Starmer is in trouble
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ For the umpteenth time, I’m neither a psephologist like Sir Prof Curtice nor even hard-core statistician but, I know a wee bit. So, while the variation from one poll to the next is of limited value, looking at trends based on, for example, the average in blocks of five or so, may be taken to reasonably suggest a trend. The average Labour over Con lead in the last 5 polls is 17 points. In … Continue reading Starmer is in trouble
The comedy time lag on Scotland’s violent past
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ Here’s an English comedian recently working the hard Scots stereotype. Comedians, Scottish ones too, have lived of this trope for decades. As recently as 2005, not quite 20 years ago, it was based on a degree of reality: In 2005, a United Nations report named Scotland as the most violent country in the developed world. You were 3x more likely to be a victim of assault in Glasgow than you were in America. Glasgow … Continue reading The comedy time lag on Scotland’s violent past
Covid Inquiry – BBC Wales protects Labour’s image once more
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ The Guardian, above, today, opens with: Bereaved families who lost loved ones to Covid have accused the former Welsh health minister of incompetence and arrogance after he revealed that all his WhatsApp messages from the time had been lost. Then, they have these damning words: Speaking outside the hearing, Anna-Louise Marsh-Rees, who leads Covid-19 Bereaved Families Cymru, said: “He makes [the former UK health minister] Matt Hancock look like a strategic planning pandemic genius. He … Continue reading Covid Inquiry – BBC Wales protects Labour’s image once more
Massive disruption to ferries by strikes is ‘rien’ to do with French government
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ In The Connexion yesterday: Workers in ports across France start a strike today (March 11) that may last until the end of the week, impacting more than a dozen major entry and exit points. An inter-union call for a strike over job precarity, high turnover, and increased workload in the profession was filed by the CGT, CFDT, and UNSA unions. Ports affected include: Dunkirk, Le Havre, Rouen, Caen, Lorient, Bastia, Nice, Port la Nouvelle, … Continue reading Massive disruption to ferries by strikes is ‘rien’ to do with French government
NHS Scotland – the best performing A&E service measured by waiting times of any in the UK
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ By stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s (RCEM) website has a section entitled ‘Devolved Performance Figures’ where it provides comparable A&E waiting times data for the NHS in the four UK nations. Presently these enables direct comparisons for the month of January 2024. Under a Tory government with all the powers of a nation-state: NHS England: ‘In January 2024, 177,805 patients waited 12 hours or more from their time of arrival. The MOST AMOUNT … Continue reading NHS Scotland – the best performing A&E service measured by waiting times of any in the UK
Scottish Labour – How noble….how righteous
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ By NMRN “Anas Sarwar has told BBC Scotland that hating your political opponents is dangerous and claimed he doesn’t hate any of them. In 2014 Sarwar boasted that he hated the Tories and also claimed that most people in Scotland did. He won’t be called out on his lying, he never is. How noble….how righteous….how duplicitous of him (Sarwar)….. Labour party examples of “hating your political opponents“ Emily Thornberry at a public meeting stated ” I hate the SNP…I … Continue reading Scottish Labour – How noble….how righteous
Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ The Guardian today, reports: Lawyers in the Crown Prosecution Service in England and Wales have trivialised teen sexual abuse, are “obsessed” about the credibility of rape victims and used victim-blaming language, according to a critical official examination into how the service deals with serious sexual crimes. The report is the first major independent examination into how the CPS prosecutes rape since a promised overhaul of the criminal justice system. It warns of a reliance on “new … Continue reading Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland
Facts – Contrary to Scottish Labour lies, far fewer Scots die in A&E than would under them
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ Based on a Freedom of Information request by Scottish Labour we see in the Scotsman and elsewhere today this utterly stupid headline: Scots die as patients wait days in A&E. They have found that 7 300 had to wait more than a day in A&E and estimate on that basis, 2 000 avoidable deaths. Why is that stupid? The triage system, where nurses quickly identify which patients are at risk of losing their lives … Continue reading Facts – Contrary to Scottish Labour lies, far fewer Scots die in A&E than would under them
Reported domestic abuse in England & Wales climbing steadily to THREE times the rate in Scotland where it is also falling steadily
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ BBC Reporting Scotland today is headlining the stories of 7 abused women whose cases, often several years old, have again become ‘the news‘ as they form the basis for another of their Disclosure series. Once more there is no context. Have these crimes become more or less common? Are they more common in Scotland than elsewhere? These are questions we’d get the answers to if they were about drug deaths or any rare phenomenon … Continue reading Reported domestic abuse in England & Wales climbing steadily to THREE times the rate in Scotland where it is also falling steadily
Three failed barely-used Canadian catamaran ferries built for $460 million of taxpayers’ money struggling to get $15 million re-sale offer
Talking-up Scotland costs nothing so donate to our friends at https://www.broadcastingscotland.scot/donate/ or take out a subscription to the Scots Independent newspaper in which I have a column, at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/product-category/subscriptions/ From CBC today: They might be the most infamous ships in the history of British Columbia: three B.C. Ferries that were hundreds of millions of dollars over budget, couldn’t run as fast or efficiently as promised, and were partly responsible for sinking the NDP government of the 1990s. And now, they’re back. On Facebook Marketplace. “We’re seeing if there’s one last ditch effort we can make before they go to the scrap yard,” said Rob Arthurs, … Continue reading Three failed barely-used Canadian catamaran ferries built for $460 million of taxpayers’ money struggling to get $15 million re-sale offer
