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New research reveals worst forms of homelessness up to two thirds higher in England than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA I’m not for a minute excusing any level of homelessness but, if these data were the other way round, we all know who’d be blamed and blamed repeatedly. From BBC Politics, today, the above and: The number of homeless people in England is higher than official government data suggests, according to new research from the charity Crisis. They say that around 189,000 families and individuals who faced the worst forms of homelessness such as rough sleeping, sofa surfing and living in tents were not included in official statistics. Official data is based on people declaring themselves … Continue reading New research reveals worst forms of homelessness up to two thirds higher in England than in Scotland

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Sarwar’s pet professor should have read HMRC report showing that Scotland’s progressive taxation seems not to have ‘put people off Scotland’ as quality of life, lower housing costs, lower crime, better HNS and ‘post-pandemic appeal’, take it from near-zero to 8 000 a year

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Professor John Robertson OBA, SCE Higher Economics, 1969, C grade Professor Anton Muscatelli, former Principal Glasgow University, was born in Bari, Italy. His family migrated to Scotland, perhaps to escape local taxation hikes resulting from the activities of the local Capriati mafia clan? They and other factors no doubt seem to have been pretty effective at ‘putting people off Italy‘, with 15 million leaving between 1945 and 1970. Muscatelli is in the low-impact rating, not really peer-reviewed, Scotsman today, claiming that Scotland’s taxation is putting people off coming to, or staying in, Scotland. Muscatelli appears not to have ever written … Continue reading Sarwar’s pet professor should have read HMRC report showing that Scotland’s progressive taxation seems not to have ‘put people off Scotland’ as quality of life, lower housing costs, lower crime, better HNS and ‘post-pandemic appeal’, take it from near-zero to 8 000 a year

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FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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Professor John Robertson OBA This is simply untrue. The drug deaths trend in Scotland has been downward for these last five years, from 1 339 in 2020 to 1 017. A 24.2% fall, by a quarter in only 5 years after more than 20 years of increasing, is very significant and suggests a successful strategy by government, which I’ll return to. Here is the evidence in two graphs, for 2020 and 2025 from Drug-related deaths in Scotland, 2024, published on 2 September 2025: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/drug-related-deaths-in-scotland-2024/ The full NRS report contains further evidence that this is a confirmed downward trend and notably … Continue reading FIVE years of success in turning Scotland’s drug deaths trend around, the reasons for that and the reasons it’s not even better than that

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On Remembrance Sunday, peer-reviewed research proves that Scotland’s WW1 army war dead was a greater sacrifice, 63% higher than the rest of the UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA With the UK media again saturated with frankly disturbing jingoism based on myths about the two world, it seems like a good moment to repeat this attempt to resolve the alleged myth that Scots had given more in blood on the WWI battlefields. On 10th August 2014, with clear political intent, the Scotsman allowed Sir Hew Strachan to confirm it as a myth: Great War worst for Scots troops ‘a myth’ https://www.scotsman.com/arts-and-culture/great-war-worst-scots-troops-myth-1529401 In Patrick Watt’s Manpower, Myth and Memory: Analysing Scotland’s Military Contribution to the Great War in the Journal of Scottish Historical Studies, on 24th May 2019 based on extensive research, … Continue reading On Remembrance Sunday, peer-reviewed research proves that Scotland’s WW1 army war dead was a greater sacrifice, 63% higher than the rest of the UK

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Scottish Government significantly widened access to free flu vaccine to give more than twice as many, per capita, protection from worrying new mutation

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today and being broadcast widely and frequently, the above and: Flu strikes every winter, but this year something seems to be different. A seasonal flu virus suddenly mutated in the summer. It appears to evade some of our immunity, has kick-started a flu season more than a month early, and is a type of flu that history suggests is more severe. The NHS has now issued a “flu jab SOS” as fears grow that this will add up to a brutal winter. There is a lot of nuance and uncertainty, but leading flu … Continue reading Scottish Government significantly widened access to free flu vaccine to give more than twice as many, per capita, protection from worrying new mutation

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Edinburgh is top UK city in Holiday Happiness Index 25 places ahead of London

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Professor John Robertson OBA I know, it doesn’t quite fit the kind of mean image Scots sometimes have of some of the capital’s inhabitants but to outsiders, it seems, Edinburgh is a warm and friendly capital city. Dublin is at 23 and London is at 30, way behind. From Book Retreats last week: Where is your happy place? Teaming up with a Harvard psychologist and happiness expert, we combined the science and data to find the holiday destinations where you’ll feel your best. Today, people are no longer traveling just for landmarks or luxury. They’re traveling to feel something. To … Continue reading Edinburgh is top UK city in Holiday Happiness Index 25 places ahead of London

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In Scotland with a GDP half the size of Washington State USA, the ferry service is much more punctual – 99% to 72% – but only it is fined?In

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Professor John Robertson OBA, Academic Reporter of the Decade The Herald today has the above, and: The Scottish Government-owned ferry operator CalMac was fined more than £20 million for failing island communities then handed a new £4 billion contract by ministers, the Herald on Sunday can reveal. Performance deductions imposed by ministers when CalMac fails to meet reliability and service measures on the contract hit a record £4.335m in its final year alone. £21m as a percentage of the £4bn contract is only 0.5%, so I thought I’d have a look around some other ferry services for comparison. Not what I expected. Wightlink and Red … Continue reading In Scotland with a GDP half the size of Washington State USA, the ferry service is much more punctual – 99% to 72% – but only it is fined?In

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‘Scottish’ Labour MP Joani Reid appears on right-wing media to try to drag Scotland into England’s grooming rape gangs shame

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Professor John Robertson OBA The ever-alert MSM Monitor spots the latest attempt by Jimmy Reid‘s granddaughter, Joani, to shame Scotland on behalf of UK Labour. The facts she cares nothing for: Don’t be fooled – this is not a ‘grooming’ gang like those in England – no children, no children’s homes, no thousands of victims They, Scottish Labour and the MSM, would just love it if Scotland had one of those grooming gangs like the ones they have in England. That’s why they’re using the term for a gang that has little in common with the English ones and which, … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ Labour MP Joani Reid appears on right-wing media to try to drag Scotland into England’s grooming rape gangs shame

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I’ll get big stick for this ‘whitabootery’ I know but ADHD and Autism waiting list for ‘kids’ is 30% longer, and for adults THREE times as long, in England

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Professor John Robertson OBA It’s been suggested that I can be a bit ‘neurodiverse’ myself, lacking filters, at times when I compare sensitive issues in Scotland and England but, if I am, at least I’m not as bad as the creeps who put together front pages like that above with a greeting wean and a sickeningly unconvincingly compassionate, Labour MSP. 28 000, eh? It’s 400 000 in England1, 30% longer. If you’re interested, for adults, 23 000 in Scotland and an estimated 600 000 in England2, 3, nearly three times as long. Sources: Continue reading I’ll get big stick for this ‘whitabootery’ I know but ADHD and Autism waiting list for ‘kids’ is 30% longer, and for adults THREE times as long, in England

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Will Lisa Nandy call Anas Sarwar and see if he can find out how Scotland’s prisons manage to keep prisoners in prison with not one on the run here but 22 in England? He already knows how

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Professor John Robertson OBA Labour’s Lisa Nandy, speaking for Home Secretary, David Lammy I guess, this morning to agree that it’s unacceptable that there are currently 22 prisoners in England, released in error and ‘out there.’ Are there any reports of prisoners released in error in Scotland who have yet returned to prison? No absconding cases identified: Despite the volume of errors, all available reports from November 2025 explicitly state or imply that affected prisoners were successfully returned to custody through police cooperation. No sources mention ongoing manhunts, fugitives, or prisoners who “have yet returned” (i.e., remain at large). The … Continue reading Will Lisa Nandy call Anas Sarwar and see if he can find out how Scotland’s prisons manage to keep prisoners in prison with not one on the run here but 22 in England? He already knows how