Tag: news

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How SNP donors were denied the right to testify and so COPFS/Police Scotland had no automatic right to assume misuse

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By Jim Mennie “DONORS RIGHTS TO TESTIFY ON SNP DONATIONS” Thursday 4th June 2026 As expected, there are many bad actors now looking to demand that Murrell return the funds stolen from the SNP coffers. It’s all smear and dirty politics of course intended to hurt the SNP but it’s already backfiring with increases in SNP membership and donations. Many SNP members and donors are already in print saying in effect “I gave away my money voluntarily, and I don’t want it back.” So this might be a bit of Déjà vu for some of you. My good friend Para … Continue reading How SNP donors were denied the right to testify and so COPFS/Police Scotland had no automatic right to assume misuse

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Holyrood’s Real Public Servants vs One Very Dubious Charity Case

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By Jim Mennie: SNP cabinet ministers have returned nearly £2 million in pay with full audit trails. Reform’s Malcolm Offord promised his entire salary to a trust he alone controls — one the Scottish charity regulator has now opened a formal inquiry into. SNP cabinet ministers have voluntarily frozen the ministerial part of their pay at 2008-09 levels for 17 years. They take the full legal salary but immediately return the excess straight to the Scottish Government for public spending — over £1.94 million returned by March 2024, projected to hit £2.64 million by 2026. Fully auditable: The figures come … Continue reading Holyrood’s Real Public Servants vs One Very Dubious Charity Case

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A Voter’s Guide for Aberdeen South – SNP/Scottish Government vs Reform UK 

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With the Aberdeen South by-election just two weeks away on 18 June 2026, this short cut-out-and-keep guide has been written specifically for voters in Aberdeen South and Aberdeenshire.  The area is at a crossroads: we still depend on North Sea oil and gas jobs, yet we’re also facing the huge challenge of a fair energy transition, rising living costs, and the need for strong local support for families and communities.  This report compares what the SNP-led Scottish Government is actually delivering right now (through devolved powers and funding) against the promises being made by Reform UK.  It focuses on the … Continue reading A Voter’s Guide for Aberdeen South – SNP/Scottish Government vs Reform UK 

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Baroness Amos is investigating 8 000 cases where babies may have died or been seriously harmed by inadequate maternity care in NHS England – today’s report into the QEUH Glasgow mentions none

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at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, faced long delays for labour to be induced – the longest waits at potentially almost eight days. Notably, in the wake of last night’s dramatic Sky TV News reporting on the maternity crisis in NHS England as they await the Baroness Amos Inquiry report, BBC Reporting Scotland, this morning in their BBC Breakfast insert, headlined the above report which does contain some concerns based on the comments of ‘some’ staff and patients. The health board has already put in place remediation. ‘Some’ is never quantified. The website has this: The word ‘unsafe’ only appears … Continue reading Baroness Amos is investigating 8 000 cases where babies may have died or been seriously harmed by inadequate maternity care in NHS England – today’s report into the QEUH Glasgow mentions none

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Fair unbiased and accurate assessment of Scottish Government (SNP-led) actions vs Reform UK’s position on A9 and A96 dualling (as of June 2026)

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By Jim Mennie Reform raised this at FM’ Questions yesterday 2nd June and @StephenFlynnSNP replied. I think it’s only fair that this should be reported factually. The Scottish Government remains the SNP minority administration (58 MSPs). Reform UK holds 17 regional list MSPs and has no executive power. Only the Government can fund, procure and build these projects. Opposition parties can scrutinise and campaign, but cannot allocate budgets or award contracts. Historical context: Why early progress on the A9 was blocked (2007–2011 period) This is the part that is frequently omitted or downplayed in current debates. When the SNP formed … Continue reading Fair unbiased and accurate assessment of Scottish Government (SNP-led) actions vs Reform UK’s position on A9 and A96 dualling (as of June 2026)

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Who says Scots are not different? Frailty among older people is less common to GPs in Scotland because of stronger family cohesion and less fragmentation

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In the Guardian today: GPs in England are so “overloaded” that they cannot help older people who are at risk of falling in what NHS bosses accept is an unacceptable failure of care, the House of Commons’ public accounts committee has said. Pressure on GPs’ time has intensified as a result of the government’s decision to give patients online access to their services, according to a report by the influential cross-party group of MPs. The committee found that GPs are doing too little to tackle falls even though they are the most common cause of death from injury among over-65s, cause tens … Continue reading Who says Scots are not different? Frailty among older people is less common to GPs in Scotland because of stronger family cohesion and less fragmentation

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Alexander must resign after a career of closeness to Mandelson

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What are the full reported instances of Douglas Alexander praising Peter Mandelson AFTER the latter had supported and stayed in the home of the convicted paedophile and child trafficker Geoffrey Epstein? Key Reported Praises by Alexander (Post-2024) These emerged from released documents/WhatsApps in 2026, drawing criticism (e.g., SNP calls for Alexander to resign over “sycophantic” messages): https://www.the-independent.com/news/uk/home-news/douglas-alexander-peter-mandelson-kirsty-blackman-scottish-scottish-secretary-b2987923.html Douglas Alexander and Peter Mandelson had a long-standing professional and political relationship within the Labour Party dating back to the 1990s New Labour era. Key Pre-2024 Links Continue reading Alexander must resign after a career of closeness to Mandelson

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Scotland’s additional stricter regulations mean that none of 18 000 nurses with possible criminal records in England could be registered to work here

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From Nursing Standard, four days ago, the above and: Hundreds of nurses are set to have their registrations reviewed after the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) failed to follow due process for declaring health conditions and criminal convictions for 12 years.  A member of staff raised concerns about an historical failure to consistently refer declarations of health issues and criminal records to an assistant registrar, which led to an initial review of more than 18,000 registrants. That review determined that no further action was required in 17,639 cases. https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/newsroom/news/hundreds-of-nurses-to-have-nmc-registration-info-reassessed-after-astounding-failure-222771?utm_campaign=WEEKLY%20BRIEFING%2001.06.26%20-%20REG&utm_content=ZONE%201%20LINK%201%20NEWS%20Hundreds%20of%20nurses%20to%20have%20NMC%20registration%20info%20reassessed%20after%20%27astounding%20fai&utm_term=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Adestra&check_logged_in=1 Might unique NHS Scotland regulations practices and procedures make this less likely even … Continue reading Scotland’s additional stricter regulations mean that none of 18 000 nurses with possible criminal records in England could be registered to work here

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‘Two decades of havoc’ – Here’s what a real, current, international expert ON EDUCATION knows of the PISA testing loved by Scotland’s only user, Lindsay Paterson

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By stewartb It’s not that hard to find educationalists internationally who are either sceptical or straightforwardly negative about the OECD’s PISA rankings. This from one ‘expert’ in a peer reviewed journal: Zhao, Y. Two decades of havoc: A synthesis of criticism against PISA. J Educ Change 21, 245–266 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-019-09367-x Abstract: ‘The Programme for International Students Assessment (PISA) has become one of the most influential forces in global education. The growing influence has been accompanied by growing criticism. For nearly two decades since the first round of PISA was conducted in 2000, the global assessment program has been roundly scrutinized and criticized by education … Continue reading ‘Two decades of havoc’ – Here’s what a real, current, international expert ON EDUCATION knows of the PISA testing loved by Scotland’s only user, Lindsay Paterson

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Major comparative study by respected Nuffield Foundation found higher educational achievement across the board in Scotland in the Sturgeon era than in other parts of the UK

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Note – Do you think Prof Paterson noticed this at the time? Professor John Robertson OBA, for nearly 40 years a schoolteacher, a teacher education lecturer, Associate Dean for Quality Assurance, research methods lecturer, PhD supervisor and Faculty Research Ethics Chair From Comparing inequality and outcomes across post-16 education in the UK, published in August 2025, utterly ignored at the time but worth revisiting in the light of the current witch-hunt of the First Minister in whose time these achievements were made: Since the formal introduction of devolution in the late 1990s, post-16 education and training (E&T)has looked increasingly different across the four nations of … Continue reading Major comparative study by respected Nuffield Foundation found higher educational achievement across the board in Scotland in the Sturgeon era than in other parts of the UK