‘There are no mandates to ensure GB Energy and foreign energy firms source from UK suppliers’

By Anonymous UK government Scotland tweet on 15 October 2024: “Yesterday the UK Government secured £63 billion of investment to provide almost 38,000 jobs. Scotland will benefit from the UK Government’s plans to drive growth. Some quickfire qs to Scottish Secretary @IanMurrayMP on why Scotland is the place to invest”. (Note how this tweet does not specify that the “38,000 jobs” will be in Scotland in fact they only mention Scotland as supposdley benefitting via the “UK government’s plans to drive growth” but then how will Scotland benefit from that , as surely it is more their whole UK , as in mainly one part of it- not Scotland- that will derive more benefits, to include majority of jobs and “growth“, which will also then include … Continue reading ‘There are no mandates to ensure GB Energy and foreign energy firms source from UK suppliers’

400 passengers stranded in Bilbao on a day when Brittany ferries cancels, brings forward or delays, 5 out of only 14 sailings in a ferry fiasco while CalMac does 97% of 506 sailings on time

From MSN today: BRITTANY FERRIES HAS apologised to hundreds of passengers who are stuck on a ferry in the Port of Bilbao due to a “technical problem”.    The Galicia ferry, which travels from Rosslare to Bilbao and is operated by Brittany Ferries, was due to sail at 4pm Irish time.  However, the journey was abandoned because of a technical problem, which is understood to have affected one of the vessel’s engines. There are thought to be approximately 400 passengers onboard.  Imagine that happened in Scotland. From Brittany Ferries today: 2 out of only 14 cancelled and 4 moved to … Continue reading 400 passengers stranded in Bilbao on a day when Brittany ferries cancels, brings forward or delays, 5 out of only 14 sailings in a ferry fiasco while CalMac does 97% of 506 sailings on time

Breast cancer life extending drug – images BBC Scotland hope you’ve missed

Professor John Robertson OBA On BBC Breakfast and on their website, an extended report on Enhertu, a drug which can give patients with a specific type of incurable breast cancer an extra six months to live on average. At the very bottom of the BBC UK report, this: Some told the BBC they were considering the idea of moving to Scotland, where they could get it on the NHS. Jeannie says that’s not an option for her family. “We shouldn’t be having to think of moving to Scotland or selling our houses,” she says. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v6g9q6rjqo The extended website report does … Continue reading Breast cancer life extending drug – images BBC Scotland hope you’ve missed

A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

stewartb The Scottish Daily Express front page article – by its Scottish Political Reporter – is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation. It seeks to link excess deaths following a visit to A&E with NHS Scotland missing its four hour standard of 95% of patients being discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The postulated causal link between an increase in excess deaths and A&E attendance advanced by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is concerned primarily with time periods of over eight and more significantly, over 12 hours. The Express fails to make this clear despite there being multiple … Continue reading A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

Flood of British refugees into Scotland in the SNP era may surpass the level of Irish famine migration in 1845/1851

From The Irish Famine in a Scottish Perspective 1845-1851 by Géraldine VAUGHAN, in 2015, it is estimated that there were roughly 115,000 Irish incomers to Scotland for those six years.1 From the NRS, in the ten years from 2012 to 2022 (latest data), around 100 000 arrived in Scotland from other parts of the UK, increasing sharply from 3 000 in 2012 to 12 500 in 2022. This trend seems likely to be due to worsening austerity in other parts of the UK unprotected by SNP policies, on child poverty, HE fees and prescription charges, lower crime, a better-performing NHS, low … Continue reading Flood of British refugees into Scotland in the SNP era may surpass the level of Irish famine migration in 1845/1851

It’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales

By stewartb We know that the British Labour Party and its media allies in Scotland for the Union would have voters here believe that any shortcomings, all problems in Scotland’s public services can be laid at the door of the SNP Scottish Government. So it’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales – in education, health and social care, housing, poverty levels, unemployment; economic development and yes, local government funding etc. All can be scrutinised in order to assess the track record of the British Labour Party government in Cardiff during the extended period of Tory rule in Westminster: … Continue reading It’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales

Pay attention Ireland – Scotland ‘stands apart’ as the best educated country in Europe, perhaps even the World

The above is from an Irish journalist today. Am I going to have to invent a new term to add to the Anglocentric media Scots face daily? Hibernocentric? The facts: Scotland is the best educated country in Europe, according to a report released by the Office for National Statistics. It says that nearly 45 per cent of people in Scotland aged between 25 and 64 have had some kind of tertiary education – including university degrees and further education — ahead of Ireland, Luxembourg and Finland, which were the only other countries to get more than 40 per cent. “In … Continue reading Pay attention Ireland – Scotland ‘stands apart’ as the best educated country in Europe, perhaps even the World

Incompetent Welsh Labour councils face nearly 20% higher cuts than in Scotland, including free bus travel for the young, despite same UK Labour Government funding cuts

From BBC Wales yesterday: Welsh councils are facing “unsustainable” budget pressures over the next few years according to the body which represents them. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said funding shortfalls could “significantly impact” councils’ ability to deliver essential services. The BBC has identified a budget shortfall of at least £540m across Wales by 2026-27. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2kevnevwxo From Audit Scotland, in May 2024: Scotland’s councils are facing a significant gap in the money needed to deliver local services and the money they have available. Together, all 32 councils have a gap of £585 million. This is estimated to increase to … Continue reading Incompetent Welsh Labour councils face nearly 20% higher cuts than in Scotland, including free bus travel for the young, despite same UK Labour Government funding cuts

Scotland’s state schools – in 2007, 37.6% of pupils in bad or poor condition buildings, in 2024 it’s just 5.1%.

East Dunbartonshire Council’s brand new £34.9m Additional Support Needs School – Woodland View – opened to pupils on Friday 18 August 2023. By stewartb This provides statistics for context and perspective. It follows a BBC Scotland article on the corporation’s News website on 12 October headlined: ‘Child safety fears as ‘repaired’ ceiling falls at neglected school’. Now don’t get me wrong, no one should have a piece of wood or plasterboard fall on or near their head, anywhere. And especially no one wants children to be at risk from such an incident in a school. It’s a legitimate BBC local … Continue reading Scotland’s state schools – in 2007, 37.6% of pupils in bad or poor condition buildings, in 2024 it’s just 5.1%.

BBC Scotland develops ‘fishy’ sense of humour reporting on ‘charity’ headed up by former UK Government advisor

BBC Scotland this morning tell is that a ‘main sustainability charity’ (Open Seas) has a accused the Scottish Government of ‘floundering@ (really) because of a simple delay in getting a policy on sustainable fishing in plaice (my word) and properly developed to be effective. They’re just a Scottish charity so it’s not like Greenpeace accusing the Scottish Government. Hugh Raven, above, is the chair of the Open Seas board. Draw your own conclusions about his agenda. Draw your own conclusions as to why a simple delay like this is big news for BBC Scotland’s Reporting Scotland team when it’s not … Continue reading BBC Scotland develops ‘fishy’ sense of humour reporting on ‘charity’ headed up by former UK Government advisor