By stewartb Still on the matters of 2021 qualification assessments and their politicisation. On the Scotland page of the BBC News website today, under the headline ‘Scottish exams body to be reformed amid grades row’, we learn this: ‘… convenor of the education committee on the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP), is the only young person on the NQ21 group. He told Radio Scotland he did not feel listened to, and that his voice was “drowned out”. He said the views of young people had to be considered more.’ On the SYP’s own website there is a blog written on 3 … Continue reading Scottish Youth Parliament adopt the ‘bad habits’ of their parliamentary elders?

From stewartb On schools and specifically on the 2021 assessment of national qualifications. I note that BBC Scotland is taking full advantage of the politicisation of the assessment process by opposition parties in Holyrood. The appeals procedure seems now to be the main target of criticism. At FMQs on 3 June an ‘outraged’ Douglas Ross asked: “Will the First Minister do the right thing, concede that she has got this badly wrong and guarantee that no pupil who appeals will be downgraded? No matter how rare she says that is, it will be a risk for young people if they … Continue reading The politicisation of the assessment process

By stewartb There is much trumpeting today of the UK concluding a free trade agreement with Norway, Iceland and Lichstenstein. Given these three countries are European Economic Area members, I suspect the net additional benefit over the situation prior to Brexit is rather limited, if any for the UK. However, it is framed a bit differently elsewhere! Can you spot the key factor missing from UK coverage – unless you know differently? “This free trade agreement seeks to safeguard as close trade relations as possible following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Economic Area (EEA).” And then this: “The EEA … Continue reading If Lichtenstein can do it…

From YouGov today with 1 703 18+ adults based on field work on 2nd and 3rd June 2021, Con support is up 3 points to a shocking 46% with Labour support static at 30% from 29% in May. Click to access TheTimes_VI_Track_210603_W.pdf In December 2019, the Cons won a majority of 80 seats with a vote of only 42.4% to 40% for Labour. Do Scots need a stronger warning? SNP support is typically around 47-48%. Why do I refer to the Cons as the ENP? From the Guardian in March 2021: If traditional class politics has finally faded away, what … Continue reading English National Party as popular as Scottish National Party in latest poll

From SNP Media today: New research has revealed that Scotland’s green energy sector contributes £5.2billion every year to the economy and employs 22,000 people, but previous studies have shown the Tories are holding back Scotland’s renewables industry with extortionate costs. The research by the Fraser of Allander Institute shows that the renewables sector produces 97% of Scotland’s electricity and is a ‘vital part of Scotland’s economy’ by supporting jobs in other industries such as construction and manufacturing. However, Tory energy policies are holding the industry back by charging astronomical prices for companies to access the infrastructure needed to distribute the energy … Continue reading Research shows Tory energy policies holding Scotland back

The above report mentions Scotland 15 times, including the above, marking out its more caring approach in sharp contrast with rUK. From SNP Media today: Scotland has been described as ‘standing out’ in the UK on children’s rights, despite the UK as a whole ranking as one of the worst countries in the world for respecting the rights of children. The standings, produced by the KidsRights Foundation, ranked the UK as 169th out of 182 countries for how it respects children’s rights. Despite that the KidsRights Foundation did praise Scotland for being the first devolved nation in the world to legislate … Continue reading Scotland described as ‘standing out’ on children’s rights

Under this stock image from…Chicago or London…we read: So, from Scotland’s most Conservative region, we have one GP allegedly telling the Herald that she and her colleagues have observed that the SQA and by association the SNP are driving senior pupils to having suicidal thoughts. I mean really? Why is she afraid to come out? Why can she not say how many and what the increase is? They keep records, on computer don’t they? Any senior pupil could show them how to get a few totals out of their spreadsheets if the office manager, also a Tory lady, is typically … Continue reading Tory supporter/politician’s cousin/sister/mother accused of encouraging copycat suicide claims

From: Mairianna Clyde Macwhirter: It’s always worth listening closely to the words of Scotland’s greatest historian, Professor Sir Tom Devine. At the weekend he gave my colleague Neil Mackay a vivid picture of the current state of the Union – and why it’s in deep trouble in the wake of Boris Johnson and Brexit. But between the lines, I think Sir Tom was also delivering a quiet warning to ardent Scottish nationalists who think independence is just a matter of time. It’s not a done deal. Tom Devine (whom I knew personally in the 1990s as a doctoral student) was always … Continue reading Iain Macwhirter’s thinking could be more toned

From SNP Media today: The SNP has branded UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock “cack-handed” after he made crass, politically-charged comments about the UK’s handling of COVID. Speaking at the Jenner Institute in Oxford, Hancock claimed “the union has saved lives” and failed to face up to the reality of the UK government’s mistakes made during the pandemic. SNP Deputy Westminster Leader Kirsten Oswald MP said: “Matt Hancock’s bid to politicise Covid is distasteful and cack-handed in the extreme – as he rightly says, the virus doesn’t respect political boundaries, and countries large and small across the world have had to … Continue reading Matt Hancock “cack-handed?”

Well that’s a not-very exciting headline. Will it get more exciting if you click on it? Flag? That’s good. Is it a big flag? Read on: SCOTLAND’s renewable energy sector supports around 23,000 jobs across the country and provides a multi-billion pound boost to the country’s economic output a study has found. The Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde found that renewable energy businesses employed 6,440 people directly in 2019, on a full time equivalent basis, and had total turnover of £2.8bn. Oh, so, billions? Think of mentioning that in the headline? No? Is there more? This: … Continue reading How to not headline Scotland’s massive renewables wealth