Tag: news

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Massive surge in patients waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England A&E after 6 months of Labour-rule

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA In December 2024, 54 207 people waited more than 12 hours [after triage and decision to admit] in NHS England A&E departments, up from 36 806 in July when Labour won the General Election promising change but … Continue reading Massive surge in patients waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England A&E after 6 months of Labour-rule

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People of Scotland call on Sarwar to drop brainless support for ‘small’ nuclear power – more costly, less efficient, more polluting, more cancers-triggering and terrorism vulnerable

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA From STV News / PA Media today: Anas Sarwar has called on John Swinney to drop his “ideological” opposition to nuclear power in Scotland. The Scottish Labour leader told the First Minister his refusal to allow new … Continue reading People of Scotland call on Sarwar to drop brainless support for ‘small’ nuclear power – more costly, less efficient, more polluting, more cancers-triggering and terrorism vulnerable

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How the SNP Government kept your health data out the hands of an NHS England contractor who openly boasts about killing people in Gaza for profit

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Skwawkbox, today, the above video (link below) and this: Alex Karp, the chief executive of software company Palantir – which supplies military software and services to the Israeli occupation that has murdered and maimed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank and also has a huge contract from the UK government to manage NHS data – has told shareholders he’s sure they’re having as much fun as he is and approves of the company ‘scar[ing] enemies and on occasion kill[ing] them’. Palantir has also been linked, in a parliamentary enquiry and … Continue reading How the SNP Government kept your health data out the hands of an NHS England contractor who openly boasts about killing people in Gaza for profit

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Contrary to the London-based IFS, the second homes tax is ‘One of Scotland’s best-conceived & rewarding policies’

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today: Second homes tax is ‘Scotland’s most ill-conceived & damaging policy’ – What does Scotland’s tax system for purchases of second properties mean for taxpayers, landlords, tenants and the economy? That is one of the … Continue reading Contrary to the London-based IFS, the second homes tax is ‘One of Scotland’s best-conceived & rewarding policies’

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Labour to ‘push past nimbyism’ to build small modular reactors less likely to melt down but as Stanford University research shows more leaky, causing more cancer, and producing 9 times more radioactive waste

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In the Guardian today: The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA Keir Starmer will unveil plans for a historic expansion in nuclear power across England and Wales, pledging to use Labour’s large majority to make new sites across the country available for new power … Continue reading Labour to ‘push past nimbyism’ to build small modular reactors less likely to melt down but as Stanford University research shows more leaky, causing more cancer, and producing 9 times more radioactive waste

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Scotsman and STV fail to understand as cardiac deaths align with aging population and as England’s waiting list climbs to nearly twice as long as Scotland’s

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA The Scotsman, the Morning Star and STV all have misleading reports of cardiac deaths and waiting lists today along the lines of: Waits for heart appointments in Scotland soar to a record high and suggest that reductions … Continue reading Scotsman and STV fail to understand as cardiac deaths align with aging population and as England’s waiting list climbs to nearly twice as long as Scotland’s

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UK Government’s maintenance backlog for England’s devolved public service facilities reaches £30.5 billion – what impact of this neglect on Scotland?

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By stewartb The eye-watering scale of the maintenance backlog associated with UK government  property is exposed in a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO). A figure of £30.5 billion is identified as the scale of the backlog associated just with properties used in the delivery of devolved public services in England (some in Wales). Source: NAO (January 22, 2025) Maintaining public service facilities. Cross-Government Report, HC 544 (https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/maintaining-public-service-facilities.pdf ). When decisions by Westminster/Whitehall to neglect basic property maintenance in England result in budget numbers on this scale, the possible negative consequences for Scotland’s own public finances should merit … Continue reading UK Government’s maintenance backlog for England’s devolved public service facilities reaches £30.5 billion – what impact of this neglect on Scotland?

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NHS Scotland has the shortest waiting lists and 97% efficiency in progressing operations regardless of delays in building new units because of UK Government’s spending review

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland today has: More than £34m has been spent developing plans for five delayed NHS treatment centres which are meant to deal with a backlog of operations. then largely demolishing any value their report might have: … Continue reading NHS Scotland has the shortest waiting lists and 97% efficiency in progressing operations regardless of delays in building new units because of UK Government’s spending review

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Grenfell is to come down – A reminder of why a towering inferno will never happen in Scotland

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The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser closing on Friday, primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS Today [February 6th 2025] in the Guardian: Grenfell Tower is to be demolished, bereaved families are understood to have been told by Angela Rayner. Rayner, the deputy … Continue reading Grenfell is to come down – A reminder of why a towering inferno will never happen in Scotland

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Ayrshire Labour MPs could easily have voted against ‘plunging a rising number of children into poverty’ with no long term harm to their ‘careers’ or salaries but were too afraid to do so

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In Ayrshire Live on 24th July 2024: New Labour MPs vote to keep two-child benefit cap despite branding it ‘cruel’ previously During the election campaign Kilmarnock and Loudoun’s new MP previously called the two-child benefit cap “cruel”. All four of Ayrshire’s new Labour MPs have voted with the UK Government to keep the two-child benefit cap. Central Ayrshire MP Alan Gemmell, Kilmarnock and Loudoun MP Lillian Jones, Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock MP Elaine Stewart and North Ayrshire and Arran MP Irene Campbell all backed Prime Minister Keir Starmer. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/ayrshire/new-labour-mps-vote-keep-33314784 Today in the Guardian: Labour restores whip to three more MPs who opposed two-child benefit cap – Labour has restored … Continue reading Ayrshire Labour MPs could easily have voted against ‘plunging a rising number of children into poverty’ with no long term harm to their ‘careers’ or salaries but were too afraid to do so