When, two weeks ago, the Scottish Government consulted on increasing the minimum price of a unit of alcohol, as the current policy expires next year, the Scottish media coverage was positively shocking: Today, as the UK Conservative Government imposes a 10% increase on Scottish whisky to echo their recent plans to ‘max-out’ Scotland’s oil and gas supplies and as BBC UK headline the alcohol rise news with an extended but entirely whisky-free report, in an English pub, Reporting Scotland seems not to have noticed any this at all. They prefer a WhatsApp leak, dirty Glasgow and a disgraced MP. A … Continue reading News on Conservative Government’s Whisky price hike apparently not in public interest

From NFU Mutual today, the above data reveal: Based on NFU Mutual claim statistics, we estimate that rural theft cost the UK £49.5m in 2022, up 22.1% on the previous year. While Scotland saw a decrease, most areas of the UK saw a rise in rural crime costs as thieves returned to the countryside and ramped up their activity after the pandemic years. In Scotland, joint cross-border operations and strong recovery rates of stolen agricultural machinery, helped by increased forensic marking, played a part in reducing crime. Although the baseline figure for Scotland is much lower, the successful fightback against … Continue reading Under SNP, only Scotland shows major reduction in rural crime

The Lib Dumbs have been hard at it again with Freedom of Information requests in the hope of stirring something up from the bottom where they feed. Today, the above. You know where I’m going. First, that’s on average, 22 leaks a year. Second, that’s 22 out of 5 067 schools in Scotland, 0.43%. I should employ a wean to monitor the Lib Dumbs and do this for me. Continue reading 99.57% of Scottish schools had no sewage leaks!

11 days ago I wrote this to Reddit CEO Steve Huffman about, ironically, huffy moderators at r/Scotland. No reply. No acknowledgement, Dear Steve Huffman CEO Reddit I write to protest my ban today from: https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/The ban followed my posting of satirical/spoof/mock-ups such as these below, aimed at highlighting in a satirical way the coverage of Scottish political issues in the context of the current debate over independence. In these, I change the image and or the sub text and leave the header. I understand the particular messages below may make little sense to you and were clearly over the head … Continue reading The Cancel Culture at Reddit in Scotland

BBC Scotland has managed to find a single case which can be used to cast doubt on the most generous childcare provision anywhere in the UK. The couple above are both forestry consultants. One, a senior forestry consultant, is currently pregnant with her second child and due in December. According to the Daily Record: ‘Not returning to work next year is not an option for them as she is the main income earner in her family.‘ https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/petition-handed-stirling-council-killin-30569882 So, we’re talking about tax-payer funded childcare, for two middle-class parents, for an infant, because neither is prepared to stay at home until they … Continue reading Two consultants, the Brexit enthusiast, the Labour/Con council and free childcare for the under 2s

Anonymous: Margaret Ferrier MP, was wrong in her conduct at the start of the Covid pandemic. However, the way in which she has been treated by the media, by political opponents and by members of her own party is reminiscent of a lynch mob and of the original concept of the ‘scapegoat’. Of course it was right that her conduct was investigated and that some kind of sanction was imposed. Several thousand private citizens were fined for similar misbehaviour but, compare how Johnson and Sunak and many of their party colleagues were treated for even more egregious behaviour – millions … Continue reading Rutherglen by-election-Two thoughts on Margaret Ferrier

Although polls indicated a Labour victory in the constituency of Uxbridge and South Ruislip was on the cards, the Conservative candidate Steve Tuckwell narrowly held on to the seat vacated by Boris Johnson, winning by 495 votes. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-66267672 That’s what happened in Boris Johnson’s old seat just over a week ago. Think about that. Labour had a 20 point lead in polls going back for months and could only put 5.9 because allegedly of ULEZ. No doubt that was a factor but we also know that voters often return to the fold, regardless of their party’s performance, if they sense … Continue reading Returning to the fold – The real lesson from Uxbridge

I’ve long been frustrated by Peter Bell. At one time he was a prominent member of the Nicola Sturgeon Fan Club, but his subsequent disillusionment has taken him from Alpha to Omega. In other words, interesting and thoughtful as he regularly is, just as often I just can’t agree with him. Today’s piece is no different https://peterabell.scot/2023/07/28/an-external-event/ The piece is derivative of two sources. One is Robin McAlpine’s recent article “Another summer of broken promises” (https://robinmcalpine.org/another-summer-of-broken-promises/), while the other is the Stirling Directive (https://stirlingdirective.scot/) – a campaign backed by Salvo (https://salvo.scot/) “the campaigning arm of Liberation Scotland, which has accused … Continue reading Damned if they don’t but if they do …….

– did BBC Scotland report this? By stewartb I’m grateful this week to the P&J for reporting a significant Scottish Government investment of benefit to the residents of the Western Isles. This was the P&J’s headline: ‘First-ever MRI scanner to be installed at NHS Western Isles hospital – the new scanning service would save 1,100 patients from the Western Isles travelling to the mainland for scans each year.’ It explained: ‘NHS Western Isles is planning to install the MRI facility at the hospital in Stornoway following £2.4 million funding from the Scottish Government.’ The article gives further details (with my … Continue reading Scottish Government to equip Western Isles Hospital with £2.4 million MRI scanner

Many thanks to reader bringiton for alerting me to this. 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 the next biggest, BC with 22m and 9 times greater than in Scotland with only 5m. Also, key information on subsidies could not be collected for the Norwegian or the New Zealand systems. Most striking is the level of subsidy per passenger. In Scotland, it averages £29.80 … Continue reading Research reveals Scotland’s island communities benefit from the most inclusive, generously subsidised and up-to-date ferry service in the comparable world