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NHS Wales slipping into crisis after 27 years of Labour mis-rule

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By stewartb Another question for Dame Jackie Baillie and her ilk! How can this (below) be happening in a nation that has been governed by the British Labour Party for 26 or 27 years? From the Wales page of the BBC News website today (June 19): ‘Treatment wait times up despite extra NHS funding’. This is what we learn about NHS Wales today: ‘.. monthly waiting times in Wales have risen again’ ‘the number of people waiting more than two years for treatment rose to more than 9,600 patients, up from about 8,400 last month’ ‘The latest figures also show a worsening picture in cancer … Continue reading NHS Wales slipping into crisis after 27 years of Labour mis-rule

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18 years after SNP come to power, the 60 areas with the lowest life satisfaction are in England or Wales and the 61st, lowest in Scotland, is Jackie Baillie’s!

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Professor John Robertson OBA From The 2025 UK Wellbeing Report published today, we can see on pages 29 to 39, that the the 60 local authorities with the lowest life satisfaction are all in England or Wales, from an average score of 6.46 out of 10, with West Dunbartonshire, in Jackie Baillie’s constituency, coming in at 61 with an average score of 7.25. It’s bound to have an effect after all that time seeing and hearing her. We get to 77 before East Ayrshire appears and another 15 before a cluster of Scottish local authorities appear. Notably the East Dunbartonshire … Continue reading 18 years after SNP come to power, the 60 areas with the lowest life satisfaction are in England or Wales and the 61st, lowest in Scotland, is Jackie Baillie’s!

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Scotland’s independence drive before 2014 did not reduce inward investment

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stewartb With reference to the graph above, what happened to Scotland’s FDI performance pre-2015, in the years of uncertainty over what Scotland’s people would opt for in a late 2014 referendum. Would they choose that most awful of outcomes, independence? Surely that would have given foreign investors cause to pause – no longer in a UK, out of the EU – fears a plenty? So what happened? From Business Insider (May 27, 2015): ‘Survey: Slight fall in inward investment to Scotland in 2014 – Latest attractiveness survey from accountants EY suggests Scotland attracted 80 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects last year, down from 82 … Continue reading Scotland’s independence drive before 2014 did not reduce inward investment

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Politicising education in Scotland in a way that’s very rare in England or Wales despite the real crisis there

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By stewartb The BBC Scotland Education Correspondent’s article (June 18) on the BBC News website headlined: ‘Will new school rules help cut violence in the classroom?’ has a number of additional characteristics typical of BBC Scotland’s output. It politicised a topic in ways not replicated in BBC articles on the same topic concerning England and Wales. It was devoid of context, devoid of perspective and of course, without comparative analysis. It devoted more space to critics, most notably a Tory Party MSP, than it did to informing readers on the actual content of the new guidance and importantly, how – informed … Continue reading Politicising education in Scotland in a way that’s very rare in England or Wales despite the real crisis there

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Not so much driven out of the classroom by bad behaviour as seeing a lucrative business opportunity seven years ago?

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stewartb June 18, 2025 at 3:59 pm Edit The BBC Scotland’s Education Correspondent today (June 18) has an article on the BBC News website headlined: ‘Will new school rules help cut violence in the classroom?’ The context is publication of new guidance from the Scottish Government on how schools should deal with violent and aggressive behaviour from pupils. The BBC Scotland piece claims that pupil behaviour is causing teachers to leave the profession. Of course some teachers do opt to leave and no doubt the stresses and strains of dealing with unacceptable classroom behaviour will be the trigger for some. Of course this … Continue reading Not so much driven out of the classroom by bad behaviour as seeing a lucrative business opportunity seven years ago?

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When they stop trying to replicate 2014 even YouGov can get the SNP above 40% in a poll

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Professor John Robertson OBA We’ve seen here, repeatedly, in Scotland-only polls, the pollster YouGov‘s unerring ability to minimise support for the SNP, to maximise that for Labour and to produce double figure leads for the No vote in a future referendum. Today, in a UK-wide poll with the sample adjusted in the light of the EU referendum in 2016 and the 2024 General Election, the Scottish sub-sample has this: Con – 7% Lab – 23% Lib Dem – 10% SNP – 41% Reform UK – 13% Green – 5% The Labour figure seems wildly out given their performance in government … Continue reading When they stop trying to replicate 2014 even YouGov can get the SNP above 40% in a poll

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One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve been constructing this ‘tower of knowledge‘ for years now and virtually nobody, including the Scottish Government, seems be even aware of it. Based on the expert advice of a reader of TuS and a retired architect, as I understand it, flammable cladding is not dangerous enough, on its own, to cause a towering inferno and the deaths of hundreds, IF you have cavity fire barriers preventing the fire from spread from floor to floor, due to a chimney effect as happened in Grenfell. This fact is proven by four recent tower block fires in Scotland … Continue reading One more time – flammable cladding is not that dangerous if……

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8% of the population but nearly 16% of foreign direct investment and 10 years of leading all UK regions other than London but it’s not big news

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Professor John Robertson OBA From EY UK yesterday, the above graph, and: Scotland secures decade stretch as top UK FDI location outside London Despite 4.9% decrease in project numbers, Scotland’s share of UK projects grew to 15.8%, up from 14.4% in 2023, with a decade average of 11.5% Scotland is ranked sixth among the top ten FDI locations in Europe 25% of global investors planning to establish operations the UK next year expect to choose Scotland, second to London at 62% US remains Scotland’s top inbound with 37 projects in 2024, and 356 over the last decade Scotland secured 135 … Continue reading 8% of the population but nearly 16% of foreign direct investment and 10 years of leading all UK regions other than London but it’s not big news

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Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Orkney Islands Council has accepted it must remain part of the UK – after spending two years exploring opportunities for greater autonomy. Officials looked into various models for “alternative governance”. These included changing their status in the UK or even potentially becoming a self-governing territory of Norway. A report to councillors concluded the proposals were too difficult and too expensive and members agreed to investigate a single authority model to reform how public services are delivered instead. Two years ago TuS reported on this and the following was written … Continue reading Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today: Dozens more parents demand maternity care inquiry – When Tassie Weaver went into labour at full term, she thought she was hours away from holding her first child. But, by the time she was giving birth, she knew her son had died. Doctors had previously told Tassie to call her local maternity unit immediately when she went into labour, she says, because her high blood pressure and concerns about the baby’s growth meant she needed monitoring. But when she first phoned, despite being considered high risk, a midwife told her to stay … Continue reading As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare