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‘We share the same island. We’re similar sorts of people.’

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By stewartb Andy Maciver – ‘We share the same island. We’re similar sorts of people.’ Compare and contrast (examples): (i) voting by majority to reject the Tory Party at Westminster elections since c. 1956, i.e. c. 69 years – that sort of similarity? (ii) voting by majority to remain as member of the EU – that sort of similarity? (iii) c. 45% voting in 2014 to dissolve the Union and according to opinion polls, now even more – that sort of similarity? (iv) enough citizens in Scotland voting to elect a political party to govern in Edinburgh that: (a) supports the dissolution of … Continue reading ‘We share the same island. We’re similar sorts of people.’

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Scotland has almost TWICE as many hospital beds per head of population than England to keep longer A&E waits at far lower levels

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Professor John Robertson OBA Hospital Stats and Facts activist Dr Steve Taylor (https://x.com/DrSteveTaylor) posted the above today to draw attention the correlation between falling bed numbers and worsening A&E in NHS England. The contrast with Scotland, which of course, has far better A&E performance could not be more stark: The most recent data available on hospital beds per head of population for England, Scotland, and Wales comes from a mix of sources, primarily from 2023 and 2024. Below are the figures based on the best available information: England: Approximately 2.31 hospital beds per 1,000 people. This is derived from 130,528 … Continue reading Scotland has almost TWICE as many hospital beds per head of population than England to keep longer A&E waits at far lower levels

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Terrifying prospect of Scotland’s 200 TRILLION midges spreading radioactivity from Labour’s new wee reactors

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Professor John Robertson OBA From: Two days ago, in the Independent: A terrifying discovery was made at a nuclear facility in South Carolina: radioactive wasps. Radiological Control Operations found a wasp nest on a post close to a tank at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Energy I’m terrified. I’ve been out there. I’ve had the bites. Even several of my father-in-law’s Senior Service fags could not deter them. There are up to 200 trillion midges in Scotland: https://outaboutscotland.com/midges-in-scotland/ That’s more than 300 000 for each of us! Even if only a fraction get … Continue reading Terrifying prospect of Scotland’s 200 TRILLION midges spreading radioactivity from Labour’s new wee reactors

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There is nothing worse than Scottish exceptionalism on summer riots? Yes, the dark kind Tory and Labour SPADs spend their hours grubbing for

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Professor John Robertson OBA In Holyrood Sources YouTube podcast (?), three days ago, with an ex-SNP (disappointing) and and ex-Tory (full cringe) SPAD, on whether or not Scotland will be immune to race-related riots this summer, the latter said: Um, I think it’s fair to say that there is an increase in Scotland in kind of low…it does seem to be fairly clear that there’s an increase in relatively low level anti-social behaviour…I think there are big problems there. There’s big unrest there….but…Scotland is not England and Scotland doesn’t necessarily experience the same things that England experiences particularly around the … Continue reading There is nothing worse than Scottish exceptionalism on summer riots? Yes, the dark kind Tory and Labour SPADs spend their hours grubbing for

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‘A bottomless pit of hell’ – US researchers confirm the risk to Scots children of living downstream of sites like Sellafield, Europe’s ‘most toxic radioactive waste site’

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Journal of the American Medical Association (Impact factor 50 – 7th highest of 500 peer-reviewed medical research journals) published 16 July 2025: Question  Is there an association between cancer incidence and living near Coldwater Creek [map above] as a child when it was actively being contaminated by radioactive byproducts from the Manhattan Project? Findings  In this cohort study of 4209 participants, living near Coldwater Creek as a child was associated with an increased risk of overall cancer during long-term follow-up, with evidence of a dose-response association. When comparing those living around the creek or its floodplain … Continue reading ‘A bottomless pit of hell’ – US researchers confirm the risk to Scots children of living downstream of sites like Sellafield, Europe’s ‘most toxic radioactive waste site’

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‘Scottish’ newspaper platforms English charity warning of dangerous ‘refugee’ dog organisations that cannot operate in Scotland and cannot be bothered to helpfully inform its readers of the details of the law in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Daily Record on 28 July, 2025, the above and: Buying or adopting a dog always comes with risks, namely around the canine’s health and/or how likely they are to lash out or not take to training as well as the owner would hope. There are also circumstances that can exacerbate these risks, and it turned out importing dogs into the UK is one of them, according to an animal charity, which is calling for stricter regulations on animal rescues doing just that. The RSPCA has cited concerns about disease risks and behavioural issues, just as government statistics show … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ newspaper platforms English charity warning of dangerous ‘refugee’ dog organisations that cannot operate in Scotland and cannot be bothered to helpfully inform its readers of the details of the law in Scotland

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Scotland has only half the TB rate of England due to less poverty, more affordable housing and better healthcare access and could further improve with independence

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve used the Grok AI to assist in researching and presenting this paper. I’m able to check the references it helpfully offers. Last year the Scottish and English media widely reported a one-year surge in TB cases reported in Scotland from 2022 to 2023. Yesterday, Public Health Scotland published the latest data: To my knowledge, the media have not since reported the fall in the number of cases between 2023 and 2024. For context, all things being equal, we might expect England to have had around 2 700 cases in 2024. It had almost exactly twice … Continue reading Scotland has only half the TB rate of England due to less poverty, more affordable housing and better healthcare access and could further improve with independence

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Scottish university campus safety – the good news that Police Scotland could not provide for the US Department of Education handbook

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Professor John Robertson OBA Police Scotland today, report: I refer to your recent request for crime data, made in accordance with the Clery Act. Unfortunately, Police Scotland is unable to assist with your request. Having reviewed the ‘Handbook for Campus Safety and Security Reporting’ from the US Department of Education, it is noted that the Act has strict recording and counting criteria and we are unable to compile data that would be directly comparable or applicable to the requirements of the Act. https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2025/july/25-2256-clery-act-request-usa-university/ This follows an identical request and response in April 2025 with no named source – the US Department of Education … Continue reading Scottish university campus safety – the good news that Police Scotland could not provide for the US Department of Education handbook

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Daily Mail misreads most of its readers on energy generation that will keep their lights on

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Professor John Robertson OBA The ‘Scottish’ Daily Mail frontpage headline today is ‘ANGER AS SNP BACKS BIGGEST WIND FARM ON PLANET.’ I can’t help but think they may have misjudged their readers on this one – ‘What, we’ve got the biggest wind farm on the planet? BRILLIANT!‘ Where’s the supposed anger coming from? Well, Donald Trump and ‘conservation groups’, they say. There’s an unusual coalition. Doesn’t the Mail regularly bash such groups for ‘squeezing taxpayers’, obstructing ambulances and just dressing funny? Not for the first time, you’re left to wonder what Mail readers would think if they got more information. … Continue reading Daily Mail misreads most of its readers on energy generation that will keep their lights on

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Rachel Reeves fails to mention that with 8.1% of the population Scotland only gets 3.9%, less than half, the defence spending it deserves

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Professor John Robertson OBA Chancellor Rachel Reeves is all over ‘Scottish’ media today with promises of ‘billions‘ to be invested in the Scottish economy via increased defence spending. Leaving aside the fact that much of the spending will be on new hunter-killer submarines built in Cumbria, the reporting fails to mention this key fact: From Grok AI: Scotland’s share of UK defense spending is approximately 3.7% to 3.9% based on recent data. In 2021/22, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) spent £2.01 billion in Scotland out of a total UK defense expenditure of £53.9 billion in 2023/24. This equates to roughly … Continue reading Rachel Reeves fails to mention that with 8.1% of the population Scotland only gets 3.9%, less than half, the defence spending it deserves