From Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply published today, we see that Scotland’s local authorities built 1 707 council houses in 2025, down 17 from the previous year but up by nearly 600 on 1 123, ten years before, in 2016.1 All things being equal and now two years into a Labour government, you might expect England to be building around 17 00. Hmm, no, just 2 850, only a sixth of the level in Scotland.2 They have ‘beaten’ Scotland on one thing though. Scotland sold no council houses because Thatcher’s right to buy legislation is … Continue reading SNP Government builds 6 times as many and sells 18 500 times fewer council houses than England after two years of Labour

From Energy Statistics for Scotland – Q1 2026, published today, the above graph showing Scotland’s ever-increasing renewable electricity capacity and, of note, the levelling of on-shore and surging of off-shore capacity. Scotland’s capacity for electricity generation from renewable sources has increased substantially over the past 10 years and currently stands at 18.1 GW – a 3.2% increase compared to 17.6 GW at the end of the first quarter of 2025 (Figure 2). In terms of actual generation, this too is increasing fast: In 2026, 13.4 TWh of renewable electricity was generated in the first quarter in Scotland. This is a 22% increase from … Continue reading Scotland generates ‘huge amount ‘ of surplus renewables electricity to transfer over the border and enrich corporations with their pals in the UK Treasury

The Daily Express yesterday, based on anecdotal evidence gathered by the Scottish Conservatives has the above and: Furious Glasgow residents have claimed they are being subjected to a wave of terror by youth gangs wielding weapons such as knives, saws and axes. Locals in the Southside area of the city voiced concerns around youngsters in the Pollok, Crookston and Paisley Road West area of the city reporting a severe increase in anti-social behaviour, involving kids as young as 11. From Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26 published 23 June 2026, this table: Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2025-26/pages/total-recorded-crime/ One year variations are often unreliable indicators of trends but comparing … Continue reading Glasgow becomes more lawful as youth violence falls amid anger over Scottish Conservative’s lies based on soft-touch research methods

Halfway through 2026, with increased resources kicking in, Talking-up Scotland is surging. We’re already, for the first six months of 2026, at more than one third more visitors and, crucially, one third more of our fully-researched reports posted, rebutting inaccuracy and revealing hidden truths, at a level (6 per day on average) and in the range of issues covered, way ahead, on this evidence, of any other comparable site in Scotland. We’ll have another crowdfunder in September. I hope you can support it. Recent [Just one week] examples of our work: The above are just since one week ago! Continue reading Scotland’s most rebutting – With greater resourcing Talking-up Scotland is surging – a third more rebutting lies and revealing hidden truths

Headlining on the Herald today, the above fantasy platforming the views of junior minister Michael Shanks (left) and of Ed Milliband. Troubled former Modern Studies teacher, Shanks is still tasked with promoting the building of new small modular reactors in Scotland, regardless of Scottish Labour’s near extinction event in the last Holyrood election and the clear signs of a civil war in the branch, as Monica Lennon, the last living leftie there, leads a move to the left and to support for another independence referendum. Support for nuclear energy will not be in her plans. Regulars will know that TuS … Continue reading Labour civil war will go ‘nuclear’ if Michael Shanks tries to push his small modular reactors on to new leader-favourite Monica Lennon as she leads the remains of the tribe away from Sarwar, Starmer and Mandelson to embrace policies that Scots voters actually like

high quality or compassionate care. The top story everywhere in England today, the utterly damning findings of the Amos review of maternity care in England, being investigated by Nottingham Police as curiously ‘Operation Perth!’ You can smell the panic at BBC Scotland as they scrabble around their contacts to find something, anything, bad about NHS Scotland. There is no maternity crisis in Scotland. For proof of that see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/06/04/baroness-amos-is-investigating-8-000-cases-where-babies-may-have-died-or-been-seriously-harmed-by-inadequate-maternity-care-in-nhs-england-todays-report-into-the-qeuh-glasgow-mentions-none/ What do they do? First they find a one health board strike by some admin staff then use images of front line nurses to suggest that’s where these admin staff work. … Continue reading Desperate and pathetic – Report damns all maternity services in England as ‘no longer fit’ so BBC Scotland put admin staff at one health board who ‘might’ strike into scrubs and repeat an old story of one woman put in a ‘lovely’ care home in the region where she lives but it was ‘too far away’

In the Guardian today: NHS England authorities have paid providers £33 per patient to remove thousands of them from the lists, many still in great need, and a survey of nearly 2,600 people in England found 16% had used the private sector in the past year. Fewer names on the lists help the government to seem to “reduce backlogs” and “meet waiting time targets”. NHS Scotland does undertake regular waiting list validation to remove those no longer requiring treatment but there is no financial inducement. I can’t imagine anyone think that this would be acceptable here. As for the private … Continue reading NHS England authorities paid £33 per patient to remove thousands of them from the lists, many still in great need

In the Guardian today: One person a week dies with undiagnosed and therefore untreated tuberculosis in England, a study has found. British-born, older men were among those most likely to have TB diagnosed only after death, researchers said, suggesting healthcare workers could be overlooking the possibility of the disease in these patients. Being diagnosed with TB postmortem should be considered a “never event” that prompts urgent investigations, they said, describing it as “the ultimate diagnostic delay”. Tuberculosis rates in England are at a 10-year high, with 9.4 cases per 100,000 people in 2024. The rate is only just below the World Health … Continue reading Scotland has only half the TB rate due to lower poverty, more affordable housing and better GP access

In the Daily Record today: The numbers of children being ruthlessly exploited by ‘county lines‘ drugs gangs are at record levels, the Daily Record can reveal. County lines operate where criminals from major cities have expanded their trafficking operations into smaller towns often in rural areas. Organised crime groups have been known to use children as mules to transport the drugs long distances or to store or guard them. Shock figures released by Police Scotland under Freedom of Information (FOI) show a sharp rise in the numbers of children falling victim in the last six years. In the 12 month period from April 2020 to … Continue reading Children used as drugs couriers by English ‘county lines’ gangs increase in record numbers