Ludo Thierry Further to the rumours of Rennie’s potential departure following Baron Steel/’Sir’ Cyril Smith whitewash scandal and his being replaced by Joe Swinson CBE (?soon for peerage) – worth reminding oorsels that wee Willie Rennie (former Scotland Office SPAD) actually pretends a rather more jaundiced view of Swinson and her record. Link and snippet below: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/18043801.willie-rennie-jo-swinson-backed-tory-welfare-policies-should-never-happened/ 18th November 2019 Willie Rennie: Jo Swinson backed Tory welfare policies that ‘should never have happened’ By Tom Gordon Scottish Political Editor JO Swinson voted for Tory welfare policies that “should never have happened” when she was a minister in the Coalition, Willie … Continue reading Willie Rennie’s jaundiced view of Jo Swinson

Ludo Thierry Yea Gods – whatever next? Swinson’s after Wee Willie’s seat and job! Please, please and pretty please is all that I can say!! Link and snippet below: https://www.thenational.scot/news/18287929.jo-swinson-considering-running-willie-rennies-holyrood-seat/ JO SWINSON could be set to make a dramatic return to frontline politics with reports that the failed LibDem leader is heading to Holyrood to replace Willie Rennie. According to the Press and Journal, the North East Fife MSP is “keen” to see a fresh face take over in 2021. (Presumably Rennie being punted out due to his over-zealous application of whitewash re. the ‘Sir’ Cyril Smith scandal?). Continue reading Sturgeon to casts pearls before Swinson?

Apparently award-winning journalist with the Scotsman and former PR woman with the Scottish Labour Branch, Davidson is presumably responsible for some of the howlers we’ve heard from them over the last few years. Today, she joins the ranks of those praying that the errors of a few individual SNP politicians will somehow convert into lost votes. She is in fine company – Brian Brexit Monteith, Brian Bad Vibrations Wilson, John Tory Councillor MacLennan and Mark I Know Some Teachers Smith, but like them she is certain to be disappointed. History tells us so. After the Derek Mackay scandal had fully … Continue reading Labour speech writer desperate for SNP decline faces disappointment

Good Morning Scotland, this morning was, as always, irony-free. Around 7, Laura MacIver told us: ‘Research out to make the start of British Science week today suggesting that while BBC programmes like Blue Planet have shown us we need to do more to help the environment many of us don’t know how to go about it. Well the Chief Executive of the British Science Association, who carried out the research, Catherine Matheson, is with us now.’ So just tell us about people’s attitudes, first of all, and how they are influenced, maybe by what they see, particularly in the media.’ … Continue reading BBC Scotland: “Do get in touch and let us know what you are panic buying”

Often fed by opposition politicians, BBC Scotland, the Herald or the Scotsman regularly shout about problems in Scottish prisons or in police custody, such as overcrowding: Had they something like this report on police custody suites in Sussex, they’d be in heaven. Though written in that understated way typical in official reports, the abuses are clear. First, little progress between inspections: We last inspected custody facilities in Sussex Police in 2016. Because of concerns following that inspection, and the limited progress made against our recommendations when we visited the force a year later to assess this, we prioritised the force … Continue reading Imagine this was a report on Scottish police custody?

I’ve already reported on the startling fact that NHS Scotland has 50% more nurses per head of population than NHS England: https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/health-and-care/nhs/opinion/house-commons/110276/mohammad-yasin-mp-coronavirus-spreads-nhs Looking at the UK National Audit Office report which prompted the media outcry, we can see one simple and critical reason in the actions of the Scottish Government. At the top of page 16 of the report: It is not straightforward to monitor nursing shortages centrally. NHS providersmust follow safer staffing guidance, although there are no prescribed staffing levels inEngland. In a footnote at the bottom of the page: [I]n Scotland, health boards and service providers have a … Continue reading One good reason why NHS Scotland will have the nurses to cope better with an epidemic

In Feeling the strain: What The Commonwealth Fund’s 2019 internationalsurvey of general practitioners means for the UK, published yesterday, we read that Scotland’s GPs do feel stressed but at a significantly lower level than in England: Reported stress levels vary across the UK. In England 62% of GPs said they are ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ stressed, compared with 52% in Wales, 48% in Scotland and 43% in Northern Ireland. (page 11) Of particular importance, the links between A&E departments and GPs seem far more developed in NHS Scotland: Within the UK, GPs in Scotland appear to have the fastest access to … Continue reading Critical A&E links with GPs at crisis-level in non-Scottish parts of UK!

Ed: As with leading Coronavirus scientist, Kate Broderick, visionary drug recovery worker Peter Krykant, offers such a positive image of Scotland, that BBC Scotland staff know intuitively to avoid telling viewers about him. In both cases, widely reported everywhere but not by the state broadcaster. Ludo Thierry An interesting development in the campaign for safe consumption rooms is being reported on the STV news site – but I’ve seen no similar mention on the beeb Scotland pages. (If it appeared it must have been a ‘blink and miss it ‘ job). The story involves a seemingly visionary Scottish activist who … Continue reading Reporting Scotland ignore heroic drugs activist who makes Scotland seem a nobler place

Ludo Thierry This story was carried on the beeb Scotland main page for part of a day – it then migrated to the South of Scotland page. To my mind the story is important in that it shows how the Chookie Buccleuch and Buccleuch Estates are not ignoring the possibility of the New and Better Scotland getting around to following the precepts of the 1919 Land Resettlement (Scotland Act) in due course. This legislation was forced through following the active Land Raids by returning war veterans (wearing their medals at times) to acquire some land for crofts and smallholdings etc. … Continue reading Duke of Buccleugh is not daft!

In a parliamentary question to the Scottish Government, yesterday, ACH asked how many eating disorder specialists there are in NHS Scotland and how long patients were waiting to be treated. The answers were ’29’ and ‘we don’t know’ because data is not collected for what is seen as part of wider mental health waiting time targets. Is that enough? Too little? Too many? Cole-Hamilton also asked how many were being treated. In 2018 it was 556 or around 19 each, over the space of a year. Click to access WA20200304.pdf I’m no expert but 19 patients per year doesn’t seem … Continue reading Alex Cole-Hamilton reveals NHS Scotland well-staffed