Blaming – Labour really really really need to start to seeing themselves as others (clearly) see them.
Anonymous If Jackie Baillie really “wants to try to blame the SNP for local cuts”. Well Anas Sarwar , when recently interviewed by BBC Reporting about the Scottish government, stated : “Typical of the SNP always blaming someone else” So Labour in Scotland, via their own leader, apparently does not support the idea that blaming others as being an action that is ever appropriate or a valid defence . So it seems that he , Sarwar, needs to then have a word with his Deputy Ms Baillie, who yet again is about to expose him, Sarwar, as a political hypocrite if she does indeed “try to blame the SNP for local cuts”. He also might want to have a … Continue reading Blaming – Labour really really really need to start to seeing themselves as others (clearly) see them.
New Labour MP is biggest landlord in Westminster and cares little for his tenants
Anonymous Labour’s 2024 general election manifesto included a commitment to “prevent private renters being exploited and discriminated against”. Great. As some Landlords are indeed exploiting their tenants via the poor conditions of their properties being, at times, most uninhabitable as a place that is fit to live in . However it seems that one of their, Labour party’s, successful candidates who was elected as an MP in the recent GE, is a Landlord who has now been reported in the media (BBC UK investigation) as one who rents out flats that have “ black mould and ant infestations” and also some of these flats owned by him contained “dirty communal areas, lights that did not work and fire … Continue reading New Labour MP is biggest landlord in Westminster and cares little for his tenants
Official figures reveal cancer waiting times far longer in other 3 nations than in Scotland
By Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks to Broadcasting Scotland for alerting me to this: The ONS has recently published cancer waiting times data for the four UK nations, making much of problems in making comparisons without really telling us why and concealing the figures in the text, requiring you to download them. It’s kind of remarkable given the ease with which Scotland’s worse drug deaths are trotted out endlessly across media reports and on TV panel debates, despite clear evidence from the UK civil servants in 2023 that the figures for England and Wales “underestimate the number by a far … Continue reading Official figures reveal cancer waiting times far longer in other 3 nations than in Scotland
‘Fleeing higher taxation in Scotland?’ Wrong, Kate, it’s not ‘very easy to move’ and that’s why we don’t
From STV‘s Craig Mehan, today: Kate Forbes has warned that people could move out of the country if the Scottish Government hikes taxes again. The Scottish Government has previously committed to “progressive taxation”, with last year’s budget increasing income tax on the highest earners and creating a new band for those earning between £75,000 and £125,140. But speaking at an event at the SNP conference on Friday, organised by the Child Poverty Action Group Scotland, the deputy first minister warned of the dangers of further tax rises. Responding to a staff member from Oxfam Scotland, Forbes said she had to … Continue reading ‘Fleeing higher taxation in Scotland?’ Wrong, Kate, it’s not ‘very easy to move’ and that’s why we don’t
Factcheck on useless Scottish Labour MPs – Research proves Labour’s winter fuel allowance cut will kill many more in Scotland
Kinbrace in Scotland last night -1.2 °C, Manston in Kent – 16.6 °C By Professor John Robertson OBA UK average winter temperatures. The Times today: So 200 000 cold-related deaths in milder England & Wales means 20 000 or significantly more than that in Scotland? Might these be useful data? Of the four UK nations, England consistently has the highest life expectancy at birth for males and females, and Scotland the lowest. Life expectancy at birth in 2020 to 2022 was estimated to be: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/bulletins/nationallifetablesunitedkingdom/2020to2022#:~:text=Life%20expectancy%20at%20birth%20in%202020%20to%202022%20was%20estimated,and%2081.8%20years%20for%20females The OBA – https://scotsindependent.scot/?page_id=116 Continue reading Factcheck on useless Scottish Labour MPs – Research proves Labour’s winter fuel allowance cut will kill many more in Scotland
Dame Jackie Baillie told her Labour council to ‘run now’, blame the SNP for Starmer’s betrayal cuts and make her still electable in 2026
According to Glasgow Live, two days ago: The running of West Dunbartonshire Council has been thrown into confusion after the Labour administration resigned its leadership at the end of full council meeting. The shock announcement came following two frustrating hours for the Labour group which saw SNP councillor Karen Murray Conaghan elected as the new Provost of West Dunbartonshire, taking over from former Labour Provost Douglas McAllister who was recently appointed as MP for West Dunbartonshire. Former Labour councillors June McKay and Danny Lennie, who had quit Labour during the week, both voted in favour of Councillor Murray Conaghan instead of Labour’s Depute Provost John … Continue reading Dame Jackie Baillie told her Labour council to ‘run now’, blame the SNP for Starmer’s betrayal cuts and make her still electable in 2026
Labour incompetence in governing Wales as hospital waiting list surges to 22% longer than Scotland’s and more than 100 000 suffer
From BBC Wales today: The waiting list for hospital treatment in Wales has reached another record high, with about a fifth of the Welsh population waiting to be seen. The latest figures show that in May 2024 there were 611,500 individual patients waiting for just over 787,900 treatments to take place, both record figures.1 From the Morning Star, three days ago: But new figures sho501w waiting lists in Scotland have instead soared to an all-time high, with over 864,366 patients waiting either for an appointment, tests or hospital treatment by the end of June.2 Wales has a population 3.14 million, … Continue reading Labour incompetence in governing Wales as hospital waiting list surges to 22% longer than Scotland’s and more than 100 000 suffer
8% of the population but enough wind to power 46% of the UK’s homes
In the National today: SCOTLAND’S wind industry hit a big milestone on Thursday as the country’s wind power capacity surpassed 14.5 gigawatts (GW). With the opening of the new Viking Wind Farm in Shetland, Scottish turbines now have enough capacity to power almost 13 million homes. The development also brought the UK’s total wind power generation capacity over 30GW, with 48% coming from Scottish developments. https://www.thenational.scot/news/24548147.new-scottish-wind-farm-means-industry-can-power-13m-homes/ There are 28 million households in the UK. Scotland could power 46% of them. Too poor, too wee, too stupid to cope on our own? Continue reading 8% of the population but enough wind to power 46% of the UK’s homes
UK dependent on Scotland again with 8% of the population but 80% of the seed potatoes needed for food security
From BBC Scotland‘s Kevin Keane, this morning: Scientists have made a major breakthrough which could save the Scottish potato industry from collapse. A pest called potato cyst nematodes (PCN) has been steadily infecting fields and rendering them useless for growing seed potatoes. then 11 paragraphs down: The sector is worth £4.5bn to the economy with almost 80% of Britain’s seed potatoes coming from Scotland. Those seeds are needed for the UK’s food security with potatoes being a huge staple of the British diet. Another reason why, contrary to the economic basket case they love to paint us as, they are … Continue reading UK dependent on Scotland again with 8% of the population but 80% of the seed potatoes needed for food security
England’s ferries rule the waves
Alasdair Macdonald In 2014, one of the unionist jibes against independence supporters was that it was Scottish ‘exceptionalism’, by which they were implying that we were claiming Scots were better than anyone else, i.e. we were blood and soil nationalists, which equated Scots with fascists and Nazis. But, they were not averse at deploying exceptionalism to attack independence. Scots were not very good, not genetically programmed to manage our own affairs: Scots were exceptionally inadequate as a people. There was also the jibe of ‘identity politics’ – we identified as Scots and nothing else (they claimed), so that was bad. … Continue reading England’s ferries rule the waves
