Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026
and we know there are some small-scale examples of where they have changed public services but we’ve been talking about public service for the past 13 years and we’re not seeing anything of the scale and pace that is going to help the Scottish Government that are going to help them bridge the £1 billion gap in public spending. By Professor John Robertson OBA Above and headlining BBC Scotland today, the Auditor General, Stephen Boyle, criticises the Scottish Government again, in a sequence of such high profile media appearances. This is a uniquely Scottish experience as a public official, funded by all … Continue reading Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026
Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual
The current UK Government National Threat Level is: ‘substantial – an attack is likely.’ Why do I say this is unusual? As with IRA terror in the 70s to the 90s, Scotland has seen little of the Islamic terror which struck England in the first decade of the 21st Century after the Iraq invasion. In 2017, I could write: Scotland and Terrorism: Are we safer? السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ I’m still not sure if I should be writing this. I’m not going to tempt fate and say we won’t see anything like the Manchester attack here. I’m just going to present some information … Continue reading Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual
Reverse Trojan Horse – Why the SNP and Labour should do a coalition deal in 2026 for independence by 2030
When I first saw the above, my first reaction was: ‘DAFT, DAFT and…….DAFT.’ Then something flashed from the nether regions into the front of my brain, while walking the dog. First, some facts you’ll need: From a FindOutNow poll for the Alba Party on 16-23 October, 25% of Labour voters would vote YES in a second independence referendum. From a YouGov poll on 29 August to 3 September a majority of Labour voters 47%/40% would vote YES if independence meant re-joining the EU. Leaving aside their leadership, most Labour voters share similar positions with the SNP, on taxation, benefits, health, … Continue reading Reverse Trojan Horse – Why the SNP and Labour should do a coalition deal in 2026 for independence by 2030
Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’
Since 2007/08, poverty rates among children in England, Scotland and Wales have been consistently lowest in Scotland and often highest in Labour-run Wales according to the Social Metrics Commission. By stewartb This blog post is a follow on from the recent TuS blog post – ‘Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it’ – prompted by the Guardian’s coverage of the Social Metrics Commission’s latest report. Source: Social Metrics Commission (2024) Measuring Poverty 2024( https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/ ) Comparing rates of povertyThe table below summarises data on the percentage of the population in England, Scotland andWales … Continue reading Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’
Failing to tell us that the early prison release scheme in Scotland has already been a success as re-offending rate plummets
By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland this morning telling us that MSPs will debate legislation to cut the minimum term served by short term sentence prisoners from 50% to 40% to relieve overcrowding. Wouldn’t be interesting to know if previous early release schemes have been successful? Imagine they had caused a surge in crime? BBC Scotland don’t inform on this despite it being their day job to do so. I’ll do it. In October 2024, after previous batch of early releases the Scottish media were full of headlines like: On in ten prisoners released early back behind bars and Dozens of … Continue reading Failing to tell us that the early prison release scheme in Scotland has already been a success as re-offending rate plummets
Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support
Liz Kendall, UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, wrote today to reveal this, for the UK as a whole: An extra 450 000 UK pensioners pushed into poverty by 2030 means around 40 000 in Scotland. From the Herald on 1 August 2024, only one month after the General Election: From the National Records of Scotland in 2019: The association between mortality and low indoor temperature observed by the Eurowinter Group was also found by Wilkinson (2001) in a study on excess winter deaths in England. This used postcodes to link data on characteristics of over 21,000 houses … Continue reading Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support
See anything you don’t like here? See anything these folk wouldn’t like?
By Professor John Robertson OBA Some folk I know say: “We will champion measures like: I’ve seen opinion polls showing that a majority, some sometimes a big majority, of ‘us’ not to mention quite a few Conservatives too, are all for many, maybe all, of the above. Who are the ‘we?’ Certainly not the Cons, Lib Dems nor Labour, but who? Click here to find out: https://scottishsocialistparty.org/4-july-general-election-drive-out-all-shades-of-tories-for-socialist-change/ Continue reading See anything you don’t like here? See anything these folk wouldn’t like?
Domestic abuse TWICE as common in England and Wales as in Scotland
By Professor John Robertson OBA I remember in 2014, Frankie Boyle suggesting that Scotland become an Islamic Republic but that to do so it would have to treat its women better. From the Scottish Government’s Safer Communities Directorate today, the above graph and: The police recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse in 2023-24, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year. This is the first year this figure has shown an increase since 2020-21.1 Note, from Section 1.2 of the full report: The Act [in 2018] did not alter the way in which statistics on the volume of domestic abuse incidents … Continue reading Domestic abuse TWICE as common in England and Wales as in Scotland
As Motherwell man becomes first [vulnerable?] Scot to be named as member of an English County lines gang, BBC Scotland still won’t bite
BBC Scotland (above) today, have no space for this hot story: A man from North Lanarkshire has been charged after over £6m worth of cannabis was seized during a massive multi-agency taskforce operation. Craig Tomlinson from Motherwell was charged with the supply of Class B drugs after British Transport Police officers targeted key stations across Manchester on Monday and Tuesday last week while intelligence led to a search of three addresses. The multi-agency operation, dubbed Op Blume, was led by a BTP specialist County Lines taskforce and deployed officers from the dog section, Neighbourhood Policing Team, Operational Support Unit, plain … Continue reading As Motherwell man becomes first [vulnerable?] Scot to be named as member of an English County lines gang, BBC Scotland still won’t bite
22 degrees of difference in temperature but one means-tested winter fuel allowance?
As I watched BBC Breakfast at around 7am this morning, it was minus 10 in Tulloch Bridge just south of Fort William and plus 12 at St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles yet it’s the same means tested winter fuel allowance for pensioners in both places. Still months away from the real Scottish winter, we see the first signs of how different Scotland is from the southern parts of the UK and how important the Winter Fuel Allowance is for many here. In a year or so, we’ll see the winter mortality data for all parts of the UK and … Continue reading 22 degrees of difference in temperature but one means-tested winter fuel allowance?
