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Holyrood’s Real Public Servants vs One Very Dubious Charity Case

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By Jim Mennie: SNP cabinet ministers have returned nearly £2 million in pay with full audit trails. Reform’s Malcolm Offord promised his entire salary to a trust he alone controls — one the Scottish charity regulator has now opened a formal inquiry into. SNP cabinet ministers have voluntarily frozen the ministerial part of their pay at 2008-09 levels for 17 years. They take the full legal salary but immediately return the excess straight to the Scottish Government for public spending — over £1.94 million returned by March 2024, projected to hit £2.64 million by 2026. Fully auditable: The figures come … Continue reading Holyrood’s Real Public Servants vs One Very Dubious Charity Case

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A Voter’s Guide for Aberdeen South – SNP/Scottish Government vs Reform UK 

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With the Aberdeen South by-election just two weeks away on 18 June 2026, this short cut-out-and-keep guide has been written specifically for voters in Aberdeen South and Aberdeenshire.  The area is at a crossroads: we still depend on North Sea oil and gas jobs, yet we’re also facing the huge challenge of a fair energy transition, rising living costs, and the need for strong local support for families and communities.  This report compares what the SNP-led Scottish Government is actually delivering right now (through devolved powers and funding) against the promises being made by Reform UK.  It focuses on the … Continue reading A Voter’s Guide for Aberdeen South – SNP/Scottish Government vs Reform UK 

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Why Scotland needs ‘No gods and precious few heroes!’

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Some ask why Scotland is the least into organised religion part of the UK. Here’s Dick Gaughan performing the words of the Brian Ernest Brown Mcneill and Hamish Henderson: No Gods & Precious Few Heroes I was listening to the news the other dayHeard a fat politician who had the nerve to sayHe was proud to be Scottish, by the wayWith the glories of our past to remember“Here’s tae us, wha’s like us”, listen to the cryNo surrender to the truth and here’s the reason whyThe power and the glory’s just another bloody lieThey use to keep us all in … Continue reading Why Scotland needs ‘No gods and precious few heroes!’

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Baroness Amos is investigating 8 000 cases where babies may have died or been seriously harmed by inadequate maternity care in NHS England – today’s report into the QEUH Glasgow mentions none

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at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, faced long delays for labour to be induced – the longest waits at potentially almost eight days. Notably, in the wake of last night’s dramatic Sky TV News reporting on the maternity crisis in NHS England as they await the Baroness Amos Inquiry report, BBC Reporting Scotland, this morning in their BBC Breakfast insert, headlined the above report which does contain some concerns based on the comments of ‘some’ staff and patients. The health board has already put in place remediation. ‘Some’ is never quantified. The website has this: The word ‘unsafe’ only appears … Continue reading Baroness Amos is investigating 8 000 cases where babies may have died or been seriously harmed by inadequate maternity care in NHS England – today’s report into the QEUH Glasgow mentions none

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Sky News reports on dying during childbirth ‘in the UK’ and other maternity services concerns but it’s not ‘the UK’ it’s just England

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The Sky News special tonight on maternity services, ‘in the UK, is of course only about England. They go on quickly to relate their special to the forthcoming report by Baroness Amos and this along with the only example health trusts which they use, confirms that. Why? Baroness Amos looked only at England. Is the Sky News special likely to be informative on Scotland? No, because: Thousands of babies and mothers avoidably dead in maternity trusts, twelve trusts under investigation and two trusts face police investigations into potential corporate manslaughter and gross negligence manslaughter but all are in England From BBC West Yorkshire and across BBC TV News broadcasts, 23 February 2026 : Health … Continue reading Sky News reports on dying during childbirth ‘in the UK’ and other maternity services concerns but it’s not ‘the UK’ it’s just England

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Significant economic growth across Scotland’s industry sectors

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From: Industry statistics: Economic statistics for industry sectors in Scotland, last updated 3 June 2026  Notice anything? Significant growth over the last 15 years of SNP administration? Growth in the last two years? Growth across the majority of sectors? No media coverage? Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/industry-statistics/ Continue reading Significant economic growth across Scotland’s industry sectors

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STV News seems unable to tell us how tiny the percentage is in Scotland and that there were almost twice as many private healthcare admissions per head in England

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STV News yesterday had: The number of private healthcare admissions in Scotland has hit record levels for a fifth consecutive year, figures show. Statistics released by the Private Healthcare Information Network (Phin) show about 54,000 admissions to private settings in 2025, an increase of 6%. Some 29,470 people were admitted using their private medical insurance, an increase of 5%. The number of people paying to go private increased by 7%. Scotland saw the sharpest increase in private healthcare use in the UK, with Wales increasing by 1.8%, England by 0.6% and Northern Ireland reducing by 4.8% between 2024 and 2025. … Continue reading STV News seems unable to tell us how tiny the percentage is in Scotland and that there were almost twice as many private healthcare admissions per head in England

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Fair unbiased and accurate assessment of Scottish Government (SNP-led) actions vs Reform UK’s position on A9 and A96 dualling (as of June 2026)

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By Jim Mennie Reform raised this at FM’ Questions yesterday 2nd June and @StephenFlynnSNP replied. I think it’s only fair that this should be reported factually. The Scottish Government remains the SNP minority administration (58 MSPs). Reform UK holds 17 regional list MSPs and has no executive power. Only the Government can fund, procure and build these projects. Opposition parties can scrutinise and campaign, but cannot allocate budgets or award contracts. Historical context: Why early progress on the A9 was blocked (2007–2011 period) This is the part that is frequently omitted or downplayed in current debates. When the SNP formed … Continue reading Fair unbiased and accurate assessment of Scottish Government (SNP-led) actions vs Reform UK’s position on A9 and A96 dualling (as of June 2026)

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Who says Scots are not different? Frailty among older people is less common to GPs in Scotland because of stronger family cohesion and less fragmentation

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In the Guardian today: GPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said. Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs. The committee found that GPs are doing too little to tackle falls even though they are the most common cause of death from injury among over-65s, cause tens … Continue reading Who says Scots are not different? Frailty among older people is less common to GPs in Scotland because of stronger family cohesion and less fragmentation

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Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years but has surged in England

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BBC UK is focused today on the terrible murder by knife case and subsequent riots in Southampton and BBC Scotland is doing its best to include Scotland in the wider anxiety. Why is it wrong, uninformative? Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level 6 years ago – From Knife crime statistics: FOI release, published today, we see that there were 49 homicides by knife in Scotland in 2017/2018 and that there has been a steady and significant fall to 25, in 2022/2023, the most recent data. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202400427434/ With particular regard to larger ‘Zombie’ … Continue reading Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years but has surged in England