Tag: news

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How, thanks to SNP, around Scottish 200 000* families on low income receives £15 000 more a year than identical households in England and eight reasons why that’s good for every one of us

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Thanks once more to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian yesterday: The emergence of “welfare nationalism” in the UK has created striking differences in benefit entitlement that result in a Scottish family on a low income receiving £15,000 a year more in state support than an identical household over the border in England. A typical out of work couple with four children would have received £22,000 a year benefit income in York, compared with £32,000 in Belfast and £37,000 in Glasgow, according to new research on the impact of devolved welfare approaches Other eye-catching divergences include benefit and … Continue reading How, thanks to SNP, around Scottish 200 000* families on low income receives £15 000 more a year than identical households in England and eight reasons why that’s good for every one of us

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The Milburn report on the ‘UK’s ‘lost generation’ does look north, does spot some of Scotland’s strengths but should have tried much harder

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By stewartb The interim report from the Milburn review examining the issues around NEETs gained a lot of MSM attention. See Milburn, A. (May 28, 2026) Independent report: Young people and work: interim report. Report for the Department for Work & Pensions. Its stated geographic scope is clear from the outset: it’s the whole of the UK. The report does acknowledge that certain germane policy areas are devolved: ‘Where policy areas discussed are devolved to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, this is noted.’ However, whilst some of the statistics provided are for the UK, most are for England only. No disaggregated stats for … Continue reading The Milburn report on the ‘UK’s ‘lost generation’ does look north, does spot some of Scotland’s strengths but should have tried much harder

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Alleged witness in Nicola Sturgeon’s alleged camper van denial was 14 at the time and is now Chair of Young Labour (Scotland) – another plant

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Above, the young man in the Daily Mail‘s: Local resident doubts Sturgeon’s claim she knew nothing about campervan bought with embezzled funds because he met her, he did, he said so, four years ago, when he was presumably 14. According to his own blog My name is Ryan-Thomas Quinn, I am 18, a journalism student, activist and avid enjoyer of wine (preferably rosé). My views are mine and mine alone however, I work regularly with and have friends across the political spectrum. Collaboration is key! https://ryanthomas.blog/about/ Across the political spectrum? In Scottish media reports of SNP or Scottish Government failures … Continue reading Alleged witness in Nicola Sturgeon’s alleged camper van denial was 14 at the time and is now Chair of Young Labour (Scotland) – another plant

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Never mind the Dutch what can the Scots teach the ‘UK’ about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?

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Over the years, I’ve noticed that no matter the issue, experts and journalists will never dream of looking north for a solution. Yesterday, in the Guardian: A shock government-backed report this week warned of the danger of a “lost generation” of young people in Britain, as the number of 16- to 24-year-olds not in education, employment or training (Neets) rose to more than 1 million. According to official UK statistics, roughly 13.5% of young people are not in work or college. Among 18- to 24-year-olds the share rises to 15.8% – nearly one in six. In the Netherlands, the equivalent figure has been … Continue reading Never mind the Dutch what can the Scots teach the ‘UK’ about how to tackle the youth jobs crisis?

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Soaring Covid infections – the real campervan from England worry in Scotland in 2021

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In late 2020, Peter Murrell bought a campervan from a dealer in Staffordshire before apparently leaving it sitting two years on his mother’s drive in Dunfermline. If only that had been a typical use of campervans from England into Scotland in the following year. On the 20th June, the Sunday Post, reported: Scotland faces an influx of 6.4 million visitors this summer as UK staycationers head here in record numbers, according to industry data. Tracking research commissioned by GB national tourist boards, including VisitScotland, is used to measure UK residents’ holiday intentions, with the latest Scotland report, up to the … Continue reading Soaring Covid infections – the real campervan from England worry in Scotland in 2021

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How Glasgow’s child haemophiliacs were betrayed by the Scottish Labour Party

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The Scottish Government’s Infected Blood Inquiry Report Oversight and Assurance Group published its minutes today. This reminded me, as it will others, of a tragic story of Glasgow’s child haemophiliacs. According to the Guardian in April 2024, cheap infected blood products based on blood from Arkansas prisoners began to be used across the UK after the Labour Government, in 1976, signed the deal, despite warnings from experts. BBC Scotland pointed out: One area where Scotland differed from the rest of the UK is that the vast majority of infections came from its own blood donations. In the 1970s and 80s, … Continue reading How Glasgow’s child haemophiliacs were betrayed by the Scottish Labour Party

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Sturgeon has repeatedly championed women’s rights and women in both Scotland and the rest of the UK have a lot to thank her for

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By stewartb To the question: ‘Whatever happened to the heroes?‘ I’m strongly inclined to take the Stranglers’ advice when musing about the state of the world and those in leadership positions: ‘No more heroes anymore’! So why write the following? When evidence-free opinions are given in derogatory terms – ‘Wee Nippy’, ‘worst FM’, ‘disgrace to Scotland’ and Prof Robertson singled out as ‘coming across as a dafty’ – on a topic that is (surely) more nuanced, it’s hard not to be motivated to offer some balance, some perspective: seems to me that’s something TuS always strives to do! My humble opinion of … Continue reading Sturgeon has repeatedly championed women’s rights and women in both Scotland and the rest of the UK have a lot to thank her for

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Scotland’s Oil and Gas Industry – Same Old Tory Hypocrisy

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By Jim Mennie That the Tories are posing as eternal champions of the oil and gas industry should come as a surprise to voters in Aberdeen South considering their history of husbanding this resource. Most brazenly hypocritical is their promise to abolish the Energy Profits Levy – a tax they introduced in 2022 and which Kemi Badenoch and Andrew Bowie voted for! And then we have this from sitting Tory MSP Alexander Burnett in a March 2017 edition of the P&J’s Energy Voice showing how they put being in government at Westminster before their own constituents: Tory MSP dismisses call … Continue reading Scotland’s Oil and Gas Industry – Same Old Tory Hypocrisy

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Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ – to hear about Scotland watch BBC UK

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for England’s Pharmacy First BBC Breakfast this morning telling us the Scottish Government has long put in place a better model for pharmacies, repeatedly covered here but never in the MSM operating in Scotland. What’s it all about? In the Chemist and Druggist of April 10th 2024 Pharmacists in hospital, and in community pharmacies in Scotland, already routinely alter prescriptions for the benefit of patients. https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/CD138095/One-slight-alteration-could-avert-a-crisis-as-medicine-shortages-deepen In the same journal in August that year: Scotland’s model for pharmacy offers lessons for England’s future As pharmacies in Scotland receive renewed government backing, Steve Anderson takes a look at the future of English pharmacy … Continue reading Scotland’s pharmacy scheme ‘the model for England’ – to hear about Scotland watch BBC UK

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The Huffy Bros – Rev(olting?) Stu Campbell and Robin McAlpine fighting for the Union

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The had such promise in 2014, those two, but these days all they do is snipe, living for SNP scandals they can persuade mugs to read about and earn them a living. I suspect their business model is based on Russel Brand. There are times I wonder about our business model at TuS as we batter-out researched reports to counter Unionist lies for well-under the minimum wage and they just feed lazily on tabloid………….shite. McAlpine’s latest in an exemplar of projection, projection of your own doubts, with eg: Sturgeon would still be Narcissus, the Greek tragic hero who so needed … Continue reading The Huffy Bros – Rev(olting?) Stu Campbell and Robin McAlpine fighting for the Union