As Covid Inquiry reconvenes today, a reminder of how FM, Nicola Sturgeon, and the Scottish Government kept excess mortality here at one third lower than the UK average, saving thousands, despite the delay in devolving responsibility and PM Johnson’s callous inertia – saving thousands of lives

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. I’m grateful to @amaccj for reminding me of this and for the link to the source. When the final assessment is made, we need to set the scene with these facts: Two years later, in February 2022, as the pandemic receded, the simple consequences in terms of mortality in different parts of the UK can be see in this table from the September 2023, UK Covid 19 Inquiry report6: Other than the isolated South-west of England, Scotland had the lowest mortality rate of the 4 nations, even lower than Northern Ireland sheltered by … Continue reading As Covid Inquiry reconvenes today, a reminder of how FM, Nicola Sturgeon, and the Scottish Government kept excess mortality here at one third lower than the UK average, saving thousands, despite the delay in devolving responsibility and PM Johnson’s callous inertia – saving thousands of lives

The number of women murder victims has fallen dramatically, almost by half, over the SNP period and to 15 last year, but the Sunday Post finds 200 for its front page to help England keep its myth going

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In 2007/2008, in the the first year of the SNP minority government in Scotland, there were 28 women victims of murder.1 Last year, there were 15, up two from 13 in the previous two years.2 Yet, today, the Sunday Post has nearly 200 victims on its front page. What kind of image of Scotland today does that present? The same one, I suppose that English politicians, some Scottish politicians trying to please them and, of course, most comedians, even today, love to perpetuate. The murder rate with woman victims is the … Continue reading The number of women murder victims has fallen dramatically, almost by half, over the SNP period and to 15 last year, but the Sunday Post finds 200 for its front page to help England keep its myth going

‘Major leak at Highland nuclear site triggers hunt for mystery bunkers’ is just latest in years of reported leaks at Dounreay

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. The National today has as story titled “Major leak at Highland nuclear site triggers hunt for mystery bunkers” (with the subtitle or lead referring to a 1960s bunker at Scotland’s Dounreay nuclear site leaking radioactive water). This is an exclusive/special report by the newspaper. The key source underpinning the article is a new internal investigation report from the site operators (Nuclear Restoration Services, or NRS, responsible for Dounreay’s decommissioning and clean-up). This report was obtained and released to The National (specifically the Sunday National) via a freedom of information (FOI) request. … Continue reading ‘Major leak at Highland nuclear site triggers hunt for mystery bunkers’ is just latest in years of reported leaks at Dounreay

Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years ago but the Herald seeks to scare you

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. I am not, in any way, disputing the case for police officers confronted with a knife-wielding attacker to be able to protect themselves fully and quickly, and use a gun, if it’s deemed necessary. However, the above Herald front page, based on trade union data, like its even more melodramatic cousin in the Record yesterday, is in danger of unnecessarily panicking the wider population. Why? Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level 6 years ago – From Knife crime statistics: FOI release, published today, … Continue reading Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years ago but the Herald seeks to scare you

Scottish Government report on ‘Five years of Scottish Child Payment’ totally ignored by ‘our’ media

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Scottish Child Payment has supported more than 241,000 parents and carers since its launch five years ago, helping put over £1.3 billion into the pockets of low-income families. An increase to the payment for children under one will be introduced during 2027/28, estimated to benefit around 12,000 children and could be worth an extra £500 a year for each eligible child. The payment, which is only available in Scotland, provides families with £27.15 a week, rising to £28.20 from April 2026, for every eligible child under 16.  Latest figures show more than 322,000 children are … Continue reading Scottish Government report on ‘Five years of Scottish Child Payment’ totally ignored by ‘our’ media

Should Pam Duncan-Glancy not have tried to support her long time friend in some way?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Alasdair Macdonald You are correct as always to point out and publicize the political anti-independence bias displayed by BBC Scotland and the unionist media. I should like to make a point exemplified by the issues in the articles you have used here. It concerns the identification of politicians and other higher profile figures who are associated in some way with individuals who have been accused of a crime even though the well known people are innocent of any crime. It is ‘guilt by association’. A fairly recent example was when a … Continue reading Should Pam Duncan-Glancy not have tried to support her long time friend in some way?

What kind of miserable wee s***e had the meanness of spirit to ask how much it cost to send the New York mayor an SNP baby box and which media outlet do they work for – what’s your guess?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. On the 23rd January, someone wrote to the Scottish Government to ask: Please provide copies of any internal correspondence, submissions, briefings or approvals relating to the decision. Please provide the total cost incurred by the Scottish Government in producing, packaging and sending the Baby Box. They got a reply on 4th February and it was published yesterday. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202600503409/ In the correspondence you can see that the Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville had seen Mayor Mamdani express a desire to introduce a similar baby box in New York. Sharing his views on … Continue reading What kind of miserable wee s***e had the meanness of spirit to ask how much it cost to send the New York mayor an SNP baby box and which media outlet do they work for – what’s your guess?

Another attempt to hide the true NHS England performance as waiting lists in Scotland keep falling

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Today, BBC UK present, uncritically, the suggestion that waiting lists are falling at the same time as they’re getting longer, in NHS Alice in Wonderland: BBC analysis shows more procedures and treatments are being carried out across the NHS in England, but still not enough to match the number of new patients joining waiting lists. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/l0057yrn This is just another attempt (more below) by NHS England to fiddle the figures on behalf of the Labour Government. The waiting list is the waiting list. Imagine BBC Scotland if NHS Scotland tried to … Continue reading Another attempt to hide the true NHS England performance as waiting lists in Scotland keep falling

BBC UK find ’55 babies who died may have survived with better care’ to add to police investigations into hundreds of avoidable baby deaths in NHS England but none in Scotland and NHS England pays out twice as much for maternity failings!

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. First thing today, on BBC Breakfast, we hear of a joint BBC News/New Statesman, external investigation into maternity care at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UH Sussex) which has found: No government nor former government minister is associated, in the BBC Health report, with these horrific figures. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckg2n644l44o Starting with the last bullet point above but coming to all of them, we already know this about the relative performance of NHS Scotland, despite the continuous efforts by BBC Scotland, the Herald and Scottish Labour to pin a much smaller number deaths on … Continue reading BBC UK find ’55 babies who died may have survived with better care’ to add to police investigations into hundreds of avoidable baby deaths in NHS England but none in Scotland and NHS England pays out twice as much for maternity failings!

Starmer told Sarwar to call for his resignation allowing him to seem to be standing up for Scotland and to flush out and scare off the real threats with a promise that he would then forgive him and he could carry on managing the Scottish branch office

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. At 2.30pm on February 9th, Anas Sarwar called for the resignation of the deeply troubled Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer. He ended up acting alone. The big beasts, Streeting and Raynor, hesitated then pledged loyalty to Starmer. If anything, Starmer is now strengthened and his jolly, bullish manner at PMQs today suggests just that. How should this apparent treachery by Sarwar have worked out in a normal world? Starmer should have ‘had his guts for garters‘, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but some day soon and for the rest of his … Continue reading Starmer told Sarwar to call for his resignation allowing him to seem to be standing up for Scotland and to flush out and scare off the real threats with a promise that he would then forgive him and he could carry on managing the Scottish branch office