Herald lies about new house building as Scotland builds more than twice as many, per head, as Labour Wales over decades

By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald, today, reads the above graph to say: Building of homes at lowest in decade amid crisis – Fears over affordable housing From Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update: New Housebuilding and Affordable Housing Supply to end September 2024, published yesterday, new starts are at the lowest in a decade but completions, actual building, is still 25% up on the lowest level in 2013. Not, of course in the Herald report, though easily found in the same document, Scotland’s leading position in the UK and regularly building twice as many as in Labour-run Wales: As for … Continue reading Herald lies about new house building as Scotland builds more than twice as many, per head, as Labour Wales over decades

July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

From BBC UK today: Police were unprepared for the scalebb of disorder that broke out in part of the UK following the Southport knife attacks, a police watchdog has found. Police intelligence did not predict the “rising tide of violent disorder well enough”, according to the review of their response to the worst UK unrest in more than a decade. Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke praised officers for their “immense bravery and personal sacrifice” while protecting the public. But he warned it was “clear” that police had missed opportunities to prepare for widespread disorder, and that earlier incidents involving … Continue reading July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

Labour letting the Waspi women die in poverty is just business for the BBC and, of course, BBC Scotland, as they shield Sarwar

BBC Business, minutes ago has: Campaigners have reacted with fury to what it calls the government’s “unjustified” rejection of compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age. They say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for a 28-month delay in sending letters, but has rejected any kind of financial payouts. Nine months ago, a parliamentary ombudsman recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to each of those affected. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr36842nd6o Many WASPI … Continue reading Labour letting the Waspi women die in poverty is just business for the BBC and, of course, BBC Scotland, as they shield Sarwar

Cancer waiting times – NHS Scotland saving hundreds of lives with quicker treatment and NHS England risking thousands with delay

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Cancer waiting times 1 July to 30 September 2024, released today, the above graph and: 72.1% of patients started treatment within 62 days. 94.3% of patients started treatment within 31 days. The equivalent data for NHS England are 67.3% and 90.6%. On cancer waiting times Scotland is performing 7.4% and 4% better. Remember in a Scottish context, that means around 300 cancer patients per quarter seen on time and in England, around 3 000 not. Sources: https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/cancer-waiting-times/cancer-waiting-times-1-july-to-30-september-2024/ https://www.england.nhs.uk/statistics/statistical-work-areas/cancer-waiting-times/ Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host of the OBA (Oliver Brown Award) at: https://scotsindependent.scot/FWShop/shop/ The Oliver Brown Award for advancing … Continue reading Cancer waiting times – NHS Scotland saving hundreds of lives with quicker treatment and NHS England risking thousands with delay

Alcohol related hospital admissions in Scotland fall by one third after Labour Government ousted and plummet after minimum unit pricing introduced

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Alcohol related hospital statistics, Scotland financial year 2023 to 2024, published today: In 2023/24, the European Age-sex standardised rate of alcohol-related hospital admissions to general acute hospitals was 548 per 100,000 population and was 3% higher than the rate in 2022/23 (532 per 100,000). https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/alcohol-related-hospital-statistics/alcohol-related-hospital-statistics-scotland-financial-year-2023-to-2024/ The above rate peaked at 885.4 per 100 000 in 2007/2008, the last year of the New Labour Scottish Government and the trend since, with one-year fluctuations as is typical, such as last year, has been steadily downward from 885.4 to 548, then dramatically plummeting from 669.6 in 2017/2018, as minimum … Continue reading Alcohol related hospital admissions in Scotland fall by one third after Labour Government ousted and plummet after minimum unit pricing introduced

After 14 years of Tory rule in England and 17 of SNP rule in Scotland, 22 times as many properties at risk of flooding….in England, of course

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Independent and others, today, a warning that 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at serious risk of flooding. According to Sepa, the figure in Scotland is 284 000: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-risk-management-plans/#:~:text=Flood%20risk%20management%20plans%20are,as%20at%20risk%20of%20flooding. Crudely, 22.2 times as many, but with 10 times the population, all things being equal, you might expect there to be around 2.8 million homes and businesses at risk of flooding in England but it’s 6.3, on the way to three times as many. Why might this be? As far back as 2006, researchers at the English College of Estates Management, whose patron was … Continue reading After 14 years of Tory rule in England and 17 of SNP rule in Scotland, 22 times as many properties at risk of flooding….in England, of course

Sewage dumping – Scotland’s water regulator is clean

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and this shocking statement: The government, its water regulator and the Environment Agency could all be taken to court over their failure to tackle sewage dumping in England after a watchdog found failures to comply with the law. An investigation by the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) found Ofwat, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Environment Agency (EA) all failed to stop water companies from discharging sewage into rivers and seas in England when it was not raining heavily. The OEP was set up in 2020 to replace the role … Continue reading Sewage dumping – Scotland’s water regulator is clean

As BBC Scotland report today on a Motherwell to Murcia drug ‘baron’ last active 4 years ago, here is the real and present threat in your town they dare not mention

For the full story, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=county For the full story, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=county Above, 9 reports in November 2024. Below the story going back for 5 years: BBC Scotland and ‘County Lines’ drug gangs – now 5 years of silence to protect the Union I have an alert for ‘County Lines’ and every day I see reports from BBC UK, BBC England and from BBC regions across the country – BBC Devon (today), BBC Cumbria (last week). I never, ever, see anything from BBC Scotland despite regular reports in the ‘Scottish’ tabloids and on regional news media websites. In … Continue reading As BBC Scotland report today on a Motherwell to Murcia drug ‘baron’ last active 4 years ago, here is the real and present threat in your town they dare not mention

Scottish Labour’s police officers leaving ‘surge’ is both suspicious and actually a ‘dribble’ of less than 1%

By Professor John Robertson OBA As of March 31, 2024, there were 16,356 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland.1 According to the Herald, In 2023, 257 left to take up a new job, education or for personal reasons. That is according to data published in freedom of information requests obtained by Scottish Labour. However, that figure is compared to 173 in 2019 – an increase of 49% in five years.2 Notice, they’re not telling us if there a constant trend upward from 2019? Is that because, annoyingly for Scottish Labour, it was lower in 2023 than it 2022? If there was a … Continue reading Scottish Labour’s police officers leaving ‘surge’ is both suspicious and actually a ‘dribble’ of less than 1%

Murder rate in Glasgow only a quarter of that under Labour, is the news but BBC Scotland prefer you live in the past

By Professor John Robertson OBA One of the top stories on the BBC Scotland website today is: Murder and mayhem: The story of Glasgow’s deadly gang feud Has there been a surge in gangland killings? No, they’re just advertising a podcast about murders in 2006, nearly 20 years ago. What is the news that their royal charter obliges them to inform the folk of Glasgow about? That graph above but, specifically for Glasgow: Glasgow City has witnessed a relatively larger fall in homicides than Scotland as a whole in the last 20 years. Over the latest five year period from 2019-20 to … Continue reading Murder rate in Glasgow only a quarter of that under Labour, is the news but BBC Scotland prefer you live in the past