Vince Cable, the UK Business Secretary in 2014, warned that London is “becoming a giant suction machine, draining the life out of the rest of the country”. Huge numbers of young adults move to London from Britain’s other cities and never return home, according to a report revealing the extent to which the capital drains talent from the rest of the country. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-regions-hit-brain-drain-exodus-talent-london-adds-fears-recovery-geographically-skewed-9086637.html Combine this with the presence of government departments, financial institutions and corporate HQs in London and the surrounding area and the massive state investment in capital projects there, and you see Scotland emerge as the most productive … Continue reading Productivity in Scotland higher than all but ‘giant suction machine’ in South

By stewartb So, based on the output of every UK terrestrial TV channel this evening it’s clear, beyond doubt: ‘England’ is a ‘nation’ AND ‘England’ is a ‘country’. The success of the England football team is uniting this ‘nation’ (of England?) and it is uniting this ‘country’ (of England?). How might a ‘one nation’ Tory explain this? By considering NI, Wales and Scotland as part of the nation and country of England? And so in turn, equating England with the UK? I’m unsure what mental gymnastics they would opt for: it’s evidently quite a difficult matter. As I posted btl … Continue reading England is THE nation!

From SNP Westminster Press Office: The Scottish Tory MPs have been called out for falling in line behind Boris Johnson and voting down calls for a​n immediate start to a full Covid-19 public inquiry into the UK government’s handling of lucrative emergency Covid contracts and potential misuse of taxpayers’ money. It comes following the first half of the SNP’s Opposition Day debate on the issue of Covid contracts and immediate commencement of a full public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic. Despite cross-party MPs backing the motion, Douglas Ross and Scottish Tory MPs rejected the calls to provide clarity over the use of public money. Over … Continue reading Scottish Toadies fall in line for Boris

@LeePirie noticed the above two tweets only hours apart. Is the virus out of control or is it not. Come on Douglas rule your chums offside. Lee is worth following at: https://mobile.twitter.com/LeePirie Continue reading Scottish Conservatives don’t know which way they’re going

The pay of BBC presenter Stephen Nolan increased by up to £15,000 to more than £405,000 in 2020-21. He earned between £405,000 and £409,999 from the BBC licence fee in 2020-21, the broadcaster said. That compares to between £390,000 and £394,999 in 2019-20 – up from about £325,000 in 2018-19. However, his published salary may vary each year depending on when he is actually paid by the BBC for programmes he has presented. His 2020-21 salary makes him the equal-fifth best paid BBC on-air star, with a salary similar to the Question Time presenter Fiona Bruce. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-57736237 In sharp contrast: … Continue reading Sarah Smith gets less than half this guy?

On the BBC Health website being shared across BBC England and Wales but not in Scotland, the above headline made me think of Nicola. Researchers, Foad, Whitmarsh, Hanel and Haddock (really), at the universities of Cardiff, Bath and Essex didn’t. They said, on public support for lockdown measures, there was ‘little understanding of how people reached their positions on these issues‘ and the full report makes no mention at all of Scotland, Sturgeon or our experts Sridhar, Bauld and Reich. Were the staff at BBC Scotland fearful it might praise the Scottish Government’s handling of the pandemic? No worries, it … Continue reading Scotland? What? Where?

In BBC Breakfast’s Reporting Scotland insert at 06:24, we hear that the SNP want ‘EU nationals to be automatically allowed to to stay in the UK’ then this image: Wait, those are illegal migrants from Iraq or Syria or Afghanistan. Oooh does that SNP want to just let anyone in? Without having to register!!! Well if they won’t protect our borders, perhaps Douglas Ross will? They’ll say it’s an innocent mistake under time pressure. We don’t understand life in news studio. This is the scene setter for a short but intensive downer for viewers on life in Scotland under the … Continue reading SNP and worries and worries and worries and…

Again, we’re providing improved reportage for BBC Scotland to help them keep up. Things are moving fast and they only have 147 more staff than we do to wander round looking for Unionists out on the streets unattended. As of today, Scotland no longer has the highest infection levels in the UK and supposedly in Europe: With ten times the population, England should have 23 600 cases but actually has, today, 25 295, 10% more. Tomorrow’s paper are not expected to blame anyone in the Conservative Government for this. Infection levels in Scotland have fallen now for 5 days: Tomorrow’s … Continue reading England now ‘Sick Man of Europe’ and ‘Covid Hotspot’ as cases in Scotland fall

Today, as ‘our’ media scramble excitedly over misunderstood Covid infection data, The Guardian suggests that England might learn from Sweden. There’s no mention of Scotland. Why would there be? Aren’t the Jocks the sick men of Europe? Well: In 2019, around 1 in 255 births resulted in a stillbirth in England and Wales, and it was around 1 in 302 in Scotland.  https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/stillbirths-and-other-adverse-outcomes-for-babies-in-britain-during-the-pandemic So, in country with shorter overall life expectancy and much background poverty after decades of London-rule, stillbirth is 18% more common in England and Wales. How has this happened? From a Labour Party freedom of information request, reported in the Guardian … Continue reading Stillbirth: The measure of a nation’s health

It’s the most popular weapon for SNP-bashing today but Scotland is far from the Sick Man of Europe, thanks to our compliance and the Scottish Government’s management of the pandemic, after devolution of responsibility, just over a year ago. Infection levels come and go. We’ve been the lowest, and now for a time we’re the highest. Death rates are forever and thousands have been saved here. Already the infection level is falling: The tabloids love it: BBC Scotland have wet themselves: We know what matters: Continue reading The Mortally Sick Men of Europe?