Tag: news

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Latest full Holyrood poll confirms SNP surge and Labour collapse as Sarwar fails to inspire

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From the full Holyrood Norstat poll for the Sunday Times, on 7 December, only days after two Westminster sub-polls suggesting an SNP recovery. and only 4 months after the Labour surge in the July General Election: Constituency Regional Based on the above, the seat projection is: This gives the SNP/Greens a 66 to 63 majority. I’d have thought that 5% might give Alba 1 MSP. Interestingly, putting an end the 2 child benefit cap did not seem to be a big vote winner whereas restoring the winter fuel allowance, extra for the NHS and raising tax thresholds were – there’s … Continue reading Latest full Holyrood poll confirms SNP surge and Labour collapse as Sarwar fails to inspire

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Contrary to the Guardian view there IS certified water testing ‘in the UK post Brexit’ but it’s ‘so far away’ from England…….in Edinburgh

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today, in the Guardian, this shocking report for readers, in England and probably Scotland too because no one will tell them otherwise: The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify the chemicals have shut down. People in the industry have called it a “Brexit problem” because EU countries will share laboratory capacity from 2026, meaning that if the UK was still in the EU, water companies would be able to use … Continue reading Contrary to the Guardian view there IS certified water testing ‘in the UK post Brexit’ but it’s ‘so far away’ from England…….in Edinburgh

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Glenn Campbell and the ‘significant underperformance in key public services like the NHS’ that does not survive a collision with the evidence

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Professor John Robertson OBA Glenn Campbell’s opinion piece on the SNP, after its budget, is the lead story on its website today, titled: SNP rediscovers its political confidence with wily Budget Hah! We know what to expect and, within one line, we get: In the last couple of years its independence strategy has hit a brick wall, the party has tied itself in knots over gender reform, and it has fallen in and out of love with the Scottish Greens. There have been three first ministers during that period and one of those remains under police investigation as the Branchform … Continue reading Glenn Campbell and the ‘significant underperformance in key public services like the NHS’ that does not survive a collision with the evidence

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‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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The BBC‘s Mission, from Copy of Royal Charter for the continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Command of Her Majesty December 2016: The BBC’s Mission The Mission of the BBC is to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/charter This is a royal charter, approved by Parliament giving the BBC, including BBC Scotland, a clear requirement to inform the public on matters affecting their lives, such as drug … Continue reading ‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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As ‘Quademic’ looms NHS Scotland has 37% more beds, 33% more nurses, 27% more GPs and cleaner hospitals

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Professor John Robertson OBA On BBC Breakfast, this morning, we hear that a ‘Quademic‘ is looming in England’s hospitals as cases of Flu, Covid, Norovirus and RSV and that out of 100 000 beds, 95 000 are already occupied. BBC Scotland does not have this story. Perhaps that’s because: First, there are 13 695 hospital beds in Scotland, 3 695 more than you’d expect, per head, more than a third more.1 Second, there are 12 nurses per 1 000 people in Scotland but only 9 in the UK.2 Third, Scotland has 27.3% more GPs than England.3,4 Fourth, cleaner hospitals as … Continue reading As ‘Quademic’ looms NHS Scotland has 37% more beds, 33% more nurses, 27% more GPs and cleaner hospitals

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‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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That’s the Express headline above. BBC Scotland‘s website has no coverage, concentrating on whether police officers can be bearded but in the BBC Breakfast insert this morning they did say ‘County Lines‘ for the first time. That’s progress I suppose. The Express also has: Separately, six groups involved in county lines drugs and organised crime in Aberdeen have been targeted by police since June in a joint operation with the Met Police in London. Class A drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin, were being moved between London, Liverpool and Hertfordshire to addresses in Aberdeen, prompting 63 arrests in connection with … Continue reading ‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the National minutes ago: 2:40pm BREAKING: The SNP will axe the UK Government’s controversial two-child benefit cap for thousands of Scots. Finance Secretary Shona Robison will make the announcement in her Holyrood Budget speech in just a matter of minutes, according to The Scottish Sun.  This would be a big move, and one that will put Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour in a tricky position …https://www.thenational.scot/news/24770245.scottish-budget-live-snp-set-tax-spending-plans/?ref=ebbn&nid=1457&u=373de6c7573215d01eab2a2993b269b0&date=041224 At 15:25 she did it! Why is this a major moment in history? From the London School of Economics in September 2023 Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host … Continue reading SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

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Welsh students punished again by tuition fee hike, to leave them in debt more than twice that in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to AR for alerting me to this: Today from BBC Wales: University fees in Wales are set to rise to £9,535 a year – nearly a £300 increase – from September 2025. The Welsh government announcement brings tuition costs in Wales in line with a hike in fees already announced by the UK government for universities in England. It is the second increase in charges for Welsh courses within a year, after the maximum charge went up from £9000 to £9250 from September 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yw97y9xnwo?s=03 Things were already bad for students in Wales, under Labour: Average student debt … Continue reading Welsh students punished again by tuition fee hike, to leave them in debt more than twice that in Scotland

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Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2023-24, published today, we can see that there were only 5 868 prisoners in 2000 but by 2008, as the SNP minority government took over, there were 7827, a 34% increase in only 8 years. 17 years later in 2024, there 7 856.1 In 2005, the Guardian could report: A new report claims Scotland has a higher murder rate than America. The UN says it’s the ‘most violent place in the developed world’.2 By 2024, Scotland has the lowest violent crime levels in the UK3. Sounds like new prisons are not the … Continue reading Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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Just as Labour Government announces extension of 46 crack Torness nuclear power station to keep lights in London on, new research suggests cancer mortality risk is greater and quicker to develop than current estimates

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By Professor John Robertson OBA As a response to evidence that the UK [England] will need nuclear to meet its ‘Clean power by 2030‘ target1, the Torness plant in Scotland, where 46 cracks have recently been identified in the ageing reactor2, is to be kept in service until 2030. Coincidentally, my alert on this topic today revealed, from the World Health Organisation’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (originally published 2 September 2024): The scientists estimated that the mortality rate due to leukaemia increased by more than 250% per gray (Gy) of exposure (excess relative rate [ERR] per Gy, 2.68; 90% confidence … Continue reading Just as Labour Government announces extension of 46 crack Torness nuclear power station to keep lights in London on, new research suggests cancer mortality risk is greater and quicker to develop than current estimates