Tag: news

6 Comments

Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026

johnrobertson834

and we know there are some small-scale examples of where they have changed public services but we’ve been talking about public service for the past 13 years and we’re not seeing anything of the scale and pace that is going to help the Scottish Government that are going to help them bridge the £1 billion gap in public spending. By Professor John Robertson OBA Above and headlining BBC Scotland today, the Auditor General, Stephen Boyle, criticises the Scottish Government again, in a sequence of such high profile media appearances. This is a uniquely Scottish experience as a public official, funded by all … Continue reading Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026

9 Comments

Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual

johnrobertson834

The current UK Government National Threat Level is: ‘substantial – an attack is likely.’ Why do I say this is unusual? As with IRA terror in the 70s to the 90s, Scotland has seen little of the Islamic terror which struck England in the first decade of the 21st Century after the Iraq invasion. In 2017, I could write: Scotland and Terrorism: Are we safer? السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ‎‎ I’m still not sure if I should be writing this.  I’m not going to tempt fate and say we won’t see anything like the Manchester attack here. I’m just going to present some information … Continue reading Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual

4 Comments

Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’

johnrobertson834

Since 2007/08, poverty rates among children in England, Scotland and Wales have been consistently lowest in Scotland and often highest in Labour-run Wales according to the Social Metrics Commission. By stewartb This blog post is a follow on from the recent TuS blog post – ‘Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it’ – prompted by the Guardian’s coverage of the Social Metrics Commission’s latest report. Source: Social Metrics Commission (2024) Measuring Poverty 2024( https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/ ) Comparing rates of povertyThe table below summarises data on the percentage of the population in England, Scotland andWales … Continue reading Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’

7 Comments

Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support

johnrobertson834

Liz Kendall, UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, wrote today to reveal this, for the UK as a whole: An extra 450 000 UK pensioners pushed into poverty by 2030 means around 40 000 in Scotland. From the Herald on 1 August 2024, only one month after the General Election: From the National Records of Scotland in 2019: The association between mortality and low indoor temperature observed by the Eurowinter Group was also found by Wilkinson (2001) in a study on excess winter deaths in England. This used postcodes to link data on characteristics of over 21,000 houses … Continue reading Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support

4 Comments

Domestic abuse TWICE as common in England and Wales as in Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA I remember in 2014, Frankie Boyle suggesting that Scotland become an Islamic Republic but that to do so it would have to treat its women better. From the Scottish Government’s Safer Communities Directorate today, the above graph and: The police recorded 63,867 incidents of domestic abuse in 2023-24, an increase of 3% compared to the previous year. This is the first year this figure has shown an increase since 2020-21.1 Note, from Section 1.2 of the full report: The Act [in 2018] did not alter the way in which statistics on the volume of domestic abuse incidents … Continue reading Domestic abuse TWICE as common in England and Wales as in Scotland

10 Comments

As Motherwell man becomes first [vulnerable?] Scot to be named as member of an English County lines gang, BBC Scotland still won’t bite

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland (above) today, have no space for this hot story: A man from North Lanarkshire has been charged after over £6m worth of cannabis was seized during a massive multi-agency taskforce operation. Craig Tomlinson from Motherwell was charged with the supply of Class B drugs after British Transport Police officers targeted key stations across Manchester on Monday and Tuesday last week while intelligence led to a search of three addresses. The multi-agency operation, dubbed Op Blume, was led by a BTP specialist County Lines taskforce and deployed officers from the dog section, Neighbourhood Policing Team, Operational Support Unit, plain … Continue reading As Motherwell man becomes first [vulnerable?] Scot to be named as member of an English County lines gang, BBC Scotland still won’t bite

1 Comment

Latest poll – Labour collapse and Reform almost catch Tories

johnrobertson834

I’m just seeing the full data tables from the Norstat/Sunday Times poll on 1 November 2024 which had YES/No tied, so improved from a 3% NO lead on August 22, 2024. 22 August 2024 poll by same sample in brackets below, before death of Alba leader Alex Salmond (12 October) and first Labour budget (30 October). Westminster (likely voters excluding undecided): Holyrood Constituency Holyrood Regional In the space of around 5 weeks after the last Norstat poll using the same sampling technique, we can see the clear effect of Labour’s early actions in a major collapse in their support in … Continue reading Latest poll – Labour collapse and Reform almost catch Tories

4 Comments

More good ideas for winning the voters round to the pro-independence parties including honesty about the England team

johnrobertson834

I’m indebted to one of the many Ann Onymouses who comment on TuS, for sharing this with me. Earlier today, I wrote: The SNP can win again if they learn from the US Democrat’s defeat – don’t respond to opposition ‘facts’, frame the argument as strength and do not move to the right as that only convinces voters that the right has better ideas https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2024/11/18/the-snp-can-win-again-if-they-learn-from-the-us-democrats-defeat-dont-respond-to-opposition-facts-frame-the-argument-as-strength-and-do-not-move-to-the-right-as-that-only-convinces-voters-t/ In essence, this argues that the leadership should ignore the flak, like Trump, dismiss it all as biased, present as strong and caring, frame the argument around the values that the majority will vote for … Continue reading More good ideas for winning the voters round to the pro-independence parties including honesty about the England team

4 Comments

Police Scotland NEVER in special measures but THREE English forces still are – here’s why

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA I know, Operation Branchform is a disgrace but, to be fair, when the security services tell the chief of police what to do, they have to do it. Today, the widely-read international policing journal, Policing Insight, has: A record number of police forces in England and Wales have been put into special measures (formally known as ‘Engage’) over the past three years – but what does Engage mean, and how do forces move out of it? Policing Insight’s James Sweetland spoke to HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke, as well as two Chief Constables who have … Continue reading Police Scotland NEVER in special measures but THREE English forces still are – here’s why

6 Comments

Scotland has one of shortest gynaecology waiting lists but gets BBC Scotland’s bad news while Northern Ireland with more than twice as many waiting doesn’t seem to need to know that

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland’s and BBC Northern Ireland’s main pages above – spot the difference? Should Northern Ireland be told this? Maybe fewer women there are being left in pain? See this from the BBC Health report: Wow? BBC England is not covering the story. BBC Wales is, as they should, but why is BBC Scotland’s news editor choosing it, given the above graph? Is this just more of the thinking behind yesterday’s rape fake news? See: Today, the BBC Scotland News Editor (James Cook) chooses to include 2 rape reports in the 7 top stories. BBC England, Wales and Northern … Continue reading Scotland has one of shortest gynaecology waiting lists but gets BBC Scotland’s bad news while Northern Ireland with more than twice as many waiting doesn’t seem to need to know that