In the Herald today: Conservative MP for Plymouth Johnny Mercer has said that no-one from his own party reached out to him in the wake of a mass shooting in his area which cost the lives of five bystanders. Mr Mercer described the shootings as “very difficult, just an awful situation”, and said that he was working to put support structures in place.  https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19526213.plymouth-tory-mp-johnny-mercer-launches-attack-party-afghan-debacle/#comments-anchor On Blackford’s call: Makes you wonder, are Tories selfish folk? Boris and Dominic were having a break as Kabul fell. Like President Biden did they feel it was their own fault? Evidence? Try this: Why the … Continue reading Tories revealed as selfish shock

The difference between infection levels in all of Northern Ireland, around 500 per 100K and Glasgow, 189 per 100K, is now comparable to that in June, when the First Minister imposed a travel ban between Scotland and Manchester. The surge in Northern Ireland shows no sign of slowing and the increase, though from a lower base, less than half, in Scotland further reinforces the need for travel restrictions: According to the Record: Glasgow is set to see over 30 Orange Walks on just one day next month after coronavirus restrictions were relaxed. Thousands are expected to participate in the marches on September 18 … Continue reading Calls for travel restrictions

From the Herald’s Tom Gordon today: THE SNP and Scottish Greens have been given a brutal foretaste of the next five years, as their opponents savaged their ground-breaking joint government deal before the ink on it was dry. The two pro-independence parties are today expected to announce a partnership short of a formal coalition after intense negotiations since May’s Holyrood election. https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19525669.opposition-savage-snp-green-joint-government-deal-ahead-announcement/ A brutal foretaste? Savaged? Hahahahaha…stop it….my ribs hurt. From that wee pug Ross, or that floppy bloodhound Sarwar, or that prancing poodle Cole-Hamilton? Toothless, whining and repetitive, they could no more savage those super-smart border collies, Nicola or … Continue reading SNP/Greens nibbled at by annoying wee dugs

The infection rate in Northern Ireland has been the highest in the UK for almost a month now. At 78.7 average cases per 100 000, it now sits 66% higher than the UK and England which are themselves 50% higher than in Scotland, the lowest in the UK. The rate in Northern Ireland is 250% higher than in Scotland yet travel is permitted. Imagine Scotland had the Northern Ireland figures? Imagine BBC Scotland? Here’s what BBC Northern Ireland think is in the public interest: When, in July, Scotland did have the highest rate: Smell the glee in the Times headline? … Continue reading As cases surge 250% ahead of Scotland, BBC Northern Ireland not interested

From BBC Wales today: There were also the highest attendances at A&E departments since the pandemic began and waiting time performance was the worst on record. The target is that 95% of patients should be seen within four hours but that fell to 69.8% in July. This dropped as low as 44.7% at Glan Clwyd Hospital in Denbighshire and 43.8% at the new Grange University Hospital in Torfaen. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-58267774 In July, NHS Scotland saw 85% within 4 hours and only one recorded less than 80% – NHS Lanarkshire at 79.6% seen in 4 hours. So, overall NHS Scotland operating 20% … Continue reading Catastrophic failure in NHS Wales leads to no mention of the health minister

In the week ending 25th July, 9 476 (98.4%) Covid cases were picked up in the community (house parties, clubs, sporting events and on transport). Only 10 out of 9 630 (0.1%) were definitely picked up in a hospital. This is a frankly astonishing level of infection control across 279 hospitals. This data is hardly ever reported. BBC Scotland’s Lisa Summers will tweet excitedly if the graph goes up at all. NHS England deals with this by not reporting at all but a study published in Hospital Healthcare Europe suggested a figure of 10% over the first wave: Over 1 … Continue reading Astonishing infection control in Scotland’s hospitals deserves praise

From stewartb It was a forlorn expectation that Unionists would have refined and improved their economic arguments since 2014! It is blindingly obvious that whilst STILL WITHIN this Union, Scotland ‘benefits’ from – of course has to rely upon – borrowing (and money creation) powers that are vested exclusively within the UK in the Union government. If ‘borrowing’ is required – as it is by most advanced western economies, almost always – then it’s hardly surprising that Scotland needs to access to Westminster’s ‘borrowed’ funds too – and more so during a global pandemic. That is only a weakness in … Continue reading Professor Gallagher and his boss Mr Brown should stop seeking to con Scotland’s electorate

In the Times today, Gers report: Borrowing figures show the value of this fiscal union by Jim Gallagher. Who is Gallagher and why does he think the UK is such a good thing? He’s the main researcher at Gordon Brown’s Our Scottish Future thunk tank and a member of the Scotland in Union Board. He’s a Companion of the Order of the Bath. And NO, he’s not a real professor, just an honorary one based on experience as a senior civil servant. A real professor, Richard Murphy, can tell you why GERS are crap and why Scotland would be better off independent: Why GERS … Continue reading Gordon Brown’s fake prof rates GERS

There were 28 648 new cases today in England. There were 2 538 in Scotland. England has ten times the population so all things being equal should have had 25 380 cases but had 326 or 12.8% more. https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/cases There is little media coverage of the surge and none of the large English one. Continue reading Highest number of cases is in England

This deficit, more accurately described as ‘notional’ by the Fraser of Allan Institute, is based on the GERS figures. These figures were specifically developed in the 1990s to counter the case for independence. They are almost all estimates. No one knows what the Scottish Government’s tax revenue would be. They include the cost of debt due to the UK’s trade imbalance over decades despite Scotland’s longstanding trade surplus. They include the cost of Trident, aircraft carriers and cruise missiles, we would never need or want to have. The data is manipulated to suggest Scotland is less viable than the other … Continue reading Not true