The best public services, the lowest crime, the safest roads, the cheapest, safest, most inclusive ferries, the most wildlife, water and trees, fresh air and no Godzilla!
Professor John Robertson OBA I know, there are still some out there, lusting after the climate of the south of England but they’d soon change their tune if they lived there. The forecast for tomorrow tells you in which parts of the UK most of us will breathe easy, cope. On the Reddit Scotland site today, this from ReallyTrustyGuy and a few followers put it better than I could: Continue reading The best public services, the lowest crime, the safest roads, the cheapest, safest, most inclusive ferries, the most wildlife, water and trees, fresh air and no Godzilla!
Renewable energy: should maximising electricity from offshore wind be a priority for Scotland in Union given surplus ‘exported’ to England is not a true export?
By stewartb The headline question is of current relevance as the Scottish Government initiated a public consultation on June 13 (closing August 13) to inform the updating of policy on offshore wind energy. Here are the consultation questions: ‘1) Does “up to 40GW of new offshore wind by 2035-2040” demonstrate an appropriate level of ambition for the Scottish Government?’ ‘2) What additional actions do you believe should be taken by the Scottish Government, UK Government and agencies in order to realise the full potential of Scotland’s offshore wind sector?’ Source: Scottish Government (June 18, 2025) Offshore wind policy statement 2020 … Continue reading Renewable energy: should maximising electricity from offshore wind be a priority for Scotland in Union given surplus ‘exported’ to England is not a true export?
It may be ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ but does Scotland in Union have the agency to VALORISE its high value resource?
By stewartb – a long read In what follows, we report credible UK sources stating that Scotland has ‘vast natural resources’; has ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ off its east coast; through just one offshore transmission cable, Scotland has already supplied from surplus enough electricity to ‘power all the homes in Wales’ over a five year period; with five more offshore cables due to be laid with capacity to transmit enough electricity from Scotland to power another 10 million homes (for sources see below). Given all this, will the economy of energy-rich Scotland in Union … Continue reading It may be ‘one of the most important renewable generation centres in Europe’ but does Scotland in Union have the agency to VALORISE its high value resource?
Scottish Conservatives and Herald combine to fake the A9 deaths trend by withholding figures you paid for
Professor John Robertson OBA As the season of stored up Freedom of Information requests [at great expense to you] by the opposition parties and BBC Scotland gets into gear, the above only partial data front paging the Herald is a cracker of misrepresentation and deliberate deceit. In their own words 28 deaths on the A9 over the 4 years but 13 of those in just 2022/2023, the post-pandemic spike? So how many in each of the other 3 years so that we may see the trend? They’re not telling us this despite the fact that we, the taxpayer, paid for … Continue reading Scottish Conservatives and Herald combine to fake the A9 deaths trend by withholding figures you paid for
News you won’t see – Scottish Government funding for playparks to promote children’s health and development surges by FIVE times in only five years
Professor John Robertson OBA From: Funding to upgrade children’s playparks: FOI release Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 published yesterday: Question 1 – How much of this money has been allocated (not to be confused with the £25,000,000 announced recently)? The Scottish Government has allocated and committed the following sums since May 2021: The Scottish Government announced recently that in 2025/26 the final funding instalment of £25 million will be provided to the local authorities, which is delivering on the 2021 Programme for Government commitment of funding £60 million for play parks renewal. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500467583/ … Continue reading News you won’t see – Scottish Government funding for playparks to promote children’s health and development surges by FIVE times in only five years
Scottish Government regulations mean sewage sludge spread on Scottish farmland is less polluted than in the rest of the UK
Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above, and: Millions of tonnes of treated sewage sludge is spread on farmland across the UK every year despite containing forever chemicals, microplastics and toxic waste, and experts say the outdated current regulations are not fit for purpose. An investigation by the Guardian and Watershed has identified England’s sludge-spreading hotspots and shown where the practice could be damaging rivers. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/07/millions-of-tonnes-of-toxic-sewage-sludge-spread-on-uk-farmland-every-year There is, of course, no research into the situation in Scotland, referred to in the above. Toxic sludge is being spread on Scottish farmland and there are campaigns against the practice … Continue reading Scottish Government regulations mean sewage sludge spread on Scottish farmland is less polluted than in the rest of the UK
Not mentioned by Herald’s Martin Williams – Arran ferry’s ‘faults’ started when the contract to build it was awarded by Scottish Conservatives to an inexperienced English yard on its last legs in a Conservative constituency
Professor John Robertson OBA Readers will already know that the MV Caledonian Isles is back in dock for repairs following botched work by Cammell Laird in Liverpool. Readers will also be aware of the regular and longstanding Scottish media reports describing the vessel as ‘troubled’ and ‘fault prone.’ While such accounts have been often exaggerated and ill-informed, it may be that the vessel has been, since its launch, marked by the consequences of political errors and shoddy work by its builders. Launched on 25 May 1993 at Richards Shipbuilders of Lowestoft, Suffolk, England, shut down only months later in 1994, … Continue reading Not mentioned by Herald’s Martin Williams – Arran ferry’s ‘faults’ started when the contract to build it was awarded by Scottish Conservatives to an inexperienced English yard on its last legs in a Conservative constituency
English shipyard botches repairs of young Scottish ferry built by another struggling English yard
Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland has, today, been working oh so hard to turn this story around so that it reflects badly on CalMac and, by association, the Scottish Government, with this sort of comment: Ferry operator CalMac is trying to recover millions of pounds of repair costs for a ship that has been out of action for 18 months – and is still not fixed. CalMac is now seeking compensation from Cammell Laird over problems discovered when the ship returned to Scotland last September, after the Merseyside firm carried out the first phase of work. The 32-year-old ship … Continue reading English shipyard botches repairs of young Scottish ferry built by another struggling English yard
‘No current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children which would mirror the investigations [in England] described in Baroness Casey’s audit as being perpetrated by “grooming gangs”
Professor John Robertson OBA Readers will be aware no doubt of new Labour MP Joani Reid’s shameless u-turn on national inquiries into grooming gangs – no in England where they are many, to save her boss a red face, but yes in Scotland, where there are none, proving that as Jimmy Reid’s granddaughter, the apple can fall pretty far from the tree at times. Reid also wrote to FM Swinney, demanding an inquiry here but his response published on 4th July 2025 has had no MSM coverage. You can see why: However, in order for any action to be effective, … Continue reading ‘No current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children which would mirror the investigations [in England] described in Baroness Casey’s audit as being perpetrated by “grooming gangs”
Alex Cole Hamilton reveals CalMac to be more than 97% reliable with his second-class research
Professor John Robertson OBA Here we have another of those Freedom of Information requests by the opposition parties stored up to try to maintain the SNPbad narrative through the holidays. You’ve already seen the Tory ones on ambulance and fire statistics. Here we have the Lib Dems reporting: More than 10,000 ferry sailings cancelled due to faults – Freedom of information data obtained by the Scottish Lib Dems showed 10,809 sailings were cancelled since January 2023. Lib Dem MSP Jamie Greene said: “These figures reveal just how much chaos the SNP are causing island communities. “Our island communities are being … Continue reading Alex Cole Hamilton reveals CalMac to be more than 97% reliable with his second-class research
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