From STV‘s Craig Mehan, today: Kate Forbes has warned that people could move out of the country if the Scottish Government hikes taxes again. The Scottish Government has previously committed to “progressive taxation”, with last year’s budget increasing income tax on the highest earners and creating a new band for those earning between £75,000 and £125,140. But speaking at an event at the SNP conference on Friday, organised by the Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, the deputy first minister warned of the dangers of further tax rises. Responding to a staff member from Oxfam Scotland, Forbes said she had to … Continue reading ‘Fleeing higher taxation in Scotland?’ Wrong, Kate, it’s not ‘very easy to move’ and that’s why we don’t

Kinbrace in Scotland last night -1.2 °C, Manston in Kent – 16.6 °C By Professor John Robertson OBA UK average winter temperatures. The Times today: So 200 000 cold-related deaths in milder England & Wales means 20 000 or significantly more than that in Scotland? Might these be useful data? Of the four UK nations, England consistently has the highest life expectancy at birth for males and females, and Scotland the lowest. Life expectancy at birth in 2020 to 2022 was estimated to be: in England, 78.8 years for males and 82.8 years for females in Scotland, 76.5 years for males … Continue reading Factcheck on useless Scottish Labour MPs – Research proves Labour’s winter fuel allowance cut will kill many more in Scotland

According to Glasgow Live, two days ago: The running of West Dunbartonshire Council has been thrown into confusion after the Labour administration resigned its leadership at the end of full council meeting. The shock announcement came following two frustrating hours for the Labour group which saw SNP councillor Karen Murray Conaghan elected as the new Provost of West Dunbartonshire, taking over from former Labour Provost Douglas McAllister who was recently appointed as MP for West Dunbartonshire. Former Labour councillors June McKay and Danny Lennie, who had quit Labour during the week, both voted in favour of Councillor Murray Conaghan instead of Labour’s Depute Provost John … Continue reading Dame Jackie Baillie told her Labour council to ‘run now’, blame the SNP for Starmer’s betrayal cuts and make her still electable in 2026

From BBC Wales today: The waiting list for hospital treatment in Wales has reached another record high, with about a fifth of the Welsh population waiting to be seen. The latest figures show that in May 2024 there were 611,500 individual patients waiting for just over 787,900 treatments to take place, both record figures.1 From the Morning Star, three days ago: But new figures sho501w waiting lists in Scotland have instead soared to an all-time high, with over 864,366 patients waiting either for an appointment, tests or hospital treatment by the end of June.2 Wales has a population 3.14 million, … Continue reading Labour incompetence in governing Wales as hospital waiting list surges to 22% longer than Scotland’s and more than 100 000 suffer

In the National today: SCOTLAND’S wind industry hit a big milestone on Thursday as the country’s wind power capacity surpassed 14.5 gigawatts (GW). With the opening of the new Viking Wind Farm in Shetland, Scottish turbines now have enough capacity to power almost 13 million homes. The development also brought the UK’s total wind power generation capacity over 30GW, with 48% coming from Scottish developments. https://www.thenational.scot/news/24548147.new-scottish-wind-farm-means-industry-can-power-13m-homes/ There are 28 million households in the UK. Scotland could power 46% of them. Too poor, too wee, too stupid to cope on our own? Continue reading 8% of the population but enough wind to power 46% of the UK’s homes

From BBC Scotland‘s Kevin Keane, this morning: Scientists have made a major breakthrough which could save the Scottish potato industry from collapse. A pest called potato cyst nematodes (PCN) has been steadily infecting fields and rendering them useless for growing seed potatoes. then 11 paragraphs down: The sector is worth £4.5bn to the economy with almost 80% of Britain’s seed potatoes coming from Scotland. Those seeds are needed for the UK’s food security with potatoes being a huge staple of the British diet. Another reason why, contrary to the economic basket case they love to paint us as, they are … Continue reading UK dependent on Scotland again with 8% of the population but 80% of the seed potatoes needed for food security

Alasdair Macdonald In 2014, one of the unionist jibes against independence supporters was that it was Scottish ‘exceptionalism’, by which they were implying that we were claiming Scots were better than anyone else, i.e. we were blood and soil nationalists, which equated Scots with fascists and Nazis. But, they were not averse at deploying exceptionalism to attack independence. Scots were not very good, not genetically programmed to manage our own affairs: Scots were exceptionally inadequate as a people. There was also the jibe of ‘identity politics’ – we identified as Scots and nothing else (they claimed), so that was bad. … Continue reading England’s ferries rule the waves

From Isle of Wight County Press letters page, today: I am writing to express my utter outrage and profound frustration regarding the outrageous increase in ferry ticket prices. This is a blatant exploitation of those who rely on this essential service, and it is high time someone took a stand. In recent months, the cost of ferry tickets has spiralled out of control, making it virtually impossible for many families, workers, and tourists to afford basic transportation. What was once a reasonable means of travel has now become a financial burden that is choking the life out of local economies … Continue reading Isle of Wight ferry prices at two to seven times CalMac rates prevent tourists coming

From KOMO News today: Over the past few years, WSF has experienced crew shortages which have caused delays and cancellations. A few weeks ago, KOMO News reported that WSF had 21 boats in its fleet, but only 15 were currently in service. Oftentimes, when a crew shortage happens ferry riders may assume that a deckhand or other position they would normally see on board working, couldn’t make it to work. KOMO News learned from one of the unions that represents ferry workers, that many times the missing link in the crew is someone who works below deck, in the engine room. Crew … Continue reading “Washington state ferry cancellations cripple service before the busy Labor Day weekend”

For the first time, the super-affluent state of Norway is experiencing a ferry fiasco of the sort we have seen reported here, in New Zealand, Greece, the Channel Islands, Isle of Wight, British Columbia, Toronto and Washington State USA, with this from SINTEF: Major problem for coastal ferry services. There are many examples, and they all tell the same story. Shortfalls in crew numbers and regulations governing rest periods make non-scheduled extra crossings problematic. This results in many cancelled crossings, causing major irritation to travellers along the Norwegian coast. At present, the evacuation of car ferries and other vessels carrying … Continue reading Now Norwegian ferries join the list of failing ferry services