The SNP has said Douglas Ross faces a ‘big test’ of his promise to stand up for Scotland’s farmers ‘every single time’ in the face of a Tory trade deal with Australia which would see Scotland’s beef and lamb farmers undercut – threatening their future. Writing in the Scottish Farmer magazine in September 2020, the Scottish Tory leader penned an open letter to Scotland’s farmers promising that he would stand up for them on a bigger platform. However, he has been silent in the face of proposals in the Tories’ trade deal with Australia that would see Scotland’s farmers undercut … Continue reading Creep feeding his own myths?

From SNP Media: The SNP has said Alister Jack must ‘fight back or resign’ over the damaging Tory trade deal with Australia, which threatens the future of Scottish farmers and crofters. In a letter today, Ian Blackford MP urged the Tory Scottish Secretary to “break your deafening silence” on the issue and lead an urgent fightback against a zero-tariff, zero-quota deal, which would undercut the price and standards of Scottish beef and lamb – putting Scottish farmers out of business.  The SNP Westminster Leader said the issue was of such importance to farming communities in Scotland that the Scottish Secretary must be ready … Continue reading Gentleman farmer Jack now in hiding from farmers?

Today in the Herald, but also covered in the Record five days earlier SAFETY fears have been raised over the home of Britain’s nuclear weapons on the Clyde as managers have slashed firefighter numbers alongside a ‘failure’ to provide promised safety equipment. Union Unite has slammed the move to go ahead with cutting eight posts from the specialist fire safety crew at HM Naval Base Clyde – a reduction in strength of 15 per cent – as an “an accident waiting to happen”. Six years before, a Freedom of Information request to the MoD asked: Dear Ministry of Defence, I … Continue reading Tory cuts risk nuclear catastrophe in ‘remote Scotland’, 40 minutes from largest city

The Herald’s Helen McArdle, not for the first time neglects to point the finger accurately leaving casual readers to associate a failure of the UK Government with one of the SNP Government. She’s missed ‘UK’ before ‘politicians’ in the headline and in the text we don’t see what I’ve added in brackets: What do you [the UK Conservative Government] do if you’ve left your country’s [the UK’s] borders open to variants, squandered £37 billion on a [UK] test and trace system [for England] with “no clear evidence” that it has cut infections [in England], and consistently failed to ensure that … Continue reading Bias by omitting the Conservative Government

When I saw that, my instant reaction was: ‘A Scottish Labour politician criticises someone in the context of education? I bet he’s been embarrassed before by his lack of educational prowess?’ Readers will remember, Richard Leonard and James Kelly stumbling over something taught in primary school. Sweeney was a virtual reality engineer of some sort, so good at maths, if not the real world, eh? I found this, suggesting not, among the forensic files of Wings: Wait, what? “For example, had the Tory vote not increased in the way it did at the last general election, Labour would have taken every … Continue reading Paul Sweeney, the worst Education Secretary we’ll never have attacks Swinney?

Scotland’s ‘struggling schools’ is another of the great myths based a handful of Pisa data which Unionists will parade before viewers and readers regardless of any rebuttals, again and again. We’ve posted so many of the rebuttals, I lose track of them but the search engine on the blog helps me dig a few back into life for you. From March this year: First posted on Reddit by HandeHoche (not real name): The SNP introduced the “CfE” exams in 2015, and – as someone who’s studied papers going back to 1997 – they’re undeniably the best in terms of layout, wording, reasonable … Continue reading The myth of the ‘struggling schools’

I get why the NRS has been told not to release the one piece of data we still do not have on care home deaths – the death rates, as a ratio of the total number of residents in that home, with the owners identified. Were that known, you can imagine the reaction of relatives and some residents when they find out that they are in a home with a higher death rate perhaps much higher, than others, regardless of any improvements to infection control which have since been made? There would be panic and desperate attempts to move within … Continue reading Corporate care home owners running scared as Scottish Government tries to stem a panic

Those who know me from back then may find this a surprising move but I’m going to defend the BBC on this one. Why is it a surprise? Full story at: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/opendemocracyuk/interview-bbc-bias-bullying-and-scottish-referendum/ Anyhow, that was BBC Scotland not ‘The BBC’. I’ve often noted the quality of news reporting by BBC Wales and even by BBC UK when they inadvertently broadcast something good about Scotland just before Reporting Scotland comes on to tell a lie about the very same thing. Back to the point, is the BBC in any way to blame for ruining Princess Diana’s life? I didn’t have to … Continue reading ‘Charles’s undying love for Camilla caused his arranged marriage to crumble without the help of the BBC!’ Wronged academic comes to defence of BBC

A near miss by the Scotsman but like all the others they missed the story of the year: Tory blunders cause thousands of vulnerable elderly to die! It’s an appalling tale of Johnson’s desire to beat the Europeans with as many jabs as possible leading him to ignore expert advice to get on with, as a number one priority, and vaccinate ALL the care home residents, resulting in at least deaths. Here’s the evidence again. The above graph revealing starkly the cost in lives of the failure in England to fully implement the JCVI guidance and vaccinate care home residents … Continue reading Scale of care home deaths IN England WERE kept secret by the media such as the Scotsman

There’s a great deal I agree with, strongly, in this piece by James Foley. There were repeated incidents of horrific abuse of a sectarian nature. I was horrified and disgusted but it’s not ‘Scotland’s Real Shame‘ any more. I write as the grandson of a ‘Rangers man‘ but also of a father who knowing and working with Catholics disavowed sectarianism in disgust at what he saw and as someone who has donated to a Green Brigade charitable initiative which built sports facilities in Palestine. I write also as someone old enough to be taught only British Imperial history at school … Continue reading Anti-Catholic bigotry is still in steep decline regardless of last Saturday’s riots