In Scotland, the Education Secretary is to blame but in England where is the Minister, Gavin Williamson? And in Northern Ireland: Or in Wales: Only in Scotland. Continue reading Who is to blame for the exams crisis?

I was about to quit for the day when I saw this. I almost didn’t bother because I know few read this source but, I read a few lines and thought WTF! Are the Common Weal staff letting him write this stuff unsupervised? It’s an amazing Old Testament rant from a man who feels he is not being listened to enough and can’t bear it. He forecasts disasters and various crises which can be averted if only we’d adopt the Common Weal approach, three times, and on one occasion, if we’d listen to his solid proposal. As before, I refuse … Continue reading Robin McAlpine: As the end doesn’t come nigh how do we stop the prophet of doom?

According to Scott Wright in the Herald: BELLWAY has declared demand for its new homes in Scotland is “positive” despite lockdown conditions on construction sites easing more slowly north of the Border than in England. Further investigation in Scottish Construction Now‘s site reveals: However, Bellway added that customers’ interest was increasing, with private reservations rising to 140 per week last month, compared with 162 per week a year earlier. The firm also has a ‘strong order book’ comprising of 6,588 homes, compared with the 4,878 homes on order in 2019, with a value of £1,760.2 million (2019 – £1,223.9 million).  https://scottishconstructionnow.com/article/bellway-fears-covid-19-will-weigh-on-costs-for-years-to-come Continue reading Evidence slower exit from lock-down not damaging economy

Last night the PM and the Minister for Transport responsible for this reserved matter, Grant Shapps, were the go-to-guys. The PM led the tributes last night but by this morning, the Herald chooses this image of the FM. I know I’m skirting ground where accusations of paranoia will pile in but readers will know that there has been a longstanding tendency for images of Scottish Government politicians to appear with stories of ‘crises’ in hospitals, schools and in policing while English and Welsh media never politicise these stories and use images of hospital building, school buildings and police vehicles. I … Continue reading Surely the PM or the Queen ‘leads’ the tributes

John Swinney is still the face of an exam crisis but the minister responsible for rail infrastructure maintenance and safety is nowhere to be seen. Both reports have statements of condolence from everyone you could think of, including the Duke of Edinburgh but there is no explicit clarification of where responsibility for the inspection, funding and maintenance of Scotland’s rail infrastructure lies – London. In the BBC Scotland TV broadcast this morning only Michael Matheson, the Scottish Transport Secretary, who has no responsibility in this, was mentioned. In both reports Shapps and Matheson appear as if sharing responsibility. These matters … Continue reading Fatal rail crash: Where are Shapps, Bowie and Johnson?

There has been much confusion as to why Grant Shapps and Boris Johnson have been commenting on the above accident. Scotland’s media have been less than clear about where responsibility for the inspection and accident prevention lies – London. As far as I can see, rail accident prevention is a reserved matter and the Scottish Government has no effective role in this: Transport safety and regulation, including “regulation of aviation andshipping marine and air safety, rail safety and regulation (except forappropriate oversight by the Scottish Executive of Scottish passenger railservices), and some aspects of road traffic regulation”; transportsecurity; driver and … Continue reading Rail accident prevention is reserved to UK Department of Transport: SNP called for devolution of infrastructure in 2019 General Election

Think about this. Those supposed social democrats, allegedly champions of a fairer society with a strong NHS and universal human rights are prepared here to encourage you and their admittedly few followers to read the ideas of Stephen Daisley in the Spectator, Boris Johnson’s natural home in journalism. This is a plan to neuter the Scottish Parliament and, in so doing they hope, to nip the SNP and Yes surge in the bud. It won’t work, I know, but it’s a shameful and revealing move by the Fabians. I’m reminded of how, in the Spanish Civil War, Stalin’s communists enabled … Continue reading Scottish Fabians prefer an unholy pact with Tory England over their supposed progressive values

‘You’re going to need a bigger graph!’ Four days after the announcement of the Scottish Tories’ ‘Dream Team‘ to take on the First Minister, a YouGov poll for the Times suggests they’re in deep trouble already, clearly unable to attract any more Labour supporters prepared to put the Union ahead of progressive values and watching those in favour of them and/or of Yes in the next referendum, continue to desert the SS Leonard. I don’t suppose this will help for the next poll: Continue reading Ross and Davidson double-act triggers surge in SNP support

It’s been some time since I’ve talked-up Scotland as a place, by no means perfect, but one which is drifting away from the brutal form of society which the Conservatives and Unionists seem to prefer. See this from Contact: For families with disabled children on 10th August: From September 2020, new rules in Scotland only mean that young people will continue to receive Disability Living Allowance (DLA) until they turn 18. Currently DLA claimants are invited to claim Personal Independence Payment (PIP) shortly after they turn 16. This is part of a wider change to benefits in Scotland. Over the next few years, Social … Continue reading BBC Scotland misses another difference making this a better place after 12 years of SNP rule

From the less than summery, Lisa today: Prosecutors are considering a health and safety report into an infection outbreak at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow. A 10-year-old boy and a 73-year-old woman died after contracting the Cryptococcus infection, linked to pigeon droppings. In 2019, we received two apologies for the way reports had suggested that patients had died ‘from‘ and ‘as a result of‘ fungal infections: https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2019/02/12/when-reporting-scotland-are-caught-lying-they-say-it-did-not-quite-come-out-as-intended/ https://thoughtcontrolscotland.com/2019/02/12/reporting-scotland-editor-apologises-for-jackie-bird-being-wrong-and-has-a-word-with-her/ A third attempt to get them on the use of ‘after‘ met with huffy resistance: I wrote in March 2019: They seem tired: ‘You cite two uses of the word … Continue reading Reporting Scotland misleading again about hospital deaths ‘after’ fungal infections