Tag: news

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Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

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BBC Scotland today try to have it both ways in this headline. What percentage of the population is, like TuS readers, media students and other perceptive folk out there, thinking ‘Ah it’s just charges. It might not really be soaring at all?’ It’s not. Hate crimes in Scotland are not ‘soaring.’ I’m as certain as I can be. Why? First, from the same report: A new law introduced in 2024 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.1 Broaden the definition of hate crime and more cases are … Continue reading Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

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David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

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Prison security is a big story across UK media this morning, prompted by the above in the Telegraph, this morning. BBC Scotland have nothing on it but do have a piece on the QEUH not being able to report even one positive Ebola case. In April 2026, BBC Scotland were interested in the same story – prisoners released in error – as the UK media. As always, they failed to spot the main issue: Shocking incompetence as Lammy oversees the release in error of more than THREE times as many prisoners as Constance in Scotland Justice Secretaries in April 2026, … Continue reading David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

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NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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From Cancer waiting times 1 January to 31 March 2026 published today: There were 4,668 eligible referrals where the 62-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.7% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 25.4% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019, the last full quarter pre‑pandemic. 72.2% of patients started treatment within 62 days, compared with 72.6% in the previous quarter. There were 7,225 eligible referrals where the 31-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.0% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 13.1% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019. 94.5% of patients started treatment within 31 days, … Continue reading NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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The real news – The SNP era sees massive increases in attainment by looked after children with three times as many passing at National 5 and eight times as many at Higher

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In the Herald today, under a frankly creepy image: Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of “breaking The Promise” after new figures showed the attainment gap between looked-after children and their peers has widened in recent years. Looked-after children are young people in the care of their local authority, including those in foster care, residential care, kinship care or some children living at home under formal supervision. How many times have I pointed out that not one credible, peer-review published educational researcher, across the globe, cares about attainment gaps. They care about improvements within disadvantaged groups over time. They know that the middle … Continue reading The real news – The SNP era sees massive increases in attainment by looked after children with three times as many passing at National 5 and eight times as many at Higher

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Per capita Scotland’s international football team performs 8 times better than England’s even BEFORE looking at the massive effects of her colonisation within the UK and beyond

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Correlate population with international footballing results to show how countries like Scotland and England compare Analyses of FIFA rankings and population show a positive but moderate correlation (roughly Pearson r ≈ 0.5 between population rank and FIFA rank). Larger populations tend to produce better-ranked teams on average because they offer more potential players to select from. England vs Scotland: Direct Comparison Has England benefited even more from its colonial history? England’s larger base population (~10x Scotland’s) was amplified by post-WWII immigration from former colonies (Caribbean, Africa, South Asia). This expanded the talent pool: Has England benefited too from the colonisation … Continue reading Per capita Scotland’s international football team performs 8 times better than England’s even BEFORE looking at the massive effects of her colonisation within the UK and beyond

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All three of the first major hydropower projects in ‘Great Britain’ in 40 years due to be built in northern Scotland to double storage for Southern England

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From the Guardian today: Great Britain’s first new major hydropower projects in more than 40 years are expected to move ahead after the energy regulator gave a provisional green light to three proposals as part of a plan to reduce the country’s reliance on energy imports. All three of the new pumped storage hydroelectric power station projects are due to be built in northern Scotland, where the region’s lochs will act as natural reservoirs to serve the hydropower stations. The Loch Kemp project, developed by Statera Energy, plans to draw water from Loch Ness, and SSE’s Coire Glas project expects to draw from Loch Lochy … Continue reading All three of the first major hydropower projects in ‘Great Britain’ in 40 years due to be built in northern Scotland to double storage for Southern England

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8.1% of the population but only 3.9% of the defence spending – does this Aberdonian Scottish Labour leadership ‘dark horse’ even know that?

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Aberdeen-born, former Royal Marine Commando and MP for Birmingham Selly Oak, Al Carns, is being platformed as a ‘dark horse’ in the Labour leadership story. From BBC England today: Former defence minister Al Carns has said a major economics speech due to be given by Andy Burnham will help him decide whether to challenge the Labour leadership favourite. Carns resigned as Armed Forces Minister earlier this month due to concerns over the defence budget, a pressing issue for the next prime minister. The government is expected to reveal its Defence Investment Plan ahead of a Nato summit on 7 July, despite the … Continue reading 8.1% of the population but only 3.9% of the defence spending – does this Aberdonian Scottish Labour leadership ‘dark horse’ even know that?

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Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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From Open Democracy yesterday: Palantir is benefiting from millions of pounds of tax deductions that allow it to pay very little corporate tax in the United Kingdom despite soaring profits, an investigation by openDemocracy reveals. The controversial tech firm has won at least £670m in UK public contracts in recent years, which have helped to make the country its second-largest market by revenue after the United States, where it is headquartered. Yet despite accounting for 10% of the company’s global revenue last year, its tax payments in the UK amounted to less than 5% of its total global cash tax spend, according … Continue reading Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

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There are some minor problems in comparing the data for England and Scotland but you can be sure that were they to favour the former, they’d be widely reported. Here’s why they’re not: In January 2024, BBC UK made direct comparison possible: Via the BBC’s How long do patients wait for an ambulance? app, we can confirm that the average waiting time for a Scottish ambulance was 8 min and 46 secs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 Also, from BBC UK on 14 December 2023: Average response times of more than 38 minutes for category two emergency calls such as heart attacks and strokes – above the target time … Continue reading Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

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Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success

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Thanks to Kath for prompting this. There is a correlation between national football team success and countries with imperial/colonial pasts, especially those involved in the transatlantic slave trade and exploitation of West Africa. Recent research directly quantifies this. A University of Zurich AI study in 2026 simulated the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 1,500 times and found that colonial history continues to shape outcomes on the pitch. Former European colonial powers benefit significantly from players with family roots in former colonies, especially in Africa and in the Caribbean. Source: https://www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/media/2026/colonial-legacies-soccer.html Top FIFA-ranked teams as of June 2026, often align with this … Continue reading Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success