Readers will remember that ‘Sturgeon’ was the MSM’s preferred face of the rail strikes as they sought to associate her with the passenger complaints: The First Minister was, of course, never in the room with the owners or the unions but, hey, anything bad that happens in Scotland requires her face, preferable scowling. So, presumably, she must, logically, be the face of the restoration of services and happy passengers? From ScotRail today: I am pleased to confirm that we will be able to restore our timetable to May 2022 levels from Wednesday, 20 July, after members of the drivers’ union … Continue reading Sturgeon seen smiling as ScotRail restores timetable

By stewartb The deceitfulness by acting in two different ways to different people concerning the same matter – of BBC reporting. In an earlier btl post I referred to a BBC News website article on NHS England’s latest A&E waiting times. In its first paragraph it states: ‘Pressure on NHS emergency services is getting worse, with patients in England waiting longer for ambulances, many staff off sick AND RECORD NUMBERS OF PEOPLE GOING TO A&E.’ (my emphasis) From the official NHS England publication on A&E patients:June 2022 – All Attendances = 2,183,670May 2022 = 2,189,010The figure is slightly down in … Continue reading NHS England performance against the 4 hour target is poorer in June than May despite fewer attendances

Thanks to stewartb for alerting me to this. From the Royal College of Emergency Medicine today: “Once again Emergency Departments have recorded the worst performance on record, the worst four-hour performance and the highest number of 12-hour waits. Patients are waiting for increasingly long periods for an ambulance, in the back of an ambulance and in crowded Emergency Departments. We know that long waits in Emergency Departments can lead to associated harm and even death. https://rcem.ac.uk/emergency-care-crisis-putting-patients-at-risk-as-they-face-longest-waits-on-record/ Only 58.8% were seen in 4 hours. BBC UK/England’s websites are not covering this. Opposition parties are silent. Two days ago, BBC Scotland headlined ‘Scottish … Continue reading BBC UK ignores ‘England’s worst Emergency Department performance on record’, as NHS Scotland does 17% better

See that wee ‘ah but‘ there? The message for us, once more, is ‘don’t go thinking things are better here.‘ Where does the message come from? It’s Mike Tipton of the Physiological Society (not a meteorologist): Mike Tipton, the society’s group co-ordinator, said although Scotland is not affected by heatwaves now, this will change over time – and people should be prepared. He said: “The likelihood is that these will spread over more of the UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-61838517 Just how northern Britain will somehow get out of its current geographical location, exposed to life-saving North Atlantic blasts is not explained. Mike … Continue reading Reporting Scotland weather presenter on heatwaves- ‘There will still be a marked difference between Scotland and England’

From STV News today: The number of youngsters under the age of 18 jailed at Scotland’s main young offenders institution has fallen to a record low. There are now 150 people imprisoned at Polmont, near Falkirk, and only 12 of them are under the age of 18, according to figures from the Scottish Prison Service. A decade ago, there was (sic) 800 youngsters at Polmont. Alternatives to custody such as electronic monitoring means a significant number of offenders under the age of 21 are now accommodated within society. As part of its commitment to improving the lives of care experienced … Continue reading Massive reduction in young people imprisoned under SNP

By Alasdair Galloway Where now for the good ship indyref2? Today the Westminster Government have lodged papers with the UK Supreme Court urging it to refuse to hear the request by the Lord Advocate concerning the lawfulness, or not, of the proposed Referendum Bill that the Scottish Government want to put into Holyrood. Not surprisingly a good deal of Westminster’s case is that the Scottish Parliament lacks the power to hold a referendum without a S30 Order. However, they have gone further, asking the Supreme Court not to hear the Lord Advocate’s request, as, it argues, the Bill is presently … Continue reading Does Scotland have to become ungovernable to secure independence?

By stewartb The BBC’s newly appointed political editor Chris Mason recently wrote an article for the Corporation’s news website under the headline ‘Political landscape being re-shaped before our eyes’. And indeed it is. As we spectate, the ‘re-shaping’ is once more BEING DONE TO Scotland: before our eyes is the suppression of our democracy. From the sideline that is North Britain, the internal machinations of the Tory Party are selecting the UK’s Prime Minister from candidates lining up to flaunt their ‘Muscular Unionism’. In TV interviews they pluck, seemingly casually, numbers from the air regarding when a Westminster government might … Continue reading The Old Suppressionists – Tory candidates for PM show off their ‘Muscular Unionism’

in poverty according to research by the End Child Poverty Coalition. From BBC Scotland this morning and throughout the day on a drip, the above story from an activist group. I wrote only yesterday: We see regularly, on BBC Scotland, that Scotland has the most drug deaths in Europe or the most Covid cases or, today: ‘Scottish bank branch closures highest in UK‘. As you know, we never hear that our A&E service is the best in the UK, that we have more hospital beds and nurses than the others or that crime is far lower than in England & … Continue reading Scotland’s lower child poverty must be concealed