Category: Uncategorized

2 Comments

Desperately seeking a Scottish flood BBC Scotland end up in Burnley or Birmingham but definitely not in Brough of Birsay

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today, as anger and despair flood England and Wales, have nothing to remind Scots it’s no better here, so insert a story on high winds in Orkney and Shetland (not exactly news there), imply that’s Scotland more widely and then use a Reuters image of flooding (not happening anywhere in Scotland) somewhere in the English North or Midlands where the ANW personalised number plate will be a popular choice. Continue reading Desperately seeking a Scottish flood BBC Scotland end up in Burnley or Birmingham but definitely not in Brough of Birsay

14 Comments

BBC Scotland inadvertently reveal SNP success in new flood defences by not finding any ‘anger’ or ‘despair’ here

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC 1 today is headlining ‘anger’ and ‘despair’ across England and Wales as flood defences in areas long run by the Conservatives and Labour, fail to protect. Readers will remember how enthusiastically Reporting Scotland teams have visited flood victims in the past to get them to blame the Scottish Government for their problems. That sort of thing has really ebbed in recent years and today, BBC Scotland has nothing. They clearly can’t even one local to complain. SEPA has put flood warnings in place but nobody is reporting any bad news. You can be sure BBC Scotland … Continue reading BBC Scotland inadvertently reveal SNP success in new flood defences by not finding any ‘anger’ or ‘despair’ here

9 Comments

Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA That face! It’s the one a wee boy pulls when he’s caught out telling a porky. At First Minister’s Questions on 21 November 2024, Anas Sarwar theatrically suggested a crisis in housing and didn’t much like being told the truth. Here it is: Year after year, Scotland builds far more, 370 000 per head, affordable (really) housing than England Today, the Scottish Government published Affordable Housing Supply Programme: quarterly updates on approvals, site starts and completions for the year 2023/2024. I thought I’d compare this with the most recent data for England. There are doubts about just how affordable … Continue reading Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

6 Comments
johnrobertson834

By Anonymous OMG will this never end. It’s a bloody constant with these Muppets. On the 20 October this same ‘Freelance writer’ wrote in the Times “Ferry fiasco is legacy of SNP-run state” so no bias there then from Alf (Garnett ? Ha Ha). You know the constant regurgitation of Ferries #BAD in Scotland as a story by the media does prove one thing. That is that they, the media, do not have a lot of topics to choose from which they can write negatively about in respect to the Scottish government , that is blatantly obvious if they, as a media, have to … Continue reading

15 Comments

Even the Titanic took nearly three years to build but that was too slow for Alf Young, it seems

johnrobertson834

In the Times today, Alf Young: We used to build ships in four months. Now it takes nine years What is he on about? The Titanic took nearly 3 years and clearly still wasn’t ready. The aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth took just over 6 years. In the 60s, the Liner QE2 took over 2 years. Those CalMac smaller ferries being built in Turkey are taking around 3 years. Even a tenth century Viking long-ship took 6 months. I can’t find anything substantial taking only 4 months. What is he thinking of? Back in his youth……ah now……where was I? Continue reading Even the Titanic took nearly three years to build but that was too slow for Alf Young, it seems

4 Comments

West Midlands rapper’s ‘County Lines’ drug gang triggering drug deaths spike with deadly additives

johnrobertson834

From the Ross-shire Journal, yesterday: County Lines drug gangs reach as far north as Alness, police confirm. THE Highlands are grappling with the grim reality of so-called County Lines drug operations, with 10 separate gangs exploiting vulnerable individuals in its capital city. Police Scotland’s Highlands and Islands Division has identified the growing footprint of organised crime over the past 18 months, with devastating consequences for the community. The criminal networks behind County Lines originate in major cities like Liverpool, London, and the West Midlands, and use a combination of coercion, exploitation, and violence to tighten their grip on the drug trade. … Continue reading West Midlands rapper’s ‘County Lines’ drug gang triggering drug deaths spike with deadly additives

1 Comment

Othering is a constant tactic Labour choose to deploy,

johnrobertson834

Anonymous It is unfortunate for both her and her party that she, Ms Baillie, as one who is ‘afflicted’ by excess weight , is then , in her role as Labour’s Health spokesperson, the one who communicates the message of: “Weight-loss jabs, alongside changes to diet and exercise, have the potential to be a game-changer in the fight against diabetes and cardiovascular disease“ Physician heal thyself or being a Labour MSP and Labour’s Health spokesperson keep telling others to do that which you yourself are obviously both failing to do or even attempting to do. Baillie delivering this message on weight is like an existing chain smoker being … Continue reading Othering is a constant tactic Labour choose to deploy,

9 Comments

Will Audit Scotland ever get real and fully acknowledge the UK context in which Scotland is governed?

johnrobertson834

By stewartb – a long read In recent times leading, broadly centrist, London-based think tanks and others have been arguing that the fiscal practices of Westminster/Whitehall governments have long been dysfunctional. Their damning consensus raises a crucial question: how do ‘dependent’ governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – constrained to operate within devolved settlements – manage their nations’ public finances and the resourcing of devolved public services in an optimal manner to meet national needs and wants? The relevance of this is brought to mind by the recent Audit Scotland report on the state of Scotland’s public finances in which … Continue reading Will Audit Scotland ever get real and fully acknowledge the UK context in which Scotland is governed?

Leave a comment

Westminster Polls – SNP recovering, Labour plummeting, Cons consolidating in heartlands and Reform still too wee

johnrobertson834

From More in Common on 21 November1 (11 November in brackets2): Cons 23% (21%) Lab 22% (30%) LD 12% (7%) Reform 12% (10%) Green 2% (3%) SNP 30% (28%) So, SNP recovering but still well short of an majority in Westminster comparable to 2-019. Reform, at that level, would be a threat in Holyrood with maybe 12 seats, but in a FPTP system like Westmnister, no threat. Conservatives return to former level, able to compartmentalise themselves as less toxic than Southern members and keep a few seats in South and North East. Sources: https://www.opinium.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/VI-2024-11-13-Observer-Tables.xlsx https://www.moreincommon.org.uk/media/2k1gii2h/november-voting-intention.xlsx Continue reading Westminster Polls – SNP recovering, Labour plummeting, Cons consolidating in heartlands and Reform still too wee

10 Comments

Weight-loss drug being pushed by Scottish Labour onto SNP associated with 100 hospitalisations and 10 deaths

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland has, of course, attempted to pin one possible weight-loss drug death onto the Scottish Government despite her awareness of the drug resulting from UK Labour’s attempt to use it to drive the obese back to work. From the National on 22 October 2024: Jackie Baillie (above), Scottish Labour’s health spokesperson, told The Times: “Weight-loss jabs, alongside changes to diet and exercise, have the potential to be a game-changer in the fight against diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” She said the Scottish Government “must ensure that patients who have been recommended these approved jabs by their clinician can access them … Continue reading Weight-loss drug being pushed by Scottish Labour onto SNP associated with 100 hospitalisations and 10 deaths