Tag: news

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As Transform Scotland call for a large SUV ban in city centres, how they have surged to 30% of all cars and are 8 times more likely to kill a child

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From GB News yesterday: Scotland could introduce new restrictions on larger vehicles in city centres following fresh calls from campaigners, who warned SUVs are becoming an “emerging problem”. A new report from sustainable transport group Transform Scotland has urged the next Scottish Government to consider bringing in limits on the biggest vehicles in urban areas. According to the report, SUVs made up almost half of all new cars sold in 2023, a dramatic rise from just one in 10 in 2020. Campaigners warned that this rapid growth is already having a visible impact on Scotland’s towns and cities. https://www.gbnews.com/lifestyle/cars/scotland-suv-restrictions-parking-road-safety The … Continue reading As Transform Scotland call for a large SUV ban in city centres, how they have surged to 30% of all cars and are 8 times more likely to kill a child

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Farm income surges contrary to Tory gentleman farmer, Tim Eagle’s gloomy assessment

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From Scottish farm business income: annual estimates 2024-2025 last updated 21 April 2026, the above and: Average farm incomes rose in 2024-25, after experiencing some sharp declines in 2023-24. The increases are largely driven by higher livestock prices. Average farm income is around £58,800 in 2024-25. This is an increase of 30% (£13,400) from the previous year’s income of £45,400, which was the lowest income since 2019-20, after adjusting for inflation. The average farm made a profit of £500 from agricultural activity in 2024-25. Agricultural profit (agricultural output minus costs) is rarely seen for the average farm. This last happened … Continue reading Farm income surges contrary to Tory gentleman farmer, Tim Eagle’s gloomy assessment

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Anti-social behaviour in Glasgow – This SNP council should be praised for implementing dispersal zone to further combat it even though it has fallen by two thirds in ten years

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From BBC Scotland today, the above and: Police have arrested 43 people in the first month of a new dispersal zone to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour in Glasgow city centre. Officers have used their powers 438 times since the zone was introduced on 20 March – on average 14 times a day – with the majority of warnings to adults over 16. The zone allows police to ban groups of two or more people from the area for 24 hours if their behaviour is “impacting on the safety and well-being” of others. Police Scotland said those arrested had returned … Continue reading Anti-social behaviour in Glasgow – This SNP council should be praised for implementing dispersal zone to further combat it even though it has fallen by two thirds in ten years

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New research report – The Politicisation of BBC Reporting in the 100 days before the Scottish Election 2026 – Comparing BBC Wales and BBC Scotland

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On Friday 17th April 2026, only three weeks before the Scottish Parliament election on May 7th, 2026, a research team at Talking-up Scotland completed a 100-day survey of the BBC Wales and BBC Scotland’s inserts in BBC Breakfast, Monday to Friday 6 to 9am. Despite both operating within a dramatic political context with pro-independence parties, Plaid Cymru (PC) and SNP, for the first time likely to win in both countries, the coverage differed markedly in terms of the politicisation of reports and in the overall level of negativity know to influence voter behaviour. A 2023 study published by Talking-up Scotland, … Continue reading New research report – The Politicisation of BBC Reporting in the 100 days before the Scottish Election 2026 – Comparing BBC Wales and BBC Scotland

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Contrary to England, vulnerable children in Scotland must be placed in regulated safe settings

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Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: Ministers must get to grips with the “national scandal” of England’s shadow child social care system, the children’s commissioner has warned, as a report reveals the number of children in unregulated settings has increased by more than 370% in five years. Some of the most vulnerable children in England are being temporarily placed in unregulated caravans, Airbnbs and holiday camps, which risk the “accumulation of increasing levels of harm for children who have already faced enough distress for several lifetimes”, according to the report. Analysis of Ofsted data has … Continue reading Contrary to England, vulnerable children in Scotland must be placed in regulated safe settings

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Scotland remains a progressive outlier with only half the level of concern about immigration and no chance of Reform UK winning even one constituency – Libby Brookes must improve

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YouGov, no friend of the SNP sees no sign of Reform UK coming first anywhere. Reform UK in Westminster polls – ahead consistently with up to a third of the voters. Reform UK in Scotland – well behind consistently, often third and with less than a fifth of the voters. In the Guardian today, the consistently confused or just too lazy to do research, Libby Brooks, has: How Reform is exposing the reality of Scotland’s views on immigration and identity – Once a progressive outlier, Scotland is facing a political reckoning as Reform benefits from growing social division. But Reform … Continue reading Scotland remains a progressive outlier with only half the level of concern about immigration and no chance of Reform UK winning even one constituency – Libby Brookes must improve

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Health visitors in England are key to Labour’s preventative strategy but they’re plummeting there after two years in government while Scotland after 19 years of the SNP has four times as many per head, twice the essential continuity and twice the visits

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From BBC Breakfast early this morning (06.17 to 06.20am) and repeated with the above shocking figures throughout the show: The number of health visitors in England has fallen by almost half over the last decade – meaning some of those who remain have caseloads of more than a thousand families each. Now the Institute of Health Visiting is calling for caseloads to be limited to 250 families per visitor. Then: Health visitors in England would like to see a safe staffing limit like in Scotland, where they have caseloads of no more than 250 families. Seven minutes later, we hear … Continue reading Health visitors in England are key to Labour’s preventative strategy but they’re plummeting there after two years in government while Scotland after 19 years of the SNP has four times as many per head, twice the essential continuity and twice the visits

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The causes of healthy life expectancy falling – Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK so maybe look at this?

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The Herald today has: Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK (table above, sources below) so Prof Cameron’s theory seems a little thin, simplistic. Here’s another explanation but one of course which cannot be laid at the door of the SNP Government’s limited devolved powers. The major rise in processed/UPF availability and reliance began decades earlier (1980s–2000s), becoming entrenched by the 2010s. This long-term poor diet quality (cumulative effects on obesity, inflammation, mental health, and chronic conditions) helps explain why health gains from medical advances stalled … Continue reading The causes of healthy life expectancy falling – Scotland already has far more, per head of population, GPs, nurses, midwives and other professionals than other parts of the UK so maybe look at this?

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Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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In the Guardian today, the above and: In 2024, a measles epidemic tore through this community and left one unvaccinated toddler dead. “As long as vaccination rates remain low, it’s a powder keg,” says Csabai. “Once an epidemic starts, it is already too late to vaccinate. We need to act now.” Romania is facing the worst measles crisis in the EU. The country has had four epidemics of the illness since 2005, each separated by only a few years of fragile calm. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/apr/18/romania-eu-measles-cases-vaccination-rates-collapse Around 40 000 people per day fly out of Romania to other parts of Europe, 5 000 … Continue reading Measles crisis – why Scotland needs border control

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The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership

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stewartb Seems like another example of a potentially damaging policy in a critically important area impacting Scotland implemented not only as a result of a Westminster government’s decision but one made through secondary legislation and therefore without recourse to Westminster parliamentary scrutiny. Another example of the quality of Scotland in Union’s democracy! From the British Medical Journal (April 17, 2026) ‘Opinion: The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership‘. ‘On the eve of the Easter bank holiday weekend, the UK government finally published the full text of its deal with … Continue reading The UK government must publish a detailed impact assessment of the costs and benefits of the US-UK medicines partnership