Category: Uncategorized

4 Comments

Middle class refers now to the 0.6% of the population living in £500 000 mansions and SNP is apparently out ‘to hammer’ them

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph, last Monday: SNP council tax raid to hammer middle class – Families living in larger homes could see their annual bills rise from £3,780 to £6,515 under plans and: Further down the page they had: Note that these ‘middle class’ families live in only 0.6% or fewer of the homes in Scotland. The middle class shrinks to only a tiny group at the top end? In England, bands G and H currently pay on average £3 800 and £4 560, well above that in Scotland. They didn’t of course have this: Continue reading Middle class refers now to the 0.6% of the population living in £500 000 mansions and SNP is apparently out ‘to hammer’ them

2 Comments

One 8 year NHS Scotland wait for plastic surgery does not erase Labour’s longer waits for hundreds of thousands, overall, in A&E, for urgent 18 week treatment and for heart operations as they, not the SNP seek to destroy the NHS and privatise it

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Showing that even the best of the English MSM can be taken in by Scottish Labour’s lies about the SNP, the Independent last Monday, had: Scottish Labour’s deputy leader has said she fears the NHS “won’t survive” another SNP term as figures show someone has waited more than eight years for treatment. Statistics released to the party under freedom of information legislation show the longest recorded wait for inpatient or day case plastic surgery treatment at 2,952 days on June 30 of this year. Another wait for ear, nose and throat treatment has stretched to 2,495 – almost seven … Continue reading One 8 year NHS Scotland wait for plastic surgery does not erase Labour’s longer waits for hundreds of thousands, overall, in A&E, for urgent 18 week treatment and for heart operations as they, not the SNP seek to destroy the NHS and privatise it

3 Comments

UK Labour deny England’s under-22’s the ‘transformative benefit’ of Scotland’s free bus scheme as it hits more than 200 million journeys

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this: From BBC Business two days ago: A proposed plan to trial free bus passes for under-22s in England will not go ahead as it is “unaffordable” at the moment, the government has said. The trial was one of a number of recommendations put forward by the Transport Committee, a cross-party group of backbench MPs,in a report this August – with the suggestion it would boost access to jobs and education. In its response, published on Friday, the government said no money was available for such a scheme during the current spending review period, which … Continue reading UK Labour deny England’s under-22’s the ‘transformative benefit’ of Scotland’s free bus scheme as it hits more than 200 million journeys

3 Comments

Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian, today, the above and: More than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared soon after arriving in the UK [sic] and while in the care of the authorities are still missing, according to data obtained by the Guardian. Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs of lorries and are thought to have been taken by traffickers. Kent is often the place where they arrive. Freedom of information data from Kent county council (KCC), which is controlled by Reform UK, has documented 345 children going missing from their area, … Continue reading Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum

6 Comments

Go out and buy the Herald today? Words you rarely, actually never, hear here

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA You’ll have to excuse be if I have no scoobie as to why the Herald is leading with the above, presumably Alba-inspired, story: Scotland is expected to generate nearly three quarters of Britain’s onshore wind power with in five years — sparking fears the country is facing North Sea oil-style exploitation as a green energy supplier for England. The Herald on Sunday can reveal that a new roadmap from the UK Government -owned energy management company NESO (National Energy System Operator) shows Scotland’s onshore wind farms would produce up to 20.5 gigawatts at any one time — almost 70% of … Continue reading Go out and buy the Herald today? Words you rarely, actually never, hear here

1 Comment

Homeless deaths plummet in Scotland as they soar in other parts of the UK but….

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC UK, 8th October 2025: The number of people who died while homeless in the UK reached a record high last year, according to new figures. The Museum of Homelessness, which compiles the data, said that 1,611 homeless people died in 2024. The figure is 9% higher than the year before, with the majority of deaths being linked to suicide or drugs, with spice and nitazenes becoming increasingly deadly. The figures show that 1,142 deaths were in England, an increase of 16% on the year before. London had the highest total number of deaths, but … Continue reading Homeless deaths plummet in Scotland as they soar in other parts of the UK but….

6 Comments

Unelected Ayrshire Tory MSP prefers not to tell you about the 99% on time treatment of children and adolescents with mental health problems

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA In the Daily Record yesterday: A row is brewing over delays to complete a multi-million pound mental health inpatient unit, designed to care for children aged 12 to 18 in Ayrshire. The £19m National Secure Adolescent Inpatient Service, known as Foxgrove, was initially due to be completed more than three and a half years ago. Now Scottish Conservative shadow public health minister- and List MSP for South Scotland- Brian Whittle– has gone on the offensive and attacked the SNP-led Scottish Government for its handling of the scheme. He said: “This shocking delay is having a devastating impact … Continue reading Unelected Ayrshire Tory MSP prefers not to tell you about the 99% on time treatment of children and adolescents with mental health problems

1 Comment

It doesn’t look as if the British Labour Party will bring about reform to England’s social care sector anytime soon

johnrobertson834

stewartb Many expert commentators argue that long waits in A&E are caused – to a substantial degree – by delays in discharging hospital in-patients when medically ready for discharge and that this is caused by deficiencies on social care. It doesn’t look as if the British Labour Party government in Westminster – despite its campaigning rhetoric – will bring about reform to England’s social care sector and its financial resourcing anytime soon. The Health Foundation think tank published a blog post on October 22 entitled: ‘Social care: a year in, what prospects for reform?’ It included these statements. First for context: ‘Labour … Continue reading It doesn’t look as if the British Labour Party will bring about reform to England’s social care sector anytime soon

2 Comments

NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

johnrobertson834

stewartb making this comment below, yesterday, reminded of how previously, he, I and others have revealed the trickery used by NHS England, operating in a Tory/competitive/managerialist culture, contrary to the public service model still operating in Scotland, have found ways to massage their published statistics. When comparing statistics on long periods spent in A&E in England with those in Scotland, it is always important to check the exact nature of the metric being used. For NHS Scotland, it is always likely to be time spent since arrival up to admission, discharge or transfer. For NHS England the metric in use could be … Continue reading NHS Scotland performance likely to be even further ahead as five examples of cover-up and distortion by NHS England managers is revealed

1 Comment

Families in Labour-run Bath and North-East Somerset wait 40 to 200 times as long for social housing as those in SNP-run Glasgow or across Scotland

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie once more alerting me to this: In the Guardian today, the above and: The stats are stark: families on Bath and North East Somerset council’s social housing list face a 200-year wait for a four-bedroom property and the latest available figures show England is building just a little over 10,000 social homes a year. Tackling this crisis was a key element of Labour’s election promise to build 1.5m homes over five years, with the government in July announcing plans to spend £39bn building 300,000 affordable homes over a decade, 60% of them for social rent. But hopes of hitting … Continue reading Families in Labour-run Bath and North-East Somerset wait 40 to 200 times as long for social housing as those in SNP-run Glasgow or across Scotland