From the Scottish Government News website today, which every self-respecting Scottish journalist (damn few?) has on alert: The Chief Statistician has today released first estimates of the 2023 Scottish harvest. The figures predict that cereal production will remain in line with the ten-year average despite significant challenges during the year, including high input costs and poor weather condition. Total cereal production is expected to be around 3.0 million tonnes. Early estimates for yields of barley, oats and oilseed rape are below 2022 levels, but similar to the ten-year averages. The predicted yield for wheat is also below last year’s figure, … Continue reading Reassuring harvest predicted despite challenges as Scotland produces 14% of UK cereal for 8% of the population

By stewartb – a long read The relevance of the first part of the title is self-evident: how to shift more voters in Scotland towards supporting independence. With a UK General Election relatively soon and the next Holyrood election not so far off, there is an urgency.  Whilst politicians and political strategists have been offering up different views on routes to the final outcome of independence, amongst the elements that constitute each – often worryingly partial – ‘theory of change’ is the basic one of democratic legitimacy through electoral support. New insights from the USA point up the difficulties – … Continue reading Shifting stubbornly fixed views – are insights from the USA relevant here?

YouGov poll published today for 2-6 October 2023, has a 9 point lead for the SNP and Labour struggling to creep above the 30% share. Looking more meaningfully at the averages for the last two blocks of 5 polls, we see the SNP average for the last 5 from mid-September and the lead over Labour were 38% and 9.4. For the previous 5 polls from 1-2 July to 2-4 September, despite the media carpet bombing, the SNP support was 38% but the lead over Labour was only 6.2. So, SNP support stable through difficult days and Labour not able to … Continue reading Latest full poll has SNP Holyrood lead solid and Labour stuck

Maritime Williams is presenting himself as the leading journo on ferries as he presents a diesel-stained slick of negative CalMac reports. Today, it’s the above with a link to his ferries newsletter. Curiously, when you click on it, you get stories on any kind of transport other than ferries: Returning to the state aid dilemma, it’s a long and thorough piece but, in the end, really about the supposed poor performance of CalMac and promoting the frankly daft idea that some privatised alternative would be better for the ‘islanders’. Here’s why it’s daft. Because Williams does not look at privatised … Continue reading Ferries – I suspect I’M Scotland’s leading journalist on the issue and CalMac are perhaps the best in the world at running them

From the Independent today: Defendants convicted of some of the most serious crimes including rape and burglary will reportedly face delays in going to prison from next week because jails are full. Crown Court sentencing hearings are set to be delayed to keep down prison populations, leaving anyone on bail either free in the community or held in cells in magistrates’ courts. Figures uncovered by The Independent last week show overcrowding in prisons is nearing breaking point. Most jails are dangerously full, with some holding 70 per cent more inmates than they should, including Wandsworth, from which terror suspect Daniel Khalife is accused of escaping. Lord Edis, the senior presiding judge for … Continue reading ‘Judges told not to jail rapists [in England] due to overcrowded prisons’

Responding to yesterday’s post, also prompted by Bob, which showed BBC Scotland news to be lingering on their website far longer than the stories on the other three nation’s BBC websites, an analysis worth a further look Bob Lamont It’s not BBC Scotland laziness, far from it – They must examine tens of news releases from SG daily before picking say one to which they can change the angle, or more generally ignore by supplanting with their preference as to what “the news” should be, the “news where you are”.eg On the BBC Wales page there is a regular feature, … Continue reading We are beyond the era of journalism, it is now news management, aka propaganda

Credit to regular Bob Lamont for spotting this. Five days after the Rutherglen by-election and BBC Scotland is still savouring SEVEN reports on that and has an average age for reports at 3 DAYS! Actually reporting what is important by revealing how the UK Government failed to work with the devolved governments to fight the pandemic, BBC Wales has an average age for reports of 1.2 DAYS. BBC Northern Ireland average age of stories – 3.8 HOURS! The Cork murder report was 3 hours ago. BBC England average age of story – 3 HOURS! What are we paying these people … Continue reading BBC Scotland accused of being really lazy sods as well as Labour addicts

From the Taipei Times tomorrow: Aging crews on ferry services to outlying islands could soon be a problem if they cannot find people to succeed them after they retire, maritime experts said. The nation has 26 ferry services to outlying islands, which are operated by 70 captains, Port and Maritime Bureau statistics showed. The average age of these captains is 52. On some ferry routes, captains are still operating ships even after they turn 80, the bureau said. https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2023/10/12/2003807585 CalMac ferry crew are required to retire at 65 with a good pension guaranteed by the Scottish Government. CalMac has plans … Continue reading Aging crew and ferry captains working into their 80s ‘a concern’

Headlining from BBC Wales Politics today: Boris Johnson thought it was “wrong” for the prime minister to hold regular meetings with Mark Drakeford and Nicola Sturgeon during the pandemic. The comments have been revealed in his evidence to the Covid inquiry. Wales’ first minister had been frustrated at the number of meetings he had with the Westminster government. But Mr Johnson feared working closely with first ministers could make the UK look like a “mini-EU of four nations”. “That is not, in my view, how devolution is supposed to work,” he said. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-67076592 From BBC Scotland today, 7 stories about … Continue reading Covid Inquiry – BBC Scotland hides the truth of UK contempt while BBC Wales headlines it

In the wake of ferry fiascos in British Columbia, Washington State and New Zealand and a ferry fatality in Greece, foreign settlers on Gozo (population 40 000), part of Malta, are threatening to leave if they don’t get a decent ferry service: https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/gozo-sunk-sea-passivity.1060170 There are currently 2 daily crossings, taking 25 minutes between MĠARR, GOZO and ĊIRKEWWA, MALTA, costing €4.65 (£4): https://www.gozochannel.com/ferry/fares/passenger/ The Dunoon (population 7 660) to Gourock service operated by CalMac also takes 25 minutes but has 58 crossings a day, and costs £2-4: https://www.rome2rio.com/Ferry/Gourock/Dunoon#:~:text=Caledonian%20MacBrayne%20operates%20a%20ferry,the%20journey%20takes%2025%20min. Please slot this into your mind, alongside earlier evidence that CalMac is, contrary … Continue reading Another ferry fiasco…..in Malta….confirms CalMac as best of its kind in world