Tag: news

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Disability benefit cuts – Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie will soon be on deflection manoeuvres

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By Liz S BBC Website – Douglas Fraser wrote that “If there is a cut in the budget for PIPs, a proportionate figure will be cut from the Treasury block grant to Holyrood”. He then writes “So Scottish ministers would have the choice of applying a similar scale of cuts, or of finding funds from other spending, or from higher income tax, to fill that gap” So would that then mean they are ‘spoilt for choice’ to “fill that gap” Mr Fraser ? “A gap” that has been caused by the UK government . The BBC article on their website regarding … Continue reading Disability benefit cuts – Anas Sarwar and Jackie Baillie will soon be on deflection manoeuvres

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For two years now, pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA England has fewer drug deaths and a shorter two year hospital waiting list but that’s it. After 14 years of not having a Conservative Government, every area of public service is operating better in Scotland. Even our ferries are far better than those in England [Isle of Wight, Scilly Isles, Mersey]. Here’s another – pharmacies The Guardian today, above, typically confused: The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) said it had “been left with little choice” but to recommend its 6,000 members take collective action for the first time in its history, unless the government provides “new and sufficient” funding … Continue reading For two years now, pharmacists in England look to Scotland

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CalMac ferry contract – Polish shipyard may have been unfairly subsidised to lower costs

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Professor John Robertson OBA Amidst fake indignation over the loss of the new ferries contract to a Polish shipyard and attempts to blame the SNP for what the media and the opposition parties have done to the reputation of a Scottish shipyard, the fairness of the competition has to be questioned. In November 2008, BBC UK reported: The European Commission has ordered Poland to reclaim more than 3bn euros of state subsidies paid to two shipyards which were facing bankruptcy. The move means Poland will have to sell the Gdynia and Szczecin yards, putting some 60,000 jobs at risk. The … Continue reading CalMac ferry contract – Polish shipyard may have been unfairly subsidised to lower costs

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Grangemouth – Why would a well-informed BBC journalist omit to inform on the Scottish Government’s substantial contributions alongside those of the Westminster government?

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By stewartb The BBC News website (March 17) has this headline: ‘Grangemouth: A new dawn for the home of UK’s oldest oil refinery?’. It’s no surprise to find such a long article in both the main Scotland and Scotland Business sections written by BBC Scotland’s environment correspondent. After all, it’s one of the most important topics currently in Scotland – economically and politically. The article emphasises the past and present importance of the Grangemouth refinery and its potential for the site to be important economically in future. Readers of the BBC piece are told this: ‘The UK government commissioned a report – … Continue reading Grangemouth – Why would a well-informed BBC journalist omit to inform on the Scottish Government’s substantial contributions alongside those of the Westminster government?

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Former New Labour minister tries to hide the abolishing of the whole NHS England system, not just the ‘quango’ and the deaths that will follow

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to AR for alerting me to this. The word ‘Perspective’ there, is doing heavy lifting as former Blair Minister, Brian ‘Bad Vibrations’ Wilson, tries to tell us that Starmer is only getting rid of the NHS England top layer and freeing the trusts up, to get imaginative [spend the money in the private sector] and, of course leave NHS Scotland behind. It’s by no means just a perspective, a point of view, It’s a whopping lie. Here’s another ‘perspective‘ but a far more honest and clear-sighted one: The Starmer government’s announcement that it is abolishing … Continue reading Former New Labour minister tries to hide the abolishing of the whole NHS England system, not just the ‘quango’ and the deaths that will follow

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How Orkney islanders fought off a lung cancer risk, nearly 100 times the normal rate

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Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks to Frances McKie for alerting me to this. In 1975, not much reported at the time, as far as I can remember, the residents of the Orkney Islands faced and fought off a dark threat. From Beyond Nuclear International in April 2021: The Orkneys were being surveyed for a potentially valuable deposit of uranium ore. The South Scottish Electricity Board had already persuaded local farmers, unaware of the health risks, to allow bore hole drilling on their land. By 1977, the entire local population on Orkney opposed uranium exploitation there. Among those opponents was … Continue reading How Orkney islanders fought off a lung cancer risk, nearly 100 times the normal rate

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There are no ‘UK rape conviction cases’ only ones for England and Wales OR for Scotland and though the latter are still not remotely good enough, I know, they are very different these days

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Committee Chair In the Guardian today: Stacey Dooley on the UK’s shocking rape conviction statistics [sic] – Prosecuting rape is notoriously difficult in the UK [sic], with an estimated 5% of cases making it to trial, and only about 45% [of those so 2%?] resulting in a conviction. Amid such discouraging headlines, four young women have allowed Stacey Dooley to tell their difficult, complex stories about reporting being raped by someone they know, in the three-year run-up to trial. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/13/tv-tonight-stacey-dooley-on-the-uks-shocking-conviction-statistics There are no UK rape conviction statistics. There are statistics for England & Wales … Continue reading There are no ‘UK rape conviction cases’ only ones for England and Wales OR for Scotland and though the latter are still not remotely good enough, I know, they are very different these days

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Where’s Anas? The BBC report on his sheepish support for savage disability cuts which will have damaging knock-on effects in health care, policing and education, may not see the day out

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Professor John Robertson OBA The BBC Scotland report on the Scottish Labour leader sheepishly going along with the PM’s welfare ‘reforms’ , well more savage cuts for the disabled, from only yesterday, looks likely to drop off the page soon. Maybe, when you read this, it already has. The actual report, get it quick before it disappears, finds it impossible to conceal the awfulness of the callousness in Starmer and Reeves’ plans, try as it might, so its presence has been diminished fast in the hope that no one sees it. What are the Labour plans? PIP pay Numerous individuals … Continue reading Where’s Anas? The BBC report on his sheepish support for savage disability cuts which will have damaging knock-on effects in health care, policing and education, may not see the day out

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Suspected drug deaths fall again for 3rd quarter in a row to lowest since 2017 and plummet for younger abusers

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Professor John Robertson OBA From Suspected drug deaths in Scotland: October to December 2024, published today: During 2024 there were 1,065 suspected drug deaths, 11% (132) fewer than in 2023. This is one of the lowest numbers of suspected drug deaths recorded in a single calendar quarter since the start of the time series in 2017. https://www.gov.scot/publications/suspected-drug-deaths-scotland-october-december-2024/pages/3/ Of particular interest: A majority (64%) of suspected drug deaths were of people aged between 35 and 54 years. This is broadly in line with previous periods. There were 34 suspected drug deaths in the under 25 age group, 37% (20) fewer than … Continue reading Suspected drug deaths fall again for 3rd quarter in a row to lowest since 2017 and plummet for younger abusers

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UK Government’s dysfunctional Under-Secretary at the Scotland Office will clearly say anything, absolutely anything she’s told to say

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stewartb Should anyone book a holiday for their family on a Scottish island this summer? Should a bank or other investor support a business based on a Scottish island that relies on serving customers off island? Should anyone thinking of moving from the UK mainland or elsewhere to set up a family home or set up a business on a Scottish island? Should any resident of a Scottish island with the option of continuing to make a life there or moving to a mainland location choose the former? Should a business on the UK mainland or elsewhere enter into a … Continue reading UK Government’s dysfunctional Under-Secretary at the Scotland Office will clearly say anything, absolutely anything she’s told to say