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Unionist Socialist Workers Party member tells Bella Caledonia readers that Scottish firefighters ‘cannot take any more cuts’ but forgets to mention fires down by 35% yet staffing down by only 18%

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Call that a wildfire crisis? See this: Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Bella Caledonia is great, nearly all the time. They have a lot of high quality writing, often putting our more prosaic percentages and line-graphs stuff in the shade but, every so often, show considerable political naïveté or lack of concern, platforming attacks on the Scottish Government which can only damage the wider movement – if you can’t run a…how can you run a country? Two days ago they had the above from an SWP member on behalf … Continue reading Unionist Socialist Workers Party member tells Bella Caledonia readers that Scottish firefighters ‘cannot take any more cuts’ but forgets to mention fires down by 35% yet staffing down by only 18%

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Blaming Scotland and Glasgow for UK Government’s immigrant housing crisis

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The Ferret, happiest when in synch with the anti-SNP media, launches its latest campaign to investigate what the Scottish Government has achieved, or not, on social housing in the context of the far-right violence in Glasgow. BBC Scotland, of course, knows already that it’s our housing crisis and not the UK Government’s immigration crisis to blame. Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Here at Talking-up Scotland, we’ve done this to death, but just for them: How can there be an affordable housing ‘crisis’ in Scotland when we beat the building … Continue reading Blaming Scotland and Glasgow for UK Government’s immigrant housing crisis

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Thousands of cancer patients not treated on time after nearly two decades of right-wing government cuts and neglect in England

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From BBC Health today and on BBC Breakfast this morning, the above story and: Alan was diagnosed with lung cancer after a nodule was found in June last year. The 70-year-old was meant to be operated on within weeks but ended up waiting nearly five months, by which time the cancer had spread, making his surgery more complex. “I was so frustrated and angry and couldn’t understand why they would leave me like that,” says Alan. On two occasions, scans were cancelled because machines … Continue reading Thousands of cancer patients not treated on time after nearly two decades of right-wing government cuts and neglect in England

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County lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands months before they do same in England?

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 I watched the above. We are, technically, still in Britain. All of these tragic events took place in England. There was not one mention of Scotland. There should be. Here’s why: County lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands months before they do same in England? From BBC Leicestershire 12 March 2026, the above and: A youth worker has warned girls in a market town are being lured into drug running by gangs operating across county … Continue reading County lines gang members who ‘have been through the justice system in England’ target vulnerable women in Highlands months before they do same in England?

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Explosion risk in almost empty Arran ferry gas escape was essentially zero

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 BBC Scotland yesterday: A faulty valve on a CalMac ferry led to a sudden and uncontrolled release of highly flammable methane gas last summer, BBC Scotland News has learned.The operator’s investigation found that 700kg of the gas – enough to fill a four-bedroomed house – was vented from the side of MV Glen Sannox over the space of 12 minutes while it was carrying 82 passengers from Arran to the mainland. So much methane was released that some of it was sucked into a … Continue reading Explosion risk in almost empty Arran ferry gas escape was essentially zero

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DEAR PRIME MINISTER, ARE YOU AWARE…?

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 At Prime Minister’s Questions today, Chris Law asked Andy Burnham about Scotland’s right to determine its own constitutional future. The Prime Minister referred to the Good Friday Agreement and its conditions to hold a Border Poll for the people of Northern Ireland. But of Scotland, he said: “I am not aware that there is a majority of public support for another referendum.” So let’s make sure he becomes aware. We are asking people across Scotland — and anyone who … Continue reading DEAR PRIME MINISTER, ARE YOU AWARE…?

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Retired Heidie explains how the Pisa system has been gamed

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Alasdair Macdonald I remember in the first few years of PISA and looking at the samples of students in the countries which were ‘top of the league’. These countries presented no students who had additional needs. Others presented mainly children outwith the two lowest socioeconomic deciles. With regard to children from Scotland, a number of the questions were on topics which were no longer in the curricula in Scottish education. Much is known of the concomitant factors which lead to higher outcomes. For … Continue reading Retired Heidie explains how the Pisa system has been gamed

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BBC Scotland covertly interview a secret Tory donor, former Tory candidate and now still a Tory supporter

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S The BBC’s (hidden and not publicised) Corrections and Clarifications section on their BBC website has finally added this : “Mornings” “BBC Radio Scotland, 30 July 2026“ “In an item on the social care system in Scotland, our presenter spoke to Dr Robert Kilgour, chairman of Renaissance Care, who operate 19 care homes across Scotland. Dr Kilgour was being interviewed to draw on his experience as someone who runs care homes across the country and was introduced accordingly. While the programme itself included a … Continue reading BBC Scotland covertly interview a secret Tory donor, former Tory candidate and now still a Tory supporter

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90% of those at risk of opioid overdose now supplied with Scottish Government’s word-leading reversal kit to keep drugs deaths falling and hospital load plummeting in face of English drug gang plague

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From National naloxone programme Scotland – Quarterly monitoring bulletin Quarterly monitoring bulletin January to March (Q4) 2025/26, published yesterday, the above graph and: This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presents information on the number of take-home naloxone kits issued by the National Naloxone Programme (NNP) in Scotland (January to March 2025/26). Figures are presented separately for kits issued from community-based services (mainly specialist drug treatment and non-drug treatment services), kits issued in prisons at the point of liberation, kits dispensed via community prescription, … Continue reading 90% of those at risk of opioid overdose now supplied with Scottish Government’s word-leading reversal kit to keep drugs deaths falling and hospital load plummeting in face of English drug gang plague

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TWICE as common in England and FOUR times as many children there face domestic abuse compared to Scotland yet only BBC Scotland seem concerned 

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BBC Radio Scotland above and BBC Scotland‘s website today on child experiences of rape and of increased rape reporting: Scotland’s top law officer has said it is “concerning for all of us” that the number of domestic abuse charges has increased. New figures show that 34,586 charges were reported to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) last year – an increase of 14% on the previous year. Court action was ordered in 91% of cases. Sources: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/live/bbc_radio_scotland_fm https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cdx5lxdwyqzo Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Nowhere, this: Domestic abuse … Continue reading TWICE as common in England and FOUR times as many children there face domestic abuse compared to Scotland yet only BBC Scotland seem concerned