Isle of Wight Tory MP calls again for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them
Professor John Robertson OBA Four days ago, Joe Robertson, Tory MP for the Isle of Wight has called again for measures to end the ‘ferry rip-off punishing coastal Britain’ [sic].1 We’ve highlighted these disparities and the generosity of CalMac prices several times but just last month we had: In July 2025, a medium size car with four passengers, Portsmouth to Fishbourne with Wightlink Ferries, would cost you between £210 and £300, depending time of sailing. From Southampton to East Cowes with Red Funnel would be between £200 and £288. It’s a 12 mile, 45 minute journey.2, 3 The Oban to Mull crossing is similar at 15 miles and … Continue reading Isle of Wight Tory MP calls again for ferry pricing regulation introduced by SNP in 2008 to transform Scottish island economies and then be forgotten by the ungrateful among them
CalMac, youngest ferries, best funding and most staff
Professor John Robertson OBA The Scotsman today has – CalMac hit by ‘challenging’ year from increased severe weather and ageing fleet. The ‘ageing fleet‘ line is a well-worn suggestion that the SNP in government has not funded enough new ferry-building. It’s rubbish. The best comparisons are with Washington State Ferries and BC Ferries, on the North-West coast of North America. They each serve one big city as does CalMac – Seattle, Vancouver and Glasgow – and a large island archipelago of 30 to 50 destinations with 20 to 40 vessels. CalMac has the biggest fleet and largest set of destinations … Continue reading CalMac, youngest ferries, best funding and most staff
Cancer waiting times shorten in Scotland and hundreds treated faster than if they lived in England
Professor John Robertson OBA From Public Health Scotland’s Cancer waiting times 1 July to 30 September 2025 published today: 70.7% of patients started treatment within 62 days, compared with 69.9% in the previous quarter. 95.1% of patients started treatment within 31 days, compared with 95.3% in the previous quarter.1 The comparable figures for NHS England were 68.8% and 91.4%. Remember these figures related to around ten thousand patients in Scotland and hundreds of thousands in England so a difference of say 4% means hundreds treated on time in Scotland and thousands not treated on time in England. Sources: Continue reading Cancer waiting times shorten in Scotland and hundreds treated faster than if they lived in England
With 50% more registered nurses, no Scottish health board has scarily high mortality rates due to use of unqualified staff increasingly common in NHS England
Professor John Robertson OBA From the Times, three days ago, the above graph reveals that those health trusts in England which are increasingly using less qualified staff rather than fully registered nurses to care for patients, have been responsible for higher death rates than they should have, in clear contrast to those trusts which have not done so. Hospitals which have cut registered nurses or replaced them with lower-paid staff have seen a surge in death rates, a major study has revealed. The research, which analysed staffing at 122 NHS trusts over four years, revealed dangerous variations. Nicola Ranger, chief … Continue reading With 50% more registered nurses, no Scottish health board has scarily high mortality rates due to use of unqualified staff increasingly common in NHS England
Unionist think tank tries to reduce Maths pass rate for next year
As Jack McConnel’s political ‘think tank’ in the Scotsman and Herald thoughtlessly encourages next year’s S4 to avoid even trying maths because only 4 in 10 pass when in truth it’s 7 in 10, how does England do we wonder: Continue reading Unionist think tank tries to reduce Maths pass rate for next year
Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’
Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair I have more detail on the above ‘research’, front page this morning and 35th by this afternoon. The only story that has sunk faster is that on the Labour MSP and the paedophile. I’ve already clarified in my previous post why you should be wary of ‘The Commission on School Reform, the education arm of the independent think tank Enlighten.’ Who on earth do they think they are? … Continue reading Factcheck – 70% pass rate in S4 mathematics – Someone who actually knows something about educational research scoffs at fake ‘commission’s education arm’
Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools
Professor John Robertson OBA, , former schoolteacher, education lecturer, head of department, Associate Dean (Quality Assurance), Research Professor, research methods tutor, Masters and PhD supervisor, multiple peer-reviewed international research author, Faculty Research Ethics Chair The above is on the front page of the Scotsman, based on a report by the far from ‘independent‘, pompously self-styled Commission on School Reform (neither royal nor government just invented) and fronted by the notorious Carole Ford with, as always, party-affiliation hidden, and at the end evidence of Pisa-data which no respectable published educationist will ever use. Note – I’ve put all my ‘stuff’ there … Continue reading Scotsman ‘newspaper’ front pages incompetent, mendacious, self-important, sub-standard researchers to undermine Scottish schools
John Swinney knows not one Scottish Jew has been physically assaulted in an anti-semitic attack since records began
Professor John Robertson OBA According to the Scottish Daily Express yesterday: Jewish families are considering leaving Scotland in the face of a backlash against the community over the conflict in Gaza, with the First Minister accused of stoking tensions The Jewish population is in decline but that’s a result of intermarriage, aging, assimilation, secularisation and some movement historically but not recently, to Israel and other parts of the world. There’s no sign they’d be fleeing to places where anti-semitism is much more of an issue I’ve been following the annual survey by the Jewish charity, the Community Security Trust, of … Continue reading John Swinney knows not one Scottish Jew has been physically assaulted in an anti-semitic attack since records began
One of Scotland’s useless, jaundiced, hacks is so little read he can’t drag himself out of the abyss
Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve written more times about McKenna than I care to remember and had resolved to just ignore his ill-informed and petty tirades against the SNP, but for dog (sorry Kev) knows what reason, I feel the urge. At the heart of his stuff is what seems to be an evidence-free feeling of anti-Catholic discrimination still pervading live in Scotland. The Great Professor Tom Devine disagrees completely but Kev is not for thinking or reading any facts. Ironically given his faith, Kev the Doubter doesn’t seem to worry too much about the religious institution he belongs to. … Continue reading One of Scotland’s useless, jaundiced, hacks is so little read he can’t drag himself out of the abyss
Will Anas Sarwar be asked to stand up for Scotland as Labour Government ‘quietly guts’ by 76%, funding to create jobs in poorest areas of Scotland?
Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today: If the government was serious about reducing the growing welfare bill, it would be starting here and in the other parts of the country blighted by deindustrialisation and poverty. It would identify the parts of the country most in need – Wales, Scotland and large swaths of northern England – and love-bomb them. Yet instead of devoting more money to regional economic development, ministers are doing the opposite. In one of its less-publicised policy moves, Labour has quietly gutted the fund designed to create jobs, a scheme inherited from the Conservatives. The shared … Continue reading Will Anas Sarwar be asked to stand up for Scotland as Labour Government ‘quietly guts’ by 76%, funding to create jobs in poorest areas of Scotland?
Talking-up Scotland 