for their own lives and … Continue reading As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

The irony of Farage blaming ‘foreign-born voters’

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the end, I accept that all those living in Scotland in 2014, were entitled to vote. I do not blame them for our defeat, as Nigel Farage is doing with regard to the recent by-election result in Manchester. It was a dark alliance of MSM and opposition politicians, especially Gordon Brown, who lied to all of us in an immoral and dishonest campaign of fear. It is the case that voters born in Scotland split roughly 52.7% … Continue reading The irony of Farage blaming ‘foreign-born voters’

Scottish taxpayers soon to pay first £100 million instalment to keep an old English steelworks in business and another £100m to save an old English oil refinery so that it can replace a Scottish oil refinery to refine oil almost entirely from Scottish waters

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Thanks to Dottie once more for alerting me to this. As the implementation for the Scottish Budget in 2026/2027 looms, we can reflect on a few hundred million that we don’t have because it’s being used to subsidise our de-industrialisation. In the Guardian, in 2025, the above, and: Ministers have lined up special managers to run Liberty Steel’s South Yorkshire operations if they are put into administration, according to a revelation at the high court in London. The development shows that the government … Continue reading Scottish taxpayers soon to pay first £100 million instalment to keep an old English steelworks in business and another £100m to save an old English oil refinery so that it can replace a Scottish oil refinery to refine oil almost entirely from Scottish waters

What the Herald won’t tell you – current water bills in Scotland are the lowest’ of any water company in the UK and it’s 10 times better quality

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Herald today: Calls are being made for an independent inquiry into Scottish Water amid soaring customer charges and eye-watering levels of executive pay and bonuses. Scotland’s largest trade union Unison is behind the demand after it commissioned an in-depth investigation into the company, which is publicly-owned, fearing is being privatised “by stealth”. The average last year in Scotland was £4901 but in other parts of the UK: Sources: What about quality, thinking about poisoned Devon villagers, Thames rowers and Lake Windermere tourists, suffering … Continue reading What the Herald won’t tell you – current water bills in Scotland are the lowest’ of any water company in the UK and it’s 10 times better quality

What the Herald won’t tell you about the obscene pay of English water bosses for water that causes sepsis and kidney failure

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In the Herald today: Calls are being made for an independent inquiry into Scottish Water amid soaring customer charges and eye-watering levels of executive pay and bonuses. Scotland’s largest trade union Unison is behind the demand after it commissioned an in-depth investigation into the company, which is publicly-owned, fearing is being privatised “by stealth”. From the Guardian in July 2025: Total remuneration at companies in England and Wales – many of them under scrutiny for sewage discharge – was £15m in 2024-25. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/jul/26/water-chiefs-pay-rises-england-wales-ban-bonuses-sewage Leaving aside … Continue reading What the Herald won’t tell you about the obscene pay of English water bosses for water that causes sepsis and kidney failure

Scotland’s stroke survival rate is roughly the same as that in England and the EU average, better than that in the USA but worse than Ireland after independence

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON The Herald‘s top ferry correspondent today has the above and: Ministers are under pressure after Scotland was branded one of the worst countries in Europe for delivering a life-saving stroke treatment — leaving patients facing death or lifelong disability. ‘Damning’ analysis has revealed that fewer than 3% of Scots suffering a severe stroke receive thrombectomy, the emergency procedure that removes clots from the brain – the lowest rate available in Europe. Though with inside information after a TIA … Continue reading Scotland’s stroke survival rate is roughly the same as that in England and the EU average, better than that in the USA but worse than Ireland after independence

Shock as proportionally 4 times as many children in England & Wales face domestic abuse compared to Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC England today: An 11-year-old boy who had both legs amputated after being assaulted by his birth parents has won his campaign for a new child safety register. Parents guilty of neglect will face similar monitoring to sex offenders following an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which the government said it expects to table “shortly”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3gxkn453ro Does Scotland also need such a register? Currently in Scotland, child protection operates differently: There is a Child Protection … Continue reading Shock as proportionally 4 times as many children in England & Wales face domestic abuse compared to Scotland

Massive fall in number of children in care as progressive policies work to reduce poverty and as violent crime reduces but, hey, you don’t need to know that do you?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Prompted by today’s news of a planned child cruelty register for England, this: From Children’s Social Work Statistics: Looked After Children 2023/24 published 22 April 2025, we can see that the number of children requiring to be in the care of the local authority in Scotland has fallen from 15 600 in 2014 to 11 842 in 2024, a 24% fall. Looked after children are defined as those in the care of their local authority (Children Scotland Act 1995). There … Continue reading Massive fall in number of children in care as progressive policies work to reduce poverty and as violent crime reduces but, hey, you don’t need to know that do you?