Only in Scotland would a service performing so well relative to its peers be the target of headline negativity

By stewartb ‘STV is becoming as anti-Scottish as BBC Scotland’ – as evidenced by its practice of context and perspective-free reporting. It would be so easy and quick for STV better to inform its audience – and voters – but that would require different journalistic/editorial objectives. To further fill the void in STV’s reporting, what follows is from the Office of Road and Rail (7 March 2023) ‘Passenger rail performance, 1 October to 31 December 2023’. (https://dataportal.orr.gov.uk/media/jkfh21zr/performance-stats-release-oct-dec-2023.pdf ) Trains planned by operator, October to December 2023, and percentage change compared with October to December 2022 (Table 3123) Scotrail – 11.8 percentage … Continue reading Only in Scotland would a service performing so well relative to its peers be the target of headline negativity

Labour Wales – the same two bad boys that are causing teachers to flee in Wales, Scotland and England, pulling your own teeth and no funding for deaf infants

By Professor John Robertson Two Welsh bad lads fighting in the playground to drive teachers out. The same two lads travel to Scotland to fight in a playground and drive teachers out. Wait, ‘Getty Images?’ They might have been photographed in England doing the very same thing! Uniformed? It’s a fee-paying school or English Grammar School! ‘Julian! Henry! Stop that!’ What a pair! Maybe the NASUWT has been flying them around as part of their current campaign? Kind of makes you wonder why, in the age of mobile phone cameras of awesome quality, why BBC Scotland and Wales only have … Continue reading Labour Wales – the same two bad boys that are causing teachers to flee in Wales, Scotland and England, pulling your own teeth and no funding for deaf infants

Church of England leader condemns English County Lines gangs but BBC Scotland still refuses to even acknowledge this plague

By Professor John Robertson In the Times yesterday, their report on the Easter Sermon by the Archbishop of Canterbury, opens with his references to evils of county lines gangs. BBC UK report the same sermon by focusing on his concerns for the Royal Family and only mention his comments on the gangs, one only and with no detail, 15 lines down. BBC Scotland? They’re fully occupied with the supposedly ‘controversial’ hate crime law and their most recent mention of these gangs remains in May 2021, nearly three years ago. For more on how County Lines drug gang groups spread violence, … Continue reading Church of England leader condemns English County Lines gangs but BBC Scotland still refuses to even acknowledge this plague

Scotrail satisfaction higher than every other UK rail company, since nationalisation by SNP, and shocking 26% better than in Labour Wales

By Professor John Robertson As STV, stupidly and deceptively context-free, headline 27 500 trains cancelled since nationalisation, figures show, several social media posts have shared the above in response. Look at Wales! Only 72% compared to 91% satisfaction in Scotland. Scotrail is thus 26.4% more popular with travellers. The Transport Focus report in March 2023, also had: Continue reading Scotrail satisfaction higher than every other UK rail company, since nationalisation by SNP, and shocking 26% better than in Labour Wales

Youth violence plummets across society yet increases in schools?

BBC Scotland and the NASUWT are headlining supposed failures in the Scottish Government to provide up-to-date guidance on pupil restraint as the prevalence of violence in schools supposedly grows. The evidence is, of course, from their own often ‘schoolboy’ surveys and one or two videos of scuffles in the corridor. Why is there so little video evidence if it’s so prevalent? I don’t believe it. In the 50s and 60s, I lived in fear every day, watching severe kickings administered utterly ignored by teaching staff. In the 80s, my own classes would arrived with more than one badly bruised face, … Continue reading Youth violence plummets across society yet increases in schools?

If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her

By Legerwood If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her in order to hide their culpability in the demise of Scottish industry which started long before she became PM. Labour had two periods in power in the ’60s and ’70s but did not do anything to stop the closure of pits and shipyards or help the communities so badly affected by these closures. At the time of nationalisation of the coal mines by the Attlee Gov there were 225 mines across Central Scotland. By the time Mrs Thatcher became PM in 1979 there were … Continue reading If Mrs Thatcher had not existed then Labour would have had to invent her

Not being fully informed and up to date on what New New Labour really are

By NMRN Torygraph today reported “Six Tory advisers have now deserted Rishi Sunak for Keir Starmer” Saw this tweet online as in a reaction to this news re the Labour party: “So they’ve got Tory advisors, policies, and even defector MPs. At what point do they just become the Tories”. “become the Tories”…that ship sailed a long time ago surely ? And this comes on the back of Starmer being asked “if he was a Tory in disguise” “In disguise”….hardly….blatantly obvious and ‘out in the open’ more like…. Labour MP & Shadow Cabinet member David Lammy described TORY ex PM Margaret Thatcher as “visionary”…..Oh aye … Continue reading Not being fully informed and up to date on what New New Labour really are

If it wasn’t the school or the photographers then the Tory council approved photos ‘erasing’ ASN pupils – where is the Council Leader?

Yesterday, I suggested: If it wasn’t the Aberdeenshire school it was the Tory council that instructed or allowed the photographers to offer parents ‘selective’ class photos Today BBC Scotland has this: A photography firm has apologised after parents were offered a choice of whether they wanted class photos with or without pupils with complex needs. Parents at Aboyne Primary School in Aberdeenshire complained after being sent a link from Tempest Photography. The company said it deeply regretted any upset it had caused and “sincerely apologised” to affected families. It said it was “not standard procedure” and it was taking the … Continue reading If it wasn’t the school or the photographers then the Tory council approved photos ‘erasing’ ASN pupils – where is the Council Leader?

Teachers in England may strike over 36% higher pupil workload than in Scotland

BBC Breakfast, as with the junior doctors strikes, is NOT shielding the Conservative Government from criticism, but allowing union reps free reign to attack. Today’s threat of teacher strikes is headlining there but is nowhere on the BBC News websites. BBC Scotland? School photos scandal. A significant factor for the NASUWT is this: Class sizes, pupil teacher ratios, have gotten worse not better over the last decade. Strangely, neither the NASUWT nor the Government state the actual pupil/teacher ratio. Here they are, helpfully from gov.uk, across the 4 nations: Pupil to teacher ratios in maintained schools were lowest in Scotland … Continue reading Teachers in England may strike over 36% higher pupil workload than in Scotland

Sex offending councillors – Spot the difference

By NMRN Spot the difference. BBC Scotland news website : February 2024 headline “Former SNP councillor charged with multiple sexual offences” Then we read….this…. March 2024 (today) headline (6th story) via the BBC Scotland website (soon perhaps to disappear from their website)…. “Ex-councillor jailed for having indecent images of children” Guess which party the “Ex councillor” was from…..no…not the SNP as that would have been in the BBC’s headline….well he was an ex Labour councillor. So the BBC team think it is compulsory to note the party name in their headline when tis the SNP….but no need to name the party when tis a Pro UK party….this is a regular behaviour we witness via the BBC website. … Continue reading Sex offending councillors – Spot the difference