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So in England, Alexander Dennis does NOT have to ‘adhere to (such) advanced Fair Work standards’?

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By stewartb Some further background on Labour and ‘buses’: From Hansard volume 760: Commons debate on Economic Growth, 21 January 2025 Rachel Reeves (Labour, Chancellor of the Exchequer): “A number of local authorities and, indeed, Labour mayors have raised with me bus procurement and the importance of buses for the local economy. I look forward to working with them, particularly David Skaith in York and North Yorkshire and Steve Rotheram in Liverpool, to boost bus services in communities, and particularly rural communities, to support jobs in the UK. At the Budget, I allocated more than £1 billion for local bus services, and that … Continue reading So in England, Alexander Dennis does NOT have to ‘adhere to (such) advanced Fair Work standards’?

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Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts expect in return?

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Liz S Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts to a political party expect in return ? Like say for example a Private Healthcare company ? As in one who donates to a Shadow Health Secretary , who is a member of the UK official opposition party , where it is , via polling, anticipated that they as the official opposition party are likely to win the next UK GE. Take a look at the UK Parliament website under various Labour MP’s names and see under their ‘Registered interests’ who has donated to … Continue reading Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts expect in return?

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Disgraced former BBC Scotland chief reveals anti-democratic sentiments in line with Labour family

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Professor John Robertson OBA John Boothman, was moved aside from BBC Scotland Head of News in 2015, after bullying Zoe MacDonald, a BBC Scotland camerawoman, the daughter of Margo MacDonald SNP MSP and icon. 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: It’s an astonishing piece which equates the ability to spend more than your competitors because they, unlike you, depend upon the relatively small … Continue reading Disgraced former BBC Scotland chief reveals anti-democratic sentiments in line with Labour family

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Can the PM assure the workers that he believes bus manufacturing should have a future in Falkirk?

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By Liz S So I am a tad confused or rather quite befuddled…….. Brian Leishman Labour MP for Alloa & Grangemouth is reported to now be suspended from the Labour party this afternoon “over breaching party discipline” Yet only earlier today Leishman posted a tweet, together with a linked video, that showed him feeding a line to his -then- leader Keir Starmer at today’s PMQ’s to then allow his -then – leader to spout #SNPBAD and also allow his – then – leader to give a Masterclass in hypocrisy……….(as did Leishman). I have again highlighted in bold both Leishman’s and Starmer’s brass … Continue reading Can the PM assure the workers that he believes bus manufacturing should have a future in Falkirk?

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Scotland’s roads have less than half the collision rate of the UK

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stewartb For broader context: UK Government. Department of Transport (Last updated December 19, 2024) Road safety statistics: data tables – ‘Detailed statistics about reported personal injury road collisions for Great Britain, vehicles and casualties involved.’ Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/reported-road-accidents-vehicles-and-casualties-tables-for-great-britain#geographical-breakdowns-ras04 See: Geographical breakdowns (RAS04)/ Country and region (RAS0402) and specifically ‘ the spreadsheet entitled: Reported road collisions by severity, region and country, United Kingdom, 10 years up to 2023′. SCOTLAND: FATAL Total in 2014 = 178 (6 per billion vehicle miles) FATAL Total in 2023 =149 (5 per billion vehicle miles) GREAT BRITAIN:FATAL ’Total’ in 2014 = 1.658 (5 per billion vehicle miles)FATAL ’Total’ in 2023 = 1,522 … Continue reading Scotland’s roads have less than half the collision rate of the UK

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As 224 English local authorities submit unaudited accounts based on ‘dodgy data’, Scotland’s authorities have ‘state-run audit systems which have fared significantly better’

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Brian McGowan for alerting me to this: From the Canary factchecker today: The National Audit Office (NAO) has declined to sign off on the accuracy of the UK government’s national accounts for a second time, citing widespread unreliability in, and lack of, data supplied by local councils. The crux of the issue lies in the backlog of local authority audits, meaning only around a shocking 4% of English councils provided data deemed “reliable”. This is down from 10% in 2022/23 – which even then, was a dire reflection on the state of local and … Continue reading As 224 English local authorities submit unaudited accounts based on ‘dodgy data’, Scotland’s authorities have ‘state-run audit systems which have fared significantly better’

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A77 injury collisions plummet to only a third of level 8 years ago

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’m a regular A77 user and I strongly empathise with the calls for more dualling and bypassing on what is the very busy main Belfast to Glasgow route but road safety statistics do not seem to be a strong argument for that. From A75 and A77 road traffic accident statistics: FOI release, published today, we see a clear and steady decline in injury collisions, interrupted by a pandemic dip, due it must be assumed, at least in part, to improvements, from 108 to only 38 incidents in only 8 years. Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500460504/ Continue reading A77 injury collisions plummet to only a third of level 8 years ago

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If the Press & Journal can say ‘English drug dealers’ in Scotland why can’t BBC Scotland?

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Graham for alerting me to this. In the P&J today, another report on drugs clearly linked to English county lines gangs cuckooing vulnerable locals. For some time now major tabloids such as the ‘Scottish’ Sun, Express and Daily Mail and several local papers have been content to reveal the uniquely English base for the county lines gang plague terrorising up to 50 towns and even smaller villages, bring a new level of violence and exploitation, along with people trafficking, prostitution and child abuse with them and exploiting the vacuum of Scotland’s much-reduced crime levels. … Continue reading If the Press & Journal can say ‘English drug dealers’ in Scotland why can’t BBC Scotland?

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Access to NHS dentistry in Scotland – How trust in hypocritical Scottish Labour has ‘rotted away’

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stewartb More on the state of dentistry in England. From The Mirror – traditionally a Labour-supporting newspaper (July 14, 2025): ‘Wes Streeting defends only paying for half the population to get an NHS dentist – Health Secretary Wes Streeting has been grilled by MPs about suggestions Labour will not substantially increase the NHS dentistry budget it inherited from the Tories’ ‘Health Secretary Wes Streeting has defended why the Government is only paying for half the population of England to get an NHS dentist. (my emphasis) ‘MPs on the Health Committee grilled Mr Streeting on whether he would “reconsider” a decision to stick with similar funding for … Continue reading Access to NHS dentistry in Scotland – How trust in hypocritical Scottish Labour has ‘rotted away’