From Keith Brown this morning: SNP on 57%, projected to win 74 seats. FM on +50 approval, PM on -50. 53% support for Indy (up 2%). Need to keep our eyes on the prize and take nothing for granted. Also, in the headline, reinforcing our thoughts two days ago on the results of the YouGov sub-poll, carried out as the SQA ‘fiasco’ exploded on the 4th and 5th, SNP support is again unaffected by media campaigns like the one we saw at the weekend. And, 53% support for independence, in a full poll, when placed in this sequence, confirms the … Continue reading 10% increase in support for Independence and pushing toward a safe majority next time

It seems that the Conservative Government plans to side-step a ‘humiliating U-turn’ with ‘knee-jerk decision’ to stick with the thousands of downgrades and only offer the affected the chance to use their mock results (prelims) if unhappy with that. Other humiliations, however, seem inevitable but this, reported in the Guardian today, is the worst for them: Lawyers warned that the Scottish U-turn could potentially lead to legal challenges in England when pupils from either side of the border compete for university places. Leon Glenister, a barrister specialising in education law, said: “I struggle to see how the government can now … Continue reading Top universities may need to limit Scottish access as ‘knee jerk’ minister holds his algorithm tight and disadvantages England’s young

In a poll for them but not yet published, the Times, revealed this at 12:01 this morning: More than two thirds of SNP voters want Nicola Sturgeon to push for an unauthorised independence referendum if the UK government withholds permission from a majority nationalist government. The constitution is reserved to Westminster under the Scotland Act and the common interpretation of the law is that the UK government must transfer authority to Holyrood to hold a second vote on secession. A poll by YouGov for The Times found that 68 per cent of SNP supporters thought that the Scottish government “should try to … Continue reading Nearly 70% of SNP voters want ‘unauthorised’ referendum if Westminster refuses

From: Alasdair Macdonald and stewartb: Alasdair: I think we have a pragmatic decision. I thought that the SQA had been pretty rigorous in what they did and gave us a set of results that were in line with previous trends. Since we have an appeals system in Scotland, I had thought that the additional evidence that would have to be provided would have given us a bit more clarity on why so many teachers across all sections of society gave the higher (as distinct from Higher) predictions that they did. However, I think that the number of appeals would have … Continue reading SQA: Reflections on Unprecedented Circumstances

Ed: Headline is mine. From indyref2soon Professor Lindsay Paterson seems to think he knows how to fix it (BBC Radio Scotland this morning) – he says to use teacher’s grading if based on a Prelim exam. Prelims are of varying standard and in a lot of cases sat a couple of months into the school year – genius! Some were done less then a third of the way through the curriculum. Some schools sat them in March – Apples and Pears! Also, teachers were instructed not to do that for obvious reasons. He seems to dislike the SQA – who … Continue reading Exams ‘fiasco’ latest: Prof will fixit!

Tory Shadowy Health Secretary, Miles Briggs, asked the above question on Monday 10th August. Briggs is clearly aware of his own party’s policy in England of counting, double-counting and just bending the rules wherever they can to meet targets for their ‘world-beating’ system. See this: Tens of thousands of coronavirus tests have been counted twice in the government’s official tally, public health officials have admitted. Diagnostic tests which involve taking saliva and nasal samples from the same person are being recorded as two tests, not one, the Department of Health (DoH) and Public Health England (PHE) said. The double-counting inflates … Continue reading Tory Shadowy Health Secretary tells Freeman how to cheat on testing targets

How many do you need for a fiasco? Thirty weans in George Square out of the tens of thousands not in George Square, seems to be enough. On one of the two, only, interviewed for the Scotsman by their Food and Drink Correspondent and opponent of baby boxes for everyone: For Catriona Keddie, her daughter Eilidh’s first day at school will not be the exciting experience she had hoped. Usual transition sessions for P1s have been scrapped due to coronavirus in some council areas. Instead, she is worried that she will collect an exhausted and overwhelmed child at the end … Continue reading It’s a two-woman-only ‘fiasco’ for Scotland’s wee bairns!

Note how the word ‘fiasco’ has lost its qualifying speech marks? If you say it’s a fiasco often enough then it becomes accepted that it really is one. All that is required is repetition. Only a handful of students protesting, out of thousands? A higher pass rate especially for those in disadvantaged areas? The same method as used in England and Wales? Too late! It’s a fiasco! In the last few days since the first disappointed student tweeted her anger and stalking journalists picked the story up before interviewing a few for TV, radio and newspaper audiences, the tale of … Continue reading Why won’t the exams fiasco go away? Because you won’t let it

Caledon Media are a new collective determined to give a space for a new discussion on Scotland’s future. https://caledonmedia.scot/ After the server, based in Leamington Spa (!), went down last week, I gather all is well. Ill be on Thursday at 12.30pm. Continue reading The Tusker on the Radio: This Thursday 12:30pm