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Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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By Professor John Robertson: More private schools opening than closing in England despite Labour’s VAT proposals, tell you all you need to know. In Scotland two tiny religious schools which had already been on the verge of closing years before the VAT announcement, will now close but two sites have also been confirmed for new schools. There’s a simple conclusion here. These institutions which perpetuate inequality, divisiveness, unfair patronage and an archaic class system can easily survive taxation at the level Labour propose and so should be taxed more. If they were, then my proposal for compensation of the Waspi women … Continue reading Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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By Anonymous Well here is another major problem with the BBC. Statements from panel members on BBC QT that go unchallenged by the host. Yet she, Fiona Bruce, often has notes that she refers to in order to challenge politicians on their answers, as obviously she is aware of what Q’s will be asked and so what topics will be discussed. If she, Fiona Bruce, is unaware of the veracity of what is being said by a panel member then she should ask that person making the statement to provide proof via either providing stats or examples to verify their … Continue reading Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian today has: Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists. UK market rose to all-time high of £12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to ease backlog. More patients went private last year as the NHS waiting list peaked at 7.77 million in September, up sharply from 4.57 million at the end of 2019.1 There’s no mention of Scotland in the report so we can be sure ‘UK’, as often before, means ‘England’. In 2022/23, the total amount spent by NHS health boards in Scotland on private healthcare was £115,599,000.2 All things being … Continue reading NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian yesterday had the above, 469 788 shoplifting offences, across England and Wales in the year to June 2024.1 In Scotland, the figure for the year to March 2024 was 38 674 according to the Grocery Gazette in June 2024.2 With 11 times the population, all things being equal and per head, England and Wales might have been expected to have had 425 000 cases but actually had 469 788, nearly 45 000 or 10.6% more. 10.6% is statistically significant. It tells you something is going on. Researchers into poverty levels say the presence of foodbanks … Continue reading Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland

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Question Time lies don’t hold water…..Scotland does not have the same water pollution issues as England factchecked by AI

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By Professor John Robertson: Not for the first time, BBC Question Time panellists tried to excuse problems in England by pointing, ill-informed, to comparable problems in Scotland. Last night, pressed on the notion of re-nationalising water, both Labour and Conservative panellists suggested things were the same in Scotland. Let’s ask Google’s fancy new AI search facility. Asked ‘Scottish Water sewage fine‘ and the wee lad (I call AI that) says confidently – ‘Scottish Water has been fined a number of times for sewage-related incidents, including‘ before going on to tell us the last time was 2020, £19 000 and the only … Continue reading Question Time lies don’t hold water…..Scotland does not have the same water pollution issues as England factchecked by AI

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Government of Tasmania bedevilled by costly ferry ‘stuff up’ to rival New Zealand’s $3 billion ferrymageddon and to make the Arran Ferry Fiasco one of those things in a teacup

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Regulars here will know that New Zealand’s lifeline Cook Straits ferry system is in a real crisis as the Government refuses to pay $3 billion for 2 new ferries. Just round the corner in Tasmania, population 573 000, 12 times that of Arran but like Arran, relying on two ‘lifeline’ ferries, there’s a ‘stuff-up’ (Worse than a fiasco or less bad?). Here’s the stuff-up, from Yahoo News yesterday: The start date for two new larger Bass Strait ferries has been pushed further back, with vital berth upgrades several years behind an already delayed schedule. Cost blowouts, finger pointing between state-owned … Continue reading Government of Tasmania bedevilled by costly ferry ‘stuff up’ to rival New Zealand’s $3 billion ferrymageddon and to make the Arran Ferry Fiasco one of those things in a teacup

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Greek islanders running out of food as lifeline ferries face indefinite strike action but Greek Government doesn’t feel any responsibility

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From TTW yesterday: For the third consecutive day, ferry services across Greece have come to a complete halt due to a strike by the Greek seamen’s union, leaving island residents and tourists stranded. The seamen, represented by the Panhellenic Seamen’s Federation (PNO), are demanding a 15 percent pay rise for their members, while shipowners have so far only offered a 3 percent increase. With both sides at an impasse, the strike continues to disrupt travel and supplies to Greece’s many inhabited islands, especially those without airports. The ferry strike has resulted in a transportation crisis for the islands that rely … Continue reading Greek islanders running out of food as lifeline ferries face indefinite strike action but Greek Government doesn’t feel any responsibility

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Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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By Professor John Robertson: Interviewed by BBC Scotland this morning Robert Jenrick claimed that there are ‘more people on NHS waiting lists in Scotland than in England.’ That’s a blatant lie but BBC Reporting Scotland’s editor deliberately included it and allowed for no contradiction even though the published evidence quite unambiguously refutes it. Here it is: First, THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more than 4 hours and 42 555 waiting more than 12. 59.7% seen within 4 hours. NHS Scotland, Type ED full … Continue reading Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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Brian Wilson knows nothing about the massive benefit islanders get from Scot Gov generosity on ferries

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Brian Wilson is in the Herald today with another ill-informed rant against CalMac and by association, of course, the SNP in Government. Read it yourself, if you have the stomach. Here are the facts: Research reveals Scotland’s island communities benefit from the most inclusive, generously subsidised and up-to-date ferry service in the comparable world Research undertaken for Transport Scotland in 2022, by Ernst and Young LLP, compared the ferry systems operating in Scotland, Canada (BC), Norway, Australia and New Zealand. The Norway service is a bit of an outlier with twice as many passengers per year than … Continue reading Brian Wilson knows nothing about the massive benefit islanders get from Scot Gov generosity on ferries