Hiding the blame for Scotland’s decades-long £28bn entrapment in London-based parties financial incompetence
Major and Blair – the men responsible for Scotland’s seemingly endless PFI debt. What!? £600m in one year ‘repaying private firms?’ Surely the headline should tell us who is to blame for this massive mistake? Let’s look. Paragraph 1? Nothing. 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 – nothing. Ah, there it is in paragraph 10. We’ll hear more of those parties now! Well, no, that’s it. 22 paragraphs but no repeating of of ‘Conservative’ or ‘Labour.’ In total for all the PFI scheme building under the Conservative Government of John Major and the Labour Government of Tony Blair … Continue reading Hiding the blame for Scotland’s decades-long £28bn entrapment in London-based parties financial incompetence
With less than 4% of the defence spending UK has no credibility in Scotland
From BBC UK today: Delays in publishing a report laying out government defence spending have undermined the UK’s credibility with its allies, a parliamentary committee that scrutinises public spending says. The Defence Investment Plan (DIP) was supposed to be published in the autumn but is now due to be released ahead of a Nato summit early next month. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) says the hold-up means procuring the latest equipment will be more expensive, “hindering the government’s attempt to modernise the Armed Forces”. A Ministry of Defence (MoD) spokesman said the DIP would “fix the outdated, overcommitted and underfunded … Continue reading With less than 4% of the defence spending UK has no credibility in Scotland
BBC Scotland copies Daily Record technique to attract viewers with one cancer misdiagnosis but fails to mention 99.6% diagnostic accuracy across thousands of cases
Top story today, just like the Record, three weeks ago: BBC Scotland have a tragic tale of breast cancer misdiagnosis, terrible, but a single case. How it came to their notice is not mentioned. From a family member or from a local non-SNP councillor to Fiona Stalker? How common is a breast cancer misdiagnosis? I can find no NHS Scotland research but this seems relevant. For certain cancers, researchers have estimated very low “missed cancer” rates after specialist assessment. For example, one UK study of breast clinics found an overall diagnostic accuracy of about 99.6%. https://www.nature.com/articles/6605082?utm_source=chatgpt.com Is there any reason … Continue reading BBC Scotland copies Daily Record technique to attract viewers with one cancer misdiagnosis but fails to mention 99.6% diagnostic accuracy across thousands of cases
Labour UK Government ‘risks failing to deliver on its promise to save NHS dentistry in England’ and Scots know what they’ve got
The above follows immediately the British Dental Association‘s claim that ‘across the whole UK, the dentists union says it’s become much more difficult for people to access affordable care.‘ The report had opened with ‘the British Dental Association says the Government risks failing to deliver on its promise to save NHS dentistry in England. Labour has pledged to reform the struggling service in this parliament.’ Dentistry is not an issue, it seems, for the media operating in Scotland. Here’s why: Twice as many have NHS dental care in Scotland, hundreds queue for care in England but the Herald lets the … Continue reading Labour UK Government ‘risks failing to deliver on its promise to save NHS dentistry in England’ and Scots know what they’ve got
Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies prevented from making cash from Scotland’s children in care because of Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘promise’ in 2016
Before anyone accuses me of being duped, read my trenchant criticism of Nicola Sturgeon’s apparent views on Hilary Clinton and US foreign policy at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/03/04/sturgeon-and-clinton-does-being-a-woman-any-woman-trump-sic-her-war-crimes-her-murder-and-betrayal-of-the-poor/ That matters to me, a lot, but nothing can deny her massive achievements on the home front. In the Guardian today, from George Monbiot, quite an heroic figure for me and often well-tuned into to Scottish affairs: Bring your suitcase, your bin liner, your dumpy bag. They’re handing out money faster than you can stuff it in a sack. All you need do is join the market in what may now be England’s most lucrative … Continue reading Horrific, unregulated, and very profitable. The companies prevented from making cash from Scotland’s children in care because of Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘promise’ in 2016
Aberdeen By-election Special – Where tory Promises Go To Die
By Jim Mennie The Tories like to present themselves as champions of North East Scotland. Yet issues like oil and gas show they definitively are not. But it’s not just oil and gas that exposes how they treat the voters of the North East as mugs. In 2014, the then Westminster Tory-LibDem coalition government promised to make North East Scotland a world leader in carbon capture technology. The then UK Energy Secretary, and now LibDem leader, Ed Davey confirmed Peterhead as the location for the world’s first gas-fired carbon capture and storage (CCS) facility – backed up by a £100 … Continue reading Aberdeen By-election Special – Where tory Promises Go To Die
Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea
By Jim Mennie Reform UK has positioned itself as a vocal advocate for the North Sea oil and gas industry, particularly in North East Scotland. The party presents its policies as a defence of high-skilled jobs, energy security and domestic energy production against what it describes as overly rapid net-zero targets and green levies. While the messaging resonates in oil-dependent communities, serious questions remain about the party’s experience, track record and ability to deliver on its promises. What Reform UK Proposes The party’s platform includes several core commitments: Fast-tracking new North Sea exploration licences as a priority. Maximising extraction of … Continue reading Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea
After intensive police investigations found nothing the presumption of innocence applies to the SNP just as it does to you and I – The SNP is innocent of the misuse of donor funds and deniers should be careful what they say now
BBC Scotland today: Police Scotland says it is not launching a fresh investigation into claims about a £667,000 fund raised by the SNP for an independence referendum campaign. Independence activist Sean Clerkin reported the party to police, accusing it of “misusing” the cash by spending it on “general” campaigning, the Scottish Sun, external reported. It came after First Minister John Swinney confirmed the fund had been used for the SNP’s “ongoing activity”, insisting it had been spent on “independence objectives”. Concerns about the money sparked the police investigation that led to former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell – Nicola Sturgeon’s estranged husband – … Continue reading After intensive police investigations found nothing the presumption of innocence applies to the SNP just as it does to you and I – The SNP is innocent of the misuse of donor funds and deniers should be careful what they say now
The Daily Record’s front page today seeks to conceal how safety in NHS Scotland has impressed Nordic countries and pays out less than one sixth of the amount per head in malpractice claims paid in NHS England
We’ve had to stop saying ‘a new low for the Record.’ There seems to be none. Today, we see them sickeningly exploiting an understandably upset father and using his words, only, to apparently confirm mistakes made in the death of his newborn child. I’m no more in a position to comment on that death than is the Record but I am able to tell you this: In 2023/2024 (latest) NHS Scotland payed out £47.3m for health-related complaints.1 All things being equal with ten times the population, you might expect the NHS England to be around £480m. It was £3.1bn! 2 … Continue reading The Daily Record’s front page today seeks to conceal how safety in NHS Scotland has impressed Nordic countries and pays out less than one sixth of the amount per head in malpractice claims paid in NHS England
Only one political leader in the whole of the UK has a positive score in favourability – guess who? No, it’s not Anas – he’s on a shocking minus 32! Keir? Minus 40!!!!
Note, Ipsos is Paris-based, thus has no horse in the race here, and is therefore trusted. Continue reading Only one political leader in the whole of the UK has a positive score in favourability – guess who? No, it’s not Anas – he’s on a shocking minus 32! Keir? Minus 40!!!!
