From Opinium, based on responses from 5th May: To what extent do you approve or disapprove of …The way Nicola Sturgeon is handling her job as Leader of the SNP: Con 22% (20%) Lab 52% (46%) Lib Dem 55% (56%) SNP 86% (83%) https://www.opinium.co.uk/public-opinion-on-coronavirus-5th-may/ In brackets above, the results of a similar poll also by Opinium, on 26th March, suggest increasing support. In sharp contrast, Boris Johnson’s performance was only approved of by 17%, 34% and 14% of Lab, Lib Dem and SNP supporters and this represents a fall from 20%, 39% and 14% in March. https://www.opinium.co.uk/public-opinion-on-coronavirus-26th-march/ Continue reading Second poll has increased majority of Labour and Lib Dem supporters backing the First Minister

In a flurry of worry today, Hannah Rodger presents Prof Greening to tell us that our infrastructure is not ready for mass vaccine delivery: Behind the paywall again, contrary to current practice on covid-related news, it opens with: PREPARATIONS to give out millions of coronavirus vaccines must start now or Scotland risks compounding the economic damage caused by the pandemic, a leading expert has warned. Professor Phil Greening of Heriot-Watt University said the country is currently nowhere near prepared enough to handle the logistical nightmare of vaccinating millions of people in a very short space of time. Leaving aside the limited chance … Continue reading Another Pennington? Research into Indian vaccine delivery infrastructure presented as another scare for Scotland

In the Herald today from their Westminster Correspondent: Thousands of frontline health and social care workers have complained since the start of the pandemic that they have been unable to access enough personal protective equipment like masks, gowns and visors, despite Government assurances that supplies have been ordered. This has not happened, not in NHS Scotland, certainly. Apart from attempts by one of Anas Sarwar’s in-laws and one Facebook group, to suggest widespread problems with PPE in Scotland, there is no evidence at all for the above claim. Does she mean the care home workers whose employers, US and Cayman Islands corporations, … Continue reading This is just a lie from the Herald’s Westminster Correspondent

Readers will know that I can’t really tlak about proof ruding. TuSC’s proof reader is, well, kind-of, imaginerry. So, when the Herald in a hurry offers me ’causeovement’, I can’t help but feel a wee bit empathetic for the online editor [16] and quite like the new word we now have. Then having clicked, I see with some delight, this: Great! It’s a ‘Civil War’ again and it’s by David Leaks! Readers may remember this from December 2018: The shadowy charity accused of running a British state-backed campaign against Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has confirmed it held a meeting with … Continue reading Herald’s David Leaks revealed as spymaster M!

So far, only Radio Scotland’s John Beattie has tackled the company, responsible for the infection control failure in the Skye care home where everyone is infected and six, so far, have died. It hasn’t appeared anywhere else across BBC Scotland’s output. Surely their Disclosure team should be having a go at this? They could make up for their previous ill-informed report where they sided with the big BMW driving manager, of a Lanarkshire care home owned by Florida-based Bluebird Care to then blame the Scottish Government for not supplying PPE to a massive US corporation charging large amounts to care … Continue reading Is BBC Scotland’s Disclosure team too scared or too stupid to investigate the care home deaths in Skye even though the owners pay no tax?

With six now dead in a Skye care home owned by English company HC-One, BBC Scotland still shields the private owners by refusing to mention the Care Inspectorate report from January, reported here nearly a week ago and mentioned by John Beattie two days ago. In it, the requirement to improve infection control to ensure people are not put at risk, imposed in January had not been met by the time of the outbreak: https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/care-services?detail=CS2011300714 Continue reading Six dead in Skye but BBC shields the owners

In a daily coronavirus pandemic briefing on Tuesday, Scotland’s First Minister said the “time has come” to seriously consider universal basic income for Scots.  Much more on this from stewartb: Progressive countries experiment to progress – Finland and Universal Basic Income One area of public policy innovation attracting renewed interest during the Covid-19 pandemic is universal basic income (UBI). It is now being pursued in Spain. It received a further expression of interest from our FM at a recent Covid-19 briefing: there has already been preliminary work to design UBI pilots in Fife, Edinburgh, Glasgow and North Ayrshire. This post … Continue reading What Scotland can learn from Finland’s experiment in universal basic income

My dad was a fan of Wishart’s writing back in the day. I was reading with approval her piece in the Guardian today until this bit hit me between the brain cells: Now I know she’s not directly blaming the SNP or the Scottish Government but the implication is strongly there. Wishart is here apparently following the BBC and MSM line, shielding the private owners and somehow suggesting that SG guidance was not clear enough and that the SG should have provided PPE supplies to private companies which charge around £1 000 per week to care for the residents. We … Continue reading Is Ruth Wishart blaming the SNP for the Skye care home crisis?

Lord George Foulkes has come out of isolation again to accuse the SNP of deliberately making NHS Scotland the best in the UK, ‘on purpose’ and just to encourage people to vote for them. From the Herald today: Concerns have been raised by councillor Lucy Hovvels of the County Durham Health and Well-being Board, who has written to the Health Secretary. She told Chronicle Live: “We have had complaints that local sites aren’t listed, when people from Durham and Darlington attempted to book an appointment, they have been given slots in Penrith, Harrogate, Edinburgh and Perth. This Herald report comes only days after … Continue reading Jeane Freeman accused of making Scotland’s coronavirus testing too good, on purpose

The Herald today attempt to construct a feud between Nicola Sturgeon and Joanna Cherry based on diddley. They have no sources. Only the usual: ‘Alleged to have made’ Pressed wrong button on phone and failed to record? ‘Privately her own party colleagues t One Orkney member rejected from candidate list for council elections? ‘One senior party source commenting that Ms Cherry had lost the plot’ Willie McIntyre, (92)? ‘Ms Cherry is said to have made less than complimentary remarks‘ Disagreed? ‘One party source in the North of Scotland said.‘ Oh somebody, anybody with a card. Who gives a?’ As always … Continue reading Brazenly dishonest attempt to start SNP Civil War, again