Tag: history

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Social housing in Scotland factcheck – 40% more availability, no damaging right to buy, bigger grants and greater fire safety

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Professor John Robertson OBA Amongst all the current media frenzy about a one-year down-turn in new social media building, these important, positive, contextual facts, published in a review by the Wheatley Group in May 2024, are getting no attention: Social housing is more prevalent in Scotland than England, comprising 23% of all Scottish housing stock (11% RSLs / 12% Local Authorities), compared to 16.4% in England (10.1% RPs / 6.3% Local Authorities). Scotland has similar rate of owner-occupation than England, 63.7% compared to 64.1%. Statistics based on March 2022 returns One of the most important powers devolved to the Scottish … Continue reading Social housing in Scotland factcheck – 40% more availability, no damaging right to buy, bigger grants and greater fire safety

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Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above case study and: Families [well two] worried over lack of specialist speech therapists – A new report seen by BBC Scotland News shows that demand for speech and language therapists (SLT) is increasing in Scotland but that the numbers of therapists is falling behind the rest of the UK. The report, by the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists (RCSLT), says Scotland needs to increase its full-time equivalent SLT therapists by 370, from a current total of 530. It also says that Scotland is lagging behind England in terms … Continue reading Families in England even more worried over lack of speech therapists and lagging behind Scotland, as the waiting list there is 17% longer than in Scotland

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What’s the legacy of the British Labour Party after 27 continuous years governing in Cardiff? Think about it before voting Labour in Scotland in 2026!

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By stewartb – a long read British Labour Party MSPs and MPs are ramping up the negative rhetoric about Scotland in advance of the 2026 Holyrood election. And the mainstream media for the most part are playing their part in communicating Labour’s campaign messages – with little challenge, without context, without perspective, and without cross-UK comparative analysis. Moreover, British Labour Party MPs, elected to represent Scottish constituencies, have been standing up every week at PMQs to put a ‘question’ designed ONLY to denigrate the Scottish Government and Scotland’s (devolved) public services. All to entertain their colleagues from English constituencies and … Continue reading What’s the legacy of the British Labour Party after 27 continuous years governing in Cardiff? Think about it before voting Labour in Scotland in 2026!

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Politicising education in Scotland in a way that’s very rare in England or Wales despite the real crisis there

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By stewartb The BBC Scotland Education Correspondent’s article (June 18) on the BBC News website headlined: ‘Will new school rules help cut violence in the classroom?’ has a number of additional characteristics typical of BBC Scotland’s output. It politicised a topic in ways not replicated in BBC articles on the same topic concerning England and Wales. It was devoid of context, devoid of perspective and of course, without comparative analysis. It devoted more space to critics, most notably a Tory Party MSP, than it did to informing readers on the actual content of the new guidance and importantly, how – informed … Continue reading Politicising education in Scotland in a way that’s very rare in England or Wales despite the real crisis there

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Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Orkney Islands Council has accepted it must remain part of the UK – after spending two years exploring opportunities for greater autonomy. Officials looked into various models for “alternative governance”. These included changing their status in the UK or even potentially becoming a self-governing territory of Norway. A report to councillors concluded the proposals were too difficult and too expensive and members agreed to investigate a single authority model to reform how public services are delivered instead. Two years ago TuS reported on this and the following was written … Continue reading Another Orkney Saga….   62.4% identify as Scottish ONLY so expense isn’t important in deciding to stay in Scotland

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As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today: Dozens more parents demand maternity care inquiry – When Tassie Weaver went into labour at full term, she thought she was hours away from holding her first child. But, by the time she was giving birth, she knew her son had died. Doctors had previously told Tassie to call her local maternity unit immediately when she went into labour, she says, because her high blood pressure and concerns about the baby’s growth meant she needed monitoring. But when she first phoned, despite being considered high risk, a midwife told her to stay … Continue reading As 47 families complain about maternity care in another NHS England health trust, why Scottish media struggle to compare

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The dark Brian Wilson allowed to challenge SNP universalism on winter fuel allowance in a typically under-educated manner

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Professor John Robertson OBA Brian ‘Bad Vibrations’ Wilson, former Minister under Tony Blair, is in the Herald today to claim: Winter fuel payment u-turn exposes flaws in SNP’s universalism Have I read it? No way? Do I need to read it? No way. I have the oven-ready, fully-researched, response from a think tank set up by that real socialist, the late Jimmy Reid. The facts, from the Jimmy Reid Foundation: In 2012, I read and was much impressed by their The Case for Universalism An assessment of the evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the universal welfare state which made these telling … Continue reading The dark Brian Wilson allowed to challenge SNP universalism on winter fuel allowance in a typically under-educated manner

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Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph yesterday and across media in England, the above astonishing decision by this Labour government, to follow from a series of cuts to services and tax increases for the less well-off, which can only further degrade the performance of the NHS in England and strengthen to role of the private sector, which funds many leading Labour politicians. What would a Labour presence in government at Holyrood, say with Reform UK, put at risk here? The Scotsman in February 2025 was front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from … Continue reading Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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How the great Professor Noam Chomsky (96!), whose work still fully explains the media bias we suffer today, was inspired by a Scottish philosopher

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Professor John Robertson OBA (PhD on the Propaganda Model (Chomsky) Thanks to JB for alerting me to this. Force and Opinion Noam Chomsky Z Magazine, July-August, 1991 In his study of the Scottish intellectual tradition, George Davie identifies its central theme as a recognition of the fundamental role of “natural beliefs or principles of common sense, such as the belief in an independent external world, the belief in causality, the belief in ideal standards, and the belief in the self of conscience as separate from the rest of one.” These principles are sometimes considered to have a regulative character; though never … Continue reading How the great Professor Noam Chomsky (96!), whose work still fully explains the media bias we suffer today, was inspired by a Scottish philosopher

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British Ultra-nationalism and how the Scottish Unionists Are Morally Complicit

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By JB British Ultranationalism and how the Scottish Unionists Are Morally Complicit. The vacuous and politically impotent Sarwar and his side kick, the deceitful dyscalculic Baillie with their combined mendacity and their relentless obsession of him becoming First Minister of Scotland, without any desire to serve the public good, are either completely apathetic or too stupid in their empleomania to realise that they are, like their boss in England, complicit in the rise of the far right-wing highbinder opportunist Farage. When left-wing British Labour in Scotland leader Richard Leonard contradicted swindler Starmer’s decision to back the Tory government’s Brexit ‘deal’ … Continue reading British Ultra-nationalism and how the Scottish Unionists Are Morally Complicit