From Labour Market Trends: August 2026 published today: In July 2026, the claimant count in Scotland was estimated at 106,800, a decrease of 1,000 (-0.9%) over the month and an increase of 4,600 (4.5%) over the year. The claimant count unemployment rate estimate in July 2026 was 3.6%, compared with 4.3% for the UK as a whole. https://www.gov.scot/publications/labour-market-trends-august-2026/ The 0.7% difference in the claimant count between Scotland and England, amounts to around 25 000 of the 3.58m working age population not on the claimant count, due to better government in Scotland. How can I say it’s because of ‘better government’ … Continue reading 25 000 fewer in Scotland not on the claimant count due to better government

Scots Independent Newspaper celebrates 100 years and awards OBA to actor Alan Cumming. He joins Sean Connery, Alasdair Gray, the Tartan Army, Dr Phillipa Whiteford and….oh, yes, me. Tickets at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/eventtickets/ Continue reading Scots Independent Newspaper celebrates 100 years and awards OBA to actor Alan Cumming

Sometimes it takes a stranger to see things clearly and in this case, BBC Scotland’s masterpiece of Scottish cringe, last night. Her impressions are unbiased and spot-on. Why? This: From Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2025-26 published 23 June 2026, this table: Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/recorded-crime-scotland-2025-26/pages/total-recorded-crime/ One year variations are often unreliable indicators of trends but comparing the averages of three to five year groups is less so. You can see above that comparing the average rate of crimes per 10 000 population in 2015-2018 with those in the most recent three years reveals that in almost all of the categories of crime claimed by the … Continue reading The facts behind European TV anchor’s defence of increasingly lawful Glasgow against BBC’s nasty ‘selective’ documentary

From Glasgow Live today, the above, and: A meeting with anti-racism organisations was held in June after disorder in Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland. Mr Swinney met with anti-racism campaigners and those working with refugees. The talks came after two police officers and three people were injured in disturbances in Glasgow – with police saying members of the public had been “attacked because of the colour of their skin”. Since then, the Scottish Government said, there has been extensive engagement with Ministers, senior officials, and Police Scotland to listen to concerns and take forward constructive action. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/hatred-extremism-racism-no-place-34474284 How big is this problem? … Continue reading Hatred, extremism and racism already has little space in Scotland relative to the UK

The Herald, reliably misleading at all times, ask the above question based on what one police officer said about one or two streets in Glasgow. Is that a reliable measure? One person. Could we do better? I know, lets ask 5 000 people instead. In the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey for 2026: Most adults feel safe walking alone after dark. The SCJS found that three-quarters (75%) of adults said that they felt very or fairly safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark in 2023-24. This is an increase from 66% in 2008-09 but has been stable since 2016-17. https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-february-2026/pages/statistics-on-community-safety/ What might explain … Continue reading Policing in Scotland: Are communities becoming less safe? No, ask 5 000 and three quarters say the opposite

From PV Magazine on 12 August below and, above, the zero-level MSM coverage: The 500 MW/1 GWh Coalburn 1 BESS has entered commercial operations at a former coal mining site in Scotland, according to CIP. The project is now the largest operational BESS in Europe. Construction at the Coalburn 1 site in South Lanarkshire, near Glasgow, began in November 2023 according to CIP’s local development partner Alcemi. CIP divested 50% of the project to insurer Axa IM Alts in April 2025. Revenues for Coalburn 1 will include a 10-year optimization agreement with SSE, plus a 15-year capacity market contract covering … Continue reading Europe’s largest battery comes online in Scotland’s media silence for good news

I asked SuperGrok AI before on this so as to avoid it being influenced by previous evidence: Please ignore my previous history on this topic before answering this – If in a city within the EU there was a plan submitted to site a new 1 677 bed hospital catering for all conditions including child and elderly cancer patients, patients with heart and respiratory conditions within 200m and downwind of a 12 uncovered pond sewage treatment facility experiencing 7 000 litres per second flow, how might that submission be reacted to? The answer: Strong opposition, rigorous scrutiny under Environmental Impact … Continue reading Nothing like the QEUH sited only 5m from a 7 800 litres a second raw sewage processing facility would ever be approved in the EU so why did Scottish Labour make it happen?

his concerns over patient safety were repeatedly ignored for ‘more than a decade.’ In the full online report, the term ‘more than a decade‘ does not occur. Instead, we read ‘Hospital concerns ignored for 15 years, scientist tells inquiry – A scientist involved in the development of Scotland’s super-hospital has claimed his concerns over patient safety were repeatedly ignored. Dr Michael Bradnam told the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry he had spent 15 years raising issues with ventilation systems, electrical safety and humidity control at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow.‘ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98vvp619ero Why does this difference matter? The hospital … Continue reading Scientist involved in the development of Scotland’s super-hospital – his concerns over patient safety were repeatedly ignored by a Scottish Labour council and board