BBC Scotland, always ferry ready on this topic, report: Islanders take South Uist ferry cancellation protest to Glasgow The Lochboisdale to Mallaig/Oban ferry in South Uist has been off for days now. There are only around 1 800 folk in all of South Uist, yet a few hundred clearly made it to Glasgow. Did they drive the 42 miles to the other ferry in North Uist which was operating at 100% for its 3 daily crossings? Is 42 miles too long. Glasgow to Oban is nearly 100. Are the folk above all islanders? Does BBC Scotland wish to mention that … Continue reading If the ferry is off how did they get there in such numbers?

So, that’s about 12 of them, some born in Scotland? Tom Gordon has labelled them ‘Ultras’ like some Italian football fans. Why didn’t he say ‘Extreme?’ Freudian analysis, quick? Deep down he kind of admires their manly vigour? Anyhow, why did I suggest the SNP are ‘civic nationalists’ when our MSM media rarely if ever use the term? Because, for decades now they are, 99%, but it’s too nice, too normal, too reasonable an image for folk like Gordon or Macwhirter or McKenna or, today, Gerry Hassan, to work with. Gerry has a media/politics PhD so knows all about this … Continue reading ‘Ultra Unionists turn out in strength to oppose ‘Civic Nationalists?’

In April 2022, the Herald announced uncritically: Look at that company – Isabel Boakeshott and a bunch of other extreme right-wingers. His parent will be pleased. No, really they will. And today, still well in with the monster, it seems: In Scotland, vote Labour, get? Continue reading Ana Sarwar’s longstanding links with media mogul Murdoch

As the BBC Good Mourning Scotland team and the Herald launch a combined beach assault on the SNP Government’s reputation, the latter features a Uist butcher to damn them on the basis of the loss of their direct ferry from Oban. What do you think the folk of North Uist do much of the time? Fishing? Sheep and cattle farming? Does the local butcher need any outside supplies? Unless it’s really cheap stuff from the latest Tory Oz/NZ trade deal? Yesterday, as for some time now, the Oban to Lochboisdale sailings, one each day each way, were cancelled. There are … Continue reading Good Mourning Scotland and the Herald of Free Markets sail for the isles on a day of 98% reliability and 100% safety

By stewartb The TuS piece (12 June) on Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol and the negative claims appearing on the front-page of the Sunday Post merits expansion. By fortunate coincidence, a regular browse through the latest output from Westminster’s select committees came across this very recently: House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (18 May 2023) Alcohol treatment services. (https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40045/documents/195525/default/ ) Focused on the present state of alcohol consumption and the track record of the Tory government on service provision in England, the report is not only revealing in these regards but also records the expert evidence it received on … Continue reading Westminster’s Public Accounts Committee blasts Tory record on alcohol treatment services in England and learns benefit of Minimum Unit Pricing in Scotland

UK government’s flagship ‘Making Tax Digital’ programme:  – 400% real terms cost increase since 2016 and 8 years behind schedule. By stewartb One of the oddities about corporate media and BBC news output in Scotland is that the performance of major projects/programmes for which the Westminster government is responsible gets scant if any attention. This is the case even for projects within the scope of reserved powers: of course these are projects where taxes raised in Scotland are allocated to cover a share of Westminster’s total expenditure i.e. they appear in the GERS figures as public funds expended on Scotland’s … Continue reading The UK’s Audit Office is not the news while Scotland’s surely is

By stewartb There is a story circulating about the Labour-led West Lothian Council’s decision to close three public swimming pools. Underlying it is a typical political jibe blaming the Scottish Government, this time for not passing on a (supposed and tiny) Barnett consequential in the precise way the Council requires. However, the news coverage also provides yet another example of a lack of analysis, context or perspective from an important national news organisation. The STV website has this headline: ‘Three swimming pools to close as council blame ‘failure’ of government – Council chiefs said they were ‘extremely saddened and disappointed’ … Continue reading The elephant in the swimming pool – a less than amusing tale of Labour politics!

BBC’s ‘The Context‘ aims to help viewers understand what is happening in the UK by revealing, comparing and contrasting, with what is happening elsewhere on the globe. In Scotland, student journalists are taught that they should have both personalisation and context in their reports. Personalisation might be an in-depth account of individuals directly affected by, for example, a delayed ambulance response. Students are taught that this helps viewers understand what these delays mean for the human beings who experience them. BBC Scotland staff love to do this bit. Context would be how that one example compares with responses times across … Continue reading BBC UK agree ‘whataboutery’ is essential

The Herald’s health correspondent digs up another piece of unreliable evidence to undermine the reputation of NHS Scotland and, by association, the SNP Government. The facts as always, are not with her: In 2021, 404 women under 35 died and 6 154 men over 35 and under 65 years of age, died. In the same groups, 15 women and 1 592 men died of heart-related diseases. The risk of heart failure is more than 100 times greater for middle-aged men than for young women. Simple? Sources: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/vital-events-reference-tables/2021/list-of-data-tables Continue reading 100 times more at risk – Cardiac care is geared to middle-aged men for good reason

Heaven forfend but should enough Scots be taken in by Labour, they then win the UK election in 2024 and, if the media carpet-bombing does enough damage to the SNP, they can form an unholy alliance with the Cons and LDs take Holyrood in 2026, we are in deep trouble. As readers know, despite the media reporting, Scotland has by far the best NHS in the UK but with Labour in power in both places, this from the Canary, reveals that will guarantee it’s decline and increased unfairness: Currently, under Keir Starmer’s leadership, it has plans to use the private … Continue reading Not protecting the NHS – Why Scots should be very very wary of voting Labour