Tag: news

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95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour and they struggle to do anything about it in England after 19 months in government

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and need refurbishing or even replacing, according to a group of MPs in a report that’s out this morning. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. That’s the message on BBC Breakfast this morning. What’s the situation in Scotland? This but you won’t be hearing it elsewhere: By stewartb School estate statistics 2024 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 … Continue reading 95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour and they struggle to do anything about it in England after 19 months in government

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Today Scottish Government commits firmly to free higher education tuition for all but not one mainstream media outlet covers this important news because…..it shines in reducing financial barriers and debt-related harms, fostering broader participation and a societal ethos of education as a right

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. The Times Higher Education, read only by some academics, has this below but as you can see above this important news is being hidden from the electorate: ‘We’re looking at all parts of the system – except tuition fees’ https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/were-looking-all-parts-system-except-tuition-fees The THE article by Helen Packer is actually not at all supportive of the Scottish Government, foregrounding the views of critics so, even hear the SNP election campaign is being questioned. How does Scotland’s free university tuition system compare with other systems charging students thousands in fees in terms of wider societal … Continue reading Today Scottish Government commits firmly to free higher education tuition for all but not one mainstream media outlet covers this important news because…..it shines in reducing financial barriers and debt-related harms, fostering broader participation and a societal ethos of education as a right

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Road deaths halve and offences fall by a third as ‘SNP’ [sic] Road Safety Framework achieves significant results with 5 years to go

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In the Edinburgh Reporter yesterday based on a Sunday Mail report: Scotland’s roads are becoming deadlier amid rising fatalities and surging traffic offences, latest figures reveal. Police Scotland say 92 people were killed in car, motorcycle and cycling collisions between April and September 2025 – nine more than the same period last year, an increase of almost 11%. They included one child and six cyclists. Motorcyclist deaths rose to the highest level for five years with 27 during the period. The news comes as reckless drivers are increasingly flouting the law, with … Continue reading Road deaths halve and offences fall by a third as ‘SNP’ [sic] Road Safety Framework achieves significant results with 5 years to go

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Why is the wettest part of the UK, North-east Scotland coping so well? Scottish Government investment pays off

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Look at that Met Office map above and note how awesomely wet January was for Scotland’s north-east. I suppose that photograph must there too. No, it’s Somerset. What is the Guardian saying about that? The Guardian view on heavy rain: England’s flood defences are not strong enough Never, mind, all that rain, folk must flooded out of their homes in North-East Scotland. In January 2026, there was not one image, I can find, on BBC Scotland News, STV News or in any Scottish edition newspaper. Find one and I’ll edit this story. … Continue reading Why is the wettest part of the UK, North-east Scotland coping so well? Scottish Government investment pays off

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Nothing in Scotland looks anything like the mass child grooming rape gangs in England but Scottish Labour desperately need a national review for their Holyrood campaign and the Herald is trying to help

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No tasteless, exploitative images here. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. The Herald today: The SNP has been accused of dragging its feet on tackling grooming gangs, after watchdogs set out an 18-month timetable for a national review that would only then inform a decision on whether a full public inquiry is required. Critics said the timescale amounted to a further delay for survivors of group-based child sexual exploitation. Here’s why a careful approach to a national review is required, reasons which were already in a response to Labour MP Joani Reid, in November 2025. It’s had no MSM coverage. … Continue reading Nothing in Scotland looks anything like the mass child grooming rape gangs in England but Scottish Labour desperately need a national review for their Holyrood campaign and the Herald is trying to help

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Why giving your second vote to one of the small pro-independence parties will not increase the overall number of pro-independence party MSPs in Scotland and risks even increasing number of unionist MSPs so ‘Both votes SNP’

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. This is an almost entirely AI report. I trust it more than I would any assessment by human beings with the unavoidable biases and predispositions we all possess [me too] and which, even unconsciously, direct what we think is our conscious thinking. Yes I know AI can be, and has been, taught to have such biases and predispositions and I would not trust any of them to be fair on issues of socialism, human rights, Gaza or Trump but, as far as I can see, they have, as yet, no ‘horse in … Continue reading Why giving your second vote to one of the small pro-independence parties will not increase the overall number of pro-independence party MSPs in Scotland and risks even increasing number of unionist MSPs so ‘Both votes SNP’

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Reform UK is now under police investigation after admitting it distributed by election material disguised as a private letter from a “concerned neighbour”.

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. By Liz S “Reform UK is now under police investigation after admitting it distributed by election material disguised as a private letter from a “concerned neighbour”. Voters in Gorton and Denton received personalised letters urging them to back Reform, presented as the views of a local pensioner. The material carried no legal imprint stating it was funded and distributed by the party, despite being produced and circulated as part of an organised campaign. Failing to include an imprint on election material is a criminal offence. Reform’s claim that the omission was … Continue reading Reform UK is now under police investigation after admitting it distributed by election material disguised as a private letter from a “concerned neighbour”.

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Shamefully, even now, BBC Scotland still conceal how Jeanne Freeman’s, unique in the UK, quick action on vaccines saved thousands of lives in Scottish care homes

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In BBC Scotland’s retrospective comment on Jeanne Freeman’s time as Health Secretary, they write: Freeman stood beside Sturgeon in press conferences throughout the next year. There would be praise for their calm stewardship and she was there at the start of the vaccine roll-out. But the decision to discharge elderly hospital patients to care homes during the first few weeks of the pandemic without a requirement for a negative test was one which hung over Freeman for the rest of her time in politics and beyond. The worst mortality rates were … Continue reading Shamefully, even now, BBC Scotland still conceal how Jeanne Freeman’s, unique in the UK, quick action on vaccines saved thousands of lives in Scottish care homes

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No media coverage as Scottish Government allocates £20m to help young people secure homes where they live and second homes plummet by half from Labour era

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. From the Scottish Government yesterday into complete media silence: Plans to develop a Rural and Island Housing Grant Scheme, with an indicative budget of up to £20 million over four years, have been announced by the First Minister. Designed to help with costs in rural and island communities, the scheme will enable people, including first-time buyers and families, to own affordable homes in the places they want to live. Announcing the scheme at the National Farmers Union Scotland Conference, the First Minister also confirmed a package of agricultural support including £14.25 … Continue reading No media coverage as Scottish Government allocates £20m to help young people secure homes where they live and second homes plummet by half from Labour era

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Experienced researcher finds AI far more trustworthy on Scottish politics than BBC Scotland, STV, the Herald, the Scotsman or The Ferret

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. I really had to laugh. I’ve done a lot of searching for information and sometimes analysis and evaluation using Grok, chatgpt and other general AI platforms. I do find bias against the independence movement, the SNP and the Scottish Government but only when the AI gives to much credence to the so-called Scottish media, especially those in my headline above. Mostly, however, if I’m careful with my questions, initial and follow-up, I discover that these AI tools, all owned outside the UK do not seem to have an agenda on Scotland. … Continue reading Experienced researcher finds AI far more trustworthy on Scottish politics than BBC Scotland, STV, the Herald, the Scotsman or The Ferret