Tag: news

3 Comments

BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland, 15 January 2025 from first thing. This captured at 10am. The following day it remained the headline story in the BBC Scotland inserts in BBC Breakfast. One of the teaching unions, the NAS UWT, had already given up because not enough members had voted but the BBC team still seem hopeful today that they might get some bad news they can connect to the Scottish Government. It’s now an hour or so since the comedic EIS announcement: The EIS announced that its recent statutory industrial action ballot on teacher workload has become a victim of soon-to-be repealed elements of UK … Continue reading BBC Scotland desperately keen to headline their hoped for ‘closure of almost every school in Scotland’ and confront the minister but then keep quiet when the teachers clearly can’t be bothered to strike

5 Comments

Labour’s culture of bare-faced lying in elections, from Dumfries to Denbigh and from 2017 to 2026

johnrobertson834

From BBC Scotland today: Sarwar apologises to campaigner misquoted on Labour leaflet – Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has given an “unequivocal apology” after a party leaflet was delivered to homes with a made-up quote from a maternity campaigner. Claire Fleming spoke out after her picture and a quote criticising NHS provision was posted out in Glasgow. Fleming is quoted on the leaflet saying: “Local NHS services have deteriorated under SNP. Waiting lists are too high but these aren’t just numbers on a bit of paper, these are people’s lives. Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour will fix our NHS.” She … Continue reading Labour’s culture of bare-faced lying in elections, from Dumfries to Denbigh and from 2017 to 2026

2 Comments

Scotland completes disability benefit assessments in half the time and with dignity so as to avoid the DWP’s record of 590 suicides – ‘How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity’

johnrobertson834

In June 2015: How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity1 Statement by Ambassador Matthew Rycroft of the UK Mission to the UN at the Security Council Open Debate on Children and Armed Conflict in June 2015. In the same year, Ryland’s government’s treatment of the disabled in the UK, featured in the research report: ‘First, do no harm’: are disability assessments associated with adverse trends in mental health? A longitudinal ecological study, with these shocking results: Each additional 10 000 people reassessed in each area was associated with an additional 6 suicides (95% … Continue reading Scotland completes disability benefit assessments in half the time and with dignity so as to avoid the DWP’s record of 590 suicides – ‘How a society treats its most vulnerable is always the measure of its humanity’

5 Comments

Will Sir Keir then apologise for wilfully retaining the two child limit from July 2024 to November 2025?

johnrobertson834

By Liz S Keir Starmer posted this on ‘X’ on 8 January…. “I won’t apologise for lifting almost half a million children out of poverty. I won’t apologise for putting money back in people’s pockets. That’s why we are scrapping the two-child limit”. Will he then apologise for wilfully retaining the two child limit from July 2024 to November 2025 , as this Tory generated policy was one that his Labour UK government decided to retain, so then he and his Labour party decided to keep punishing those families with children who were in poverty. Also surely he, Starmer, should feel the need to apologise to the seven Labour MP’s who his … Continue reading Will Sir Keir then apologise for wilfully retaining the two child limit from July 2024 to November 2025?

15 Comments

If you’re one of the highest-earning 25% ‘pulled’ into higher tax bands you’re not ‘middle-class’, by definition

johnrobertson834

The Herald today on behalf of the people, based on opinion polls, already predisposed to vote Labour, in the hope of cutting their taxes and the benefits of others (classic Labour these days), has: Middle-class Scots pulled into higher tax bands by Budget freeze There’s a long history of people in the UK calling themselves ‘middle-class’ when their economic circumstances are far from the middle in any objective sense. Just because sociologists recognise your cultural preferences to be ‘middle class’ doesn’t mean that entitles you to only pay income tax at the same level of people in the middle income … Continue reading If you’re one of the highest-earning 25% ‘pulled’ into higher tax bands you’re not ‘middle-class’, by definition

3 Comments

12 000 babies to benefit from increase to £40 per week in SNP child benefit already praised widely across UK and Europe

johnrobertson834

From Scottish Budget 2026 to 2027, published today: We will uprate the SCP in line with inflation to £28.20 per week per child. We will also begin the necessary work in 2026‑27 to introduce a new SCP Premium for under ones in 2027‑28. This will result in a total payment of £40 per week in respect of every child in the household under one. The additional payment is estimated to benefit the families of around 12,000 children. https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2026-2027/pages/2/ This has been reported widely but in no case, to my knowledge, has it been linked to these numbers. Also, important context into which to set … Continue reading 12 000 babies to benefit from increase to £40 per week in SNP child benefit already praised widely across UK and Europe

8 Comments

Senior BBC staff most upset by threat to their council tax bills and less fussy about the others

johnrobertson834

There are around 3 million taxpayers in Scotland. 55% of them (1.65m) will pay less income tax than in the rest of the UK but BBC Scotland chose to highlight the ‘Mansion Tax’ which will affect 11 330 – Anas Sarwar and few of their senior staff. Here’s a better report, from the AI assisted Policy Mogul: Changes to the basic and intermediate rate income tax thresholds will protect lower-income households in 2026-27, Finance Secretary Shona Robison has announced. The Finance Secretary also confirmed there would be no changes to rates or the number of tax bands in the coming … Continue reading Senior BBC staff most upset by threat to their council tax bills and less fussy about the others

6 Comments

The embarrassing gap in intelligence, maturity and credibility between the writing of Daily Record reporters and that of AI

johnrobertson834

I was going to write this myself and I will add some evidence of NHS Ayrshire & Arran’s health below but, you know, we’re busy here and frankly, it’s not worth it, is it? So Grok AI – ‘Is it accurate to refer to NHS Ayrshire Arran as ‘crippled?’ No, it is not accurate to describe NHS Ayrshire and Arran as “crippled” in any objective, factual sense, though the term has appeared in some sensational media headlines.The health board is undoubtedly facing very serious challenges, particularly financial ones, as highlighted by official audits and reports from late 2025: These issues … Continue reading The embarrassing gap in intelligence, maturity and credibility between the writing of Daily Record reporters and that of AI

2 Comments

‘Journalism fiasco’ – Islanders have actually been treated far better than the rest of us by this SNP government but the Herald still uses them to support the Labour campaign

johnrobertson834

Another ferry ‘fiasco report’ (placing the ‘ there makes it clear that the reporting is a fiasco in journalism) today. The facts hidden every time they write this rancid garbage: There’s a very significant background story never told of just how much this SNP Government has done to transform life on the islands, funded by the rest of us living often in less pleasant places and with never the suggestion of compensation because of limited public transport services. Here it is: The above chart from the Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff [RET] on the Clyde and Hebridean Network Prepared for Transport … Continue reading ‘Journalism fiasco’ – Islanders have actually been treated far better than the rest of us by this SNP government but the Herald still uses them to support the Labour campaign

6 Comments

95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour yet Herald platform Anas Sarwar to accuse SNP

johnrobertson834

The Herald today, above, joining the daily anti-SNP drip from the 95% Unionist media in Scotland, with the above evidence-free reporting and, of course, ignoring the key role of local councils in maintaining school buildings. Here’s the evidence on school buildings: 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 … Continue reading 95% of Scotland’s schools in good condition up from only 62% under Labour yet Herald platform Anas Sarwar to accuse SNP