Thanks to Dorothy again for alerting me to this. In the Guardian yesterday, the above and: What is the current situation for teachers in England and what does the Labour Government plan to do about it? Doubling? Doubling what? Teachers, leaders and support staff will see their full maternity pay double from the 2027-28 academic year, rising from four weeks to eight, the Department for Education (DfE) has said. https://www.lbc.co.uk/article/teachers-maternity-pay-boosted-5HjdSZr_2/ I don’t suppose the minister had her staff check the situation in Scotland. No, why would they? What is it?  13 weeks full pay. https://www.snct.org.uk/wiki/index.php?title=Part_2_Section_7 So Scottish teachers used to get more … Continue reading Teachers’ paid maternity leave – Labour plan to double it but it will still be only just over half that in Scotland

Above, Lord Ashcroft Polls on 6th March 2026 find in 17th place only 4 out of 2028, 0.2%, respondents put transport and infrastructure in their top three concerns. Surely they asked more than 4 islanders? Ipsos for 25 February 2026, found in 13th place, 18% concerned with public transport/roads. I feel sure mentioning ‘roads‘ triggered thoughts of potholes rather than ferries for the vast majority, 95% who never use ferries. I find it hard to see any evidence in either of these two recent polls that the media ‘ferry fiasco’ attack strategy on the SNP Government is having any traction. … Continue reading Supposedly intelligent prof discovers he has been wasting his time on ferries and says ‘bon voyage!’

I’m not discussing ferry services directly any more, to avoid trouble. It was never a big issue for the electorate judging by polls (only 4 out of 2 2089 bothered about transport) anyway, but the media operating in Scotland seem to think it’s a big loser for the SNP so they keep foregrounding it. Today, only on BBC Scotland, a big picture of a ferry and several lightweight stories are keeping this out. From STV and others, above, this morning: SNP will deliver revolution in childcare if it wins election, says Jenny Gilruth – The education secretary said her party … Continue reading Plans for ‘Revolution in childcare ‘cannot find space on BBC for news of a ferry returning as excuse to remind you of a ‘fiacso’