Valuing ‘culture’ and public funding – how Wales with a Labour government in Cardiff fares!

By stewartb There will be a Scottish Government debate in Holyrood on January 14 on ‘Valuing Culture: Scotland’s Support to the Culture Sector’. Will it generate heat or light? It will be worth observing how British Labour Party politicians in Scotland approach this debate. Will they acknowledge longstanding stresses and strains on Scottish Government finances due to Westminster austerity and inflation? Or will we hear the usual carping? And how will BBC Scotland and the rest of the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland report: devoid of context and perspective as usual? As we assess the various contributions, it will be worth … Continue reading Valuing ‘culture’ and public funding – how Wales with a Labour government in Cardiff fares!

SNP pull further ahead in 6th sub-poll not changed to suit 2014 result, to leave troubled Cons and Labour seriously weakened by Reform and Lib Dems

From Find Out Now on January 8th 2025, with 2 076: The Scottish subset of 176 has This is the 6th sub-poll, with a small but unweighted by the 2014 referendum result sample, with a cumulative total of around 1 000 saying something similar. In Scotland, the SNP looks secure at around 35%, around 20% clear of the opposition, and may take nearly all of the constituencies, other than a few Lib Dem refuges. The Cons look in dire trouble and with their vote and Labour’s, split with Reform and the Lib Dems, their Borders and North-East strongholds could fall … Continue reading SNP pull further ahead in 6th sub-poll not changed to suit 2014 result, to leave troubled Cons and Labour seriously weakened by Reform and Lib Dems

Child abuse – Labour and Conservative history of neglect, even sickening collusion, and how the SNP’s Named Person Scheme could have saved thousands

By Professor John Robertson, former Primary School Teacher, Lecturer in Education and Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) From Sky News, 11 years ago: The former head of a paedophile group said Harriet Harman “didn’t even try” to stop his organisation’s involvement with the civil liberties council she worked for. Tom O’Carroll, who was chairman of the now defunct Paedophile Information Exchange, said neither Ms Harman or her Labour colleagues wanted to “rock the boat” for fear it might damage their careers.1 Many younger readers will wonder what on earth can this be. The Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE) was a British pro-paedophile activist group, founded … Continue reading Child abuse – Labour and Conservative history of neglect, even sickening collusion, and how the SNP’s Named Person Scheme could have saved thousands

Fifth sub-poll, not distorted by sample weighting to match 2014 vote, reinforces notion that SNP is well ahead and Reform is eating the Cons and Labour

Today, from Deltapoll, based on data collected from 1 532, on 30th December 2024 to 3rd January, we see: The Scottish subset of 133 has: A sub poll of only 133 has clear limitations in terms of reliability but this is the latest of 5 [c800 subjects in total] all telling the same story, of Cons, Lab and Reform all doing less well in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK and way behind the SNP. Source: https://deltapoll.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Deltapoll-MoS_250106.pdf On December 23rd 2024, from Opinium, based on data collected from 1 537, on 18-12 December 2024, we see: The Scottish subset of 110 has: … Continue reading Fifth sub-poll, not distorted by sample weighting to match 2014 vote, reinforces notion that SNP is well ahead and Reform is eating the Cons and Labour

Every public service in Scotland is performing better than those in other parts of the UK but one of Joseph Goebbels’ many students in Scottish Labour knows how to make it seem the opposite

Yesterday in the Guardian, Anas Sarwar is quoted as: having accused the Scottish government of “weakening every institution in Scotland“, and causing Scotland “to be stuck in a rut where Scots have to wait too long for healthcare, feel insecure both economically and often in their communities, and fear for the future opportunities of their children.” If feel sure you don’t need to be told just how inaccurate all of that rant is. I don’t doubt he too knows it’s not true. None of that matters in his drive for power. He has learned: Make the lie big, make it … Continue reading Every public service in Scotland is performing better than those in other parts of the UK but one of Joseph Goebbels’ many students in Scottish Labour knows how to make it seem the opposite

NHS 18-week treatment target – Starmer aims to still lag behind Scotland nearly two years after coming to power

By Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health today and headlining across TV broadcast news today: The government has unveiled a new pledge to cut the list of patients waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment in England by nearly half a million over the next year. A key Labour election pledge, now included in the government’s six main priorities, is for 92% of patients to begin treatment or be given the all-clear within 18 weeks by the end of this Parliament. This has been an official NHS target for some time, but has not been met since 2015. Currently, only … Continue reading NHS 18-week treatment target – Starmer aims to still lag behind Scotland nearly two years after coming to power

The pup sellers of North Britain – musings on promises of Union reform.

By stewartb – a long read As 2024 ends, we also leave behind the ‘honeymoon period’ (sic) of the new Westminster Labour government.  A time for casting minds back to past promises and for musing on prospects for ‘change’. In Westminster, the Labour government recently announced appointments to the House of Lords. These were well trailed. From Labour List (June 21, 2023): ‘New peer plan raises questions about Labour’s Lords abolition intentions’ – ‘comments by a source close to the leadership in the Times calling Lords reform “hardly mission critical” to the first three years of a Labour government will … Continue reading The pup sellers of North Britain – musings on promises of Union reform.

“Scotland is now a dysfunctional example of failed devolution funded by English taxpayers”

Anonymous Reform UK party ? Here are some actual snippets from Rupert Lowe’s speech at their 2024 Reform UK party conference , he is one of their new MP’s, from 2024 GE, for the constituency of Great Yarmouth, England. (Currently all 5 of their MP’s are elected in ENGLAND , one being a Tory defector, as in 30p Lee). So one or two snippets that Rupert said in his conference speech: “Defund the monopolistic malign BBC” (That’s the same BBC that Nigel Farage has frequently appeared in , on BBC QT as a member of the BBC QT panel, many many times actually, as has Richard Tice , but Richard Tice has also appeared on BBC ‘Politics Live’ as has … Continue reading “Scotland is now a dysfunctional example of failed devolution funded by English taxpayers”

Fourth sub-poll, not distorted by sample weighting to match 2014 vote, reinforces notion that SNP is well ahead

Today from Opinium based on data collected from 1 537, on 18-12 December 2024, we see: The Scottish subset of 110 has: A sub poll of only 110 has clear limitations in terms of reliability but this is the latest of 4 [c600 subjects in total] all telling the same story, of Cons, Lab and Reform all doing less well in Scotland than elsewhere in the UK and way behind the SNP. Source: https://www.opinium.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/VI-2024-12-18-Observer-Data-Tables-211224.xlsx In the December 12th Find Out Now, Westminster poll of 2 659, we saw: The Scottish subset of 223, has: Source: https://findoutnow.co.uk/blog/voting-intention-11th-dec-2024/ Only December 8th,  I noted: From Find Out Now on … Continue reading Fourth sub-poll, not distorted by sample weighting to match 2014 vote, reinforces notion that SNP is well ahead

Lothian Labour – ‘people who put their own vanity, self-interest and ambitions [first], to be seen as king-makers, in positions of too much power’

By stewartb In what is hardly a newspaper unsympathetic to the Labour Party in the Lothians, the coverage by the Edinburgh Evening News of the goings on amongst Labour councillors in the City of Edinburgh is noteworthy. From the Edinburgh Evening News, December 19, 2024, under the headline ‘Edinburgh council elects Labour’s Jane Meagher ….’ we find this (with my emphasis): (Labour) ‘Cllr Faccenda also abstained rather than vote for Cllr Meagher as council leader. She said there were principles which councillors were supposed to observe, the first of which was selflessness, defined as not allowing political interests to stand in … Continue reading Lothian Labour – ‘people who put their own vanity, self-interest and ambitions [first], to be seen as king-makers, in positions of too much power’