Tag: history

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Scotland sends exactly £91.4bn to London and gets back a wholly estimated amount based on 25 out 26 figures which are estimates

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A reader emailed to ask – I have seen various figures for the total sum of Tax raised in Scotland varying from £70Billion to £90Billion and remitted directly to Westminster. Is it possible to confirm the exact figure? In 2024-25, total public sector tax revenue attributed to Scotland was £91.4 billion. This is the latest figure from the Scottish Government’s Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) 2024-25 report, published 13 August 2025. It covers revenue raised in Scotland through both devolved taxes (controlled by the Scottish Parliament) and reserved taxes (collected and mostly retained by the UK Treasury/HMRC).1 This leads … Continue reading Scotland sends exactly £91.4bn to London and gets back a wholly estimated amount based on 25 out 26 figures which are estimates

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The consequences of being a colony – the view from Norway

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Capella writes: I don’t know how or if it’s possible but reporting on the consequences of being a colony would be interesting. We have no power over vital aspects of development and decision making. Something the MSM fails to notice. Jeffrey Sachs pointed out that DR Congo gets criticised for not running the country properly while the long history of imperial exploitation is forgotten. “What’s wrong with your country?” At the world cup a fan stood up dressed as Patrice Lumumba to remind the world that Western intelligence murdered their first democratically elected leader. With power over our resources we … Continue reading The consequences of being a colony – the view from Norway

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Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

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BBC Scotland today try to have it both ways in this headline. What percentage of the population is, like TuS readers, media students and other perceptive folk out there, thinking ‘Ah it’s just charges. It might not really be soaring at all?’ It’s not. Hate crimes in Scotland are not ‘soaring.’ I’m as certain as I can be. Why? First, from the same report: A new law introduced in 2024 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.1 Broaden the definition of hate crime and more cases are … Continue reading Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

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David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

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Prison security is a big story across UK media this morning, prompted by the above in the Telegraph, this morning. BBC Scotland have nothing on it but do have a piece on the QEUH not being able to report even one positive Ebola case. In April 2026, BBC Scotland were interested in the same story – prisoners released in error – as the UK media. As always, they failed to spot the main issue: Shocking incompetence as Lammy oversees the release in error of more than THREE times as many prisoners as Constance in Scotland Justice Secretaries in April 2026, … Continue reading David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

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Be Careful What You Sound Like

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 When we read through today’s article abovefrom The Daily Express, it appears to be little more than comedy gold worthy of Armando Iannucci. Read it in the context of Scottish history, however, and it becomes something rather more sinister. The debate is supposedly about authenticity. But authenticity measured by what? Policy? Integrity? Competence? No. Pronunciation. For centuries, the British state understood something that many modern commentators of the British experiment often overlook: language is power. Following Culloden, the assault upon Scotland did not end with disarmed clans and outlawing highland dress. It continued in classrooms, … Continue reading Be Careful What You Sound Like

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Affluent Canadian region hangs on to far older, unreliable and frankly pot ugly vessels – islanders leave saddened by lack of aesthetics

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CalMac‘s oldest ferry, the MV Isle of Cumbrae (above) is 50, launched in 1976. the MV Isle of Arran is 43 and there are another 4 built in 1986, so 40 years-old. In British Columbia‘s (Canada) archipelago ferry service – BC Ferries – which operates in an economy with twice the GDP of Scotland, with only a fraction of government subsidy to keep ticket prices down and in warmer, less stormy, more southerly, seas, they keep them going long after the MSM operating in Scotland would be calling for them to be replaced to stop islanders starving, missing medical appointments … Continue reading Affluent Canadian region hangs on to far older, unreliable and frankly pot ugly vessels – islanders leave saddened by lack of aesthetics

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Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success

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Thanks to Kath for prompting this. There is a correlation between national football team success and countries with imperial/colonial pasts, especially those involved in the transatlantic slave trade and exploitation of West Africa. Recent research directly quantifies this. A University of Zurich AI study in 2026 simulated the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 1,500 times and found that colonial history continues to shape outcomes on the pitch. Former European colonial powers benefit significantly from players with family roots in former colonies, especially in Africa and in the Caribbean. If players with “colonial backgrounds” (e.g., Kylian Mbappé for France, or similar for … Continue reading Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success

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Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

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From Reconviction Rates in Scotland: 2022 to 2023 Offender Cohort, published today: 26.1% were reconvicted within 12 months of release from custody or being given a non-custodial sentence the reconviction rate decreased from 27.3% for the 2021 to 2022 cohort offenders were reconvicted an average of 0.44 times per offender, down from 0.46 times for the 2021 to 2022 cohort the reconviction rate was 5.7 percentage points lower than in 1997 to 1998 when it was 31.8% the average number of reconvictions per offender decreased by 29% from 0.62 in 1997 to 1998 Source: https://www.gov.scot/publications/reconviction-rates-in-scotland-2022-2023-cohort/ What might account for this? There … Continue reading Reconviction Rates in Scotland fall to tiny percentage per head of those in England and Wales due to twice as many ‘probation officers’

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Scotland in top ten for foreign direct investment out of more than one thousand European ‘regions’, first per head in UK and well ahead of Burnhamland

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The above table is from this report published today: The EY UK Attractiveness Survey 2026, the latest in our series of annual reports exploring the performance and perceptions of the UK as a destination for foreign direct investment (FDI). It’s now been 25 years since EY first published this study. Over that time, it has become an eagerly awaited and indispensable reference point for business leaders, investors and policymakers as they seek to understand the drivers of inward investment and the UK’s relative performance against other European FDI locations in a constantly changing global landscape.1 EY’s database does not give … Continue reading Scotland in top ten for foreign direct investment out of more than one thousand European ‘regions’, first per head in UK and well ahead of Burnhamland

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Huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland

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From Human Trafficking NRM referrals re county lines – 10yrs published by Police Scotland today, that ‘referrals made by Police Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where county lines and suspected criminal exploitation was a factor‘ was: Under 16 year-olds – from 6 in 2020/2021 to 39 in 2025/2026, almost a seven-fold increase. 16-17 year-olds, from 16 to 65, a four-fold increase. Source: https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2026/june/26-1022-human-trafficking-nrm-referrals-re-county-lines-10yrs/ What forms does that exploitation take? County lines refers to a violent, exploitative model of illegal drug distribution in the UK, where urban gangs and organised criminal networks export drugs (primarily heroin and crack cocaine) … Continue reading Huge surge in child exploitation – carrying drugs in body cavities and sexual abuse – by English county lines drug gangs in Scotland