Gary Smith of the GMB, right, in his 2020 campaign to exonerate the corporate care home owners and blame the Scottish Government for deaths due to the greed and incompetence of the care home owners. The GMB surfaces again today, like a Trident submarine, to sink our punt: So, they think NHS workers will reject the 4% they’ve been offered, compared to the 1% slap in England? A ‘tsunami of laughter’ is coming their way. Is it a ‘pre-election punt?’ Maybe. Was the ‘pledge’ in 2014 a ‘punt?’ Are there ‘punts’ everywhere? Do bears….Is the…? Continue reading Nurses laugh at pre-election ‘punts’

Headlining all morning, no doubt three times today on Reporting Scotland, and on the website, selected findings from the Institute for Fiscal Studies: BBC Scotland offers us these points, 5 days after they were published, just as we enter the first few days of an election campaign dominated by the issue of independence and the growing panic in the Unionist parties at the arrival of another pro-independence party in their life-support system, the regional vote: The Scottish government’s funding per person is almost 30% higher than the English equivalent, a leading economic research group has said. The Institute for Fiscal … Continue reading Too poor, too profligate? ‘Nicely timed’ propaganda for BBC from Douglas Alexander group

From TuS regular, Alasdair Galloway: OK, we all know that Alex and Nicola aren’t best pals anymore – anything but. So, its not a big surprise that Nicola is being hostile to Alex’s new party, which she makes very clear in an interview in that SNP supporting organ, The Daily Record, whose Political Editor is Paul Hutcheon (remember him on the Herald?). There were three points that jumped out at me in the National’s report: https://www.thenational.scot/news/19196889.nicola-sturgeon-issues-stinging-rebuke-alba-party-alex-salmond/ The first was “The First Minister insisted the only way to secure independence is to win a majority in Parliament and persuade the bulk … Continue reading Moving on

Up from 35 897 visitors and 148 991 views, in February, with a big contribution from one post, on the Hanbury poll ‘scoop’: Significant gains in Africa and South America but Syria proving too dangerous for our workers and Belarus impervious to our pro-democracy charms. The February imperial map below for those who like them: Sorry to see Romania fall from 2 to 4 Continue reading Significant gains in Africa and South America for March 2021

March 2021 Reports In Scotland: The 31-day standard states that 95% of all patients should wait no more than 31 days from decision to treat to first cancer treatment. 98.6% of patients started treatment within the 31-day standard, compared with 98.4% in the previous quarter and 96.5% for quarter ending September 2019. The 62-day standard states that 95% of eligible patients should wait a maximum of 62 days from urgent suspicion of cancer referral to first cancer treatment. 86.2% of patients started treatment within the 62-day standard, compared to 87.3% in the previous quarter, and 83.7% for quarter ending December … Continue reading NHS Scotland: 98.6% of cancer patients treated in 31-days and 62-day target met 21% more often than in NHS England

Alerted to this by reader Jim O’Rourke, I cannot believe my eyes: In the supposedly pro-independence National today the above astonishing claim. The facts: So, Mr Fry, by any of the three measures, tested, death certificate mention and excess deaths, Scotland’s death rate has been much lower than England or Wales. Continue reading The National’s Michael Fry dishonestly suggests Scotland has had more Covid deaths

This update prompted by a suggestion from reader, 2012nancy: From the National Records of Scotland, last updated 24th March 2021: The 2011 Census showed that the Scottish population was 4% minority ethnic. This data show that the number of minority ethnic deaths in Scotland relating to COVID-19 is between 1.4% and 2.7%. https://spice-spotlight.scot/2021/03/22/coronavirus-covid-19-in-scotland-latest-data/ Yet: In England and Wales, males of Black African, Black Caribbean and Bangladeshi ethnic background had the highest rates of death involving COVID-19, all exceeding 250 deaths per 100,000 and significantly higher than all other ethnic groups.  https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/articles/updatingethniccontrastsindeathsinvolvingthecoronaviruscovid19englandandwales/deathsoccurring2marchto28july2020#:~:text=In%20England%20and%20Wales%2C%20males%20of%20Black%20African%2C%20Black%20Caribbean,than%20all%20other%20ethnic%20groups. What can possibly explain this? Earlier today, I wondered if ethnic minority groups … Continue reading UPDATE: Better educated, less impoverished, why the minority ethnic Covid-19 death rate in Scotland is only half that of ‘white’ population

They sound confident but, let’s check if they’ve done this kind of work before: Ah, maybe not, eh? Continue reading Oooh, 40 000 affordable rent houses from the Tories! Do you think we can trust them?

In the Herald today: Joanna Blythman doesn’t believe that it is necessary for care home workers to be vaccinated against Covid (“Don’t trust Hancock and power-hungry pals, vaccine passports are a step to dystopian future”, The Herald, March 27). I think she is wrong. It is all very well to argue about the rights of the individual to choose, but what about the rights of those being cared for? Surely they have a right to be protected from catching this potentially fatal disease? It is a well-known fact that care home residents are particularly vulnerable due to age and infirmity. … Continue reading They are, 100%, and thus far fewer deaths pro rata

In an interview with Anas Sarwar, BBC Scotland referred to lower vaccination rates among ethnic minority groups, using, I suspect data for England & Wales. Ignored for months now is the evidence of lower death rates for these groups in Scotland. From the National Records of Scotland, last updated 24th March 2021: When a death is registered in Scotland, information about the ethnicity of the deceased person is collected, on a voluntary basis. The National Record of Scotland have produced a new dataset on ethnicity by linking records from the 2011 Census and death registration records. The following chart shows death … Continue reading Why is minority ethnic Covid-19 death rate in Scotland only half that of ‘white’ population yet in England….