From the New Zealand Herald today: Greater Wellington Regional Council chairman Daran Ponter says KiwiRail “must be s***ting themselves” over the escalating cost of portside infrastructure needed for Cook Strait’s new mega ferries. Finance Minister Nicola Willis has revealed the potential cost to the taxpayer is now “many times” what the Government initially signed up to. “The financial situation of this project is extremely troubling,” she said. The matter appears to have been considered so pressing that Willis met with the state-owned enterprise’s top brass about it before she was even sworn in as the Finance Minister, the Herald can reveal. KiwiRail is … Continue reading New Zealand Government accused of hiding mis-management of costs in delayed multi-billion ferry contract

The above worthy petition, currently attracting a pathetic level of interest, applies only in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Several, often highly informed, friends have asked me to sign it, unaware of this: Social Security Scotland fast-track applications from people with a terminal illness and aim to make payment within  seven working days. Individuals who are terminally ill automatically receive the highest rates of assistance they are entitled to and there are no award reviews.  https://www.gov.scot/policies/social-security/terminal-illness/#:~:text=Social%20Security%20Scotland%20fast%2Dtrack,there%20are%20no%20award%20reviews. The reason is simple. As with so many other positive announcements by the SNP Government, ‘our’ media have learned to look the other way. … Continue reading Scottish media fail to inform terminally ill of highest benefit fast-tracked within only 7 days because it’s another SNP thing

Frances McKie On 22nd September 2022, Andrew Bowie’s Tory London Government announced a “mini-budget” which caused international banking panic and  promptly added over 30 Billion pounds to the frightening UK fiscal deficit – doubling it within 2 months. His government immediately passed this debt on to ordinary workers, with  ordinary incomes,  through new stealth taxes. His government is already condemned internationally for its deliberate increase of poverty throughout the UK, especially amongst our most vulnerable communities- the disabled, old and very young. With that  horrific record, Mr Bowie should surely be very careful about accusing anyone else of “economic vandalism”.  However, … Continue reading Mr Bowie should surely be very careful about accusing anyone else of “economic vandalism”

Spotted by the ‘AI-enhanced’ Policy Mogul today and being ignored by Scottish media: An independent Scotland would have the opportunity to create a new approach to social security that could transform lives and ensure a decent standard of living for all, according to a new paper to be launched on 6 December. The ninth paper in the Building a New Scotland Series – Social Security in an independent Scotland – will outline the progress the Scottish Government has already made with limited powers and demonstrate how an independent Scotland could go even further. Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville said: “The Scottish Parliament … Continue reading Not reported elsewhere: An independent Scotland would have the opportunity to create a new approach to social security that could transform lives

Despite making up around 20% of the sample of around 5 000, a UK-wide survey by Parentkind reveals that Scotland’s parents are significantly happier with the education their children receive than are parents in the other UK nations. The above list of six key points make clear that after 16 years, the SNP in government has achieved results that have pushed Scottish schools ahead of their counterparts on key concerns. The fifth bullet point should not be misunderstood. It is good. Scottish parents trust the schools to do the work with their children. Here are some encouraging excerpts from the … Continue reading Research finds Scottish parents statistically significantly more content with schooling than elsewhere in UK

From the Hope not Hate report The Fascist Fringe: Patriotic Alternative and its Splinter Groups, today: Experts (well me) have predicted that fascist groups may disappear entirely in Scotland as Labour more than satisfies the desires of xenophobes, racists and other intolerants. For many many more on the 8% see: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=+8%25+ Continue reading 8% of the population but only 3% of the fascist leaflets handed out

Started by a Freedom of Information request to the Scottish Ambulance Service, from the policing magazine 1919, the above story is everywhere. 1919 has a track record (sic) on propagandising for the opposition parties and their trade union chums in Scotland. In August 2023, on behalf of the Lib Dems, and their survey of only 62 out of 5 000 railway staff, they claimed a crisis affecting 88.7%! The claims were rebutted in the National at: https://www.thenational.scot/politics/23707382.allan-dorans-need-balanced-reporting-safety-scotrail-staff/ Today, they have four Scottish stories including the above. STV helpfully tell us: The database of 4,418 addresses constantly changes and is updated … Continue reading Thousands of homes ‘too dangerous for ambulances without police back-up?’ I smell a rat in a pile of neglected data