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

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

Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: The case is one of a growing number of school-shooting plots detected in the UK, where young men and boys are being inspired by online material glorifying US massacres, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. In the year to March 2024, 162 referrals were made to Prevent (the government-led counter-terrorism scheme) related to interest in school massacres, up 2% on the year before. Only 19 resulted in people being adopted for intervention and mentoring under the programme.1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/02/i-hate-my-school-why-are-more-british-teenagers-plotting-shooting-attacks The total number of referrals to Prevent in England … Continue reading Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

Even the intelligent Bella Caledonia jumps unthinking onto the barricades, brandishing little more than a tooth-pick, to stop Trump coming to Scotland

By Professor John Robertson OBA The typically excellent Bella Caledonia [ I mean that] has this today, joining with all the other folk I respect on Scottish independence but suddenly ‘armchair tank commanders‘, and rushed to the barricades to try to stop President Trump coming to Scotland. I mean, really, you hate him more than Narendra Modi of India or whichever Israeli diplomat comes to Scotland? Look properly. He’s a horrible horrible guy but he has done little to compare with the horror inflicted on Muslims in India or in the Israeli Empire. They write: America is a shadow of … Continue reading Even the intelligent Bella Caledonia jumps unthinking onto the barricades, brandishing little more than a tooth-pick, to stop Trump coming to Scotland

Far more working-class students in medicine in Scotland

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  From the Guardian yesterday, the above shocking headline. You won’t be surprised to see the Guardian report is typically and lazily, Anglocentric when you see this from the original … Continue reading Far more working-class students in medicine in Scotland

UK Labour government to cut funds for safety at Sellafield – the “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair” just upwind and upstream of millions of Scots

By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS, former power station and dyeworks worker In the Guardian today, the above and this: Sellafield has said nearly £3bn in new funding is “not enough” and bosses are now examining swingeing cuts, prompting fears over jobs and safety at the vast nuclear waste dump. Sellafield’s chief executive, Euan Hutton, has told staff that the funding was “not enough” to carry out planned works, leaving bosses to make “difficult decisions” over spending, sources told the Guardian. The public spending watchdog has said the ultimate cost of cleaning up Sellafield is expected to rise … Continue reading UK Labour government to cut funds for safety at Sellafield – the “bottomless pit of hell, money and despair” just upwind and upstream of millions of Scots

While BBC UK reported Starmer claiming the meeting of more appointments than in a period with 23 days of strikes, so probably fewer, BBC Scotland completely ignores Swinney actually exceeding his promise

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily, finishing in 8 days, 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 Professor John Robertson OBA On February 17th 2025, BBC Health and BBC 1 reported: The government has met a key election pledge to deliver two million extra NHS appointments in England in its first year, the prime minister has said. The target … Continue reading While BBC UK reported Starmer claiming the meeting of more appointments than in a period with 23 days of strikes, so probably fewer, BBC Scotland completely ignores Swinney actually exceeding his promise

The evidence that UK Government ‘suspicion of the Scots’ led to inferior Covid-19 pandemic measures and the unnecessary deaths of thousands in England and Wales

By Professor John Robertson, OBA In the National today: Mark Drakeford: Tories’ ‘suspicion of the Scots’ hindered UK in Covid THERE was an “inherent suspicion” in the way the UK government dealt with its devolved counterparts during the Covid pandemic because they were “worried about the Scots,” the former first minister of Wales has said. The above table is summarised by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on page 100 of UK Poverty 2023 published on 26 January 2023, as: Scotland has the lowest mortality rate per 100,000 people for every degree of deprivation across the UK [p100] https://www.jrf.org.uk/uk-poverty-2023-the-essential-guide-to-understanding-poverty-in-the-uk That the above variation … Continue reading The evidence that UK Government ‘suspicion of the Scots’ led to inferior Covid-19 pandemic measures and the unnecessary deaths of thousands in England and Wales

Imagine Calmac risked your life for corporate profit?

People injured after P&O cruise ship involved in ‘weather-related incident’ in Mallorca As CalMac cancels sailings today, It’s worth remembering incidents like the above in 2023. Leaving aside weather cancellations for winds above 45knots, how does CalMac do, while keeping everyone safe? Take the much talked-about Arran service? 97% on time: chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://assets.calmac.co.uk/media/lbwmmqfn/arran-oct-24.pdf With the weather cancellations included, still 85%. I’ll leave you to check the others at: https://www.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/service-status/#/service-status How does the comparable BC Ferries in wealthy Canada do? There have been several deaths associated with BC Ferries, including the drowning of a worker in 2020 and the sinking of the MV … Continue reading Imagine Calmac risked your life for corporate profit?

Why building CalMac ferries, quicker and cheaper in Turkey might not have been such a good idea after all

From STV on 28th March 2024, as a media frenzy risked the future of commercial shipbuilding in the Clyde, just to attack the SNP Government, in support of the 2024 General Election Labour campaign: All four Calmac ferries being built in Turkey ‘are on time and on budget’ By August 2024, the Herald told us: Four ferries being built in Turkey for CalMac will be delayed, with the first having been due to be delivered this month. MV Isle of Islay was due to be delivered by mid-October, but it was announced in August that it would not be delivered … Continue reading Why building CalMac ferries, quicker and cheaper in Turkey might not have been such a good idea after all

Breast cancer life extending drug – images BBC Scotland hope you’ve missed

Professor John Robertson OBA On BBC Breakfast and on their website, an extended report on Enhertu, a drug which can give patients with a specific type of incurable breast cancer an extra six months to live on average. At the very bottom of the BBC UK report, this: Some told the BBC they were considering the idea of moving to Scotland, where they could get it on the NHS. Jeannie says that’s not an option for her family. “We shouldn’t be having to think of moving to Scotland or selling our houses,” she says. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7v6g9q6rjqo The extended website report does … Continue reading Breast cancer life extending drug – images BBC Scotland hope you’ve missed