Tag: politics

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Burnham’s promises, just like Keir Starmer’s, soon begin to either fall away or just never materialise

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By Liz S Andy Burnham was interviewed by Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday 27 September. Kuenssberg reminded him that “in July 2026 you said he would go as fast as you can in sorting out care for the elderly and vulnerable for England, Social Care. Where have you got to 3 months later” ? Burnham’s response “We are making really good progress”. Then Burnham started to speak about his Dad and also about when he was formerly an MP, where he mentioned that his Gran was going through the Care system and so as Health Secretary he remembered saying “We shouldn’t … Continue reading Burnham’s promises, just like Keir Starmer’s, soon begin to either fall away or just never materialise

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If there is a crisis in Scotland’s maternity wards why are negligence pay-outs only a third of those in England and why is the Scotsman report double-counting incidents to get a big headline number?

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The Scotsman is desperately trying to build a reputation on death and despair in maternity wards. So far, it’s shoddy, fail, do not resubmit, leave the course. In classic churnalist mode, they’ve just added up incidents treating unlike things as if they were the same type of incident because the boards themselves do not use one shared set of terms, to get a big number for the headline. A serious (or significant) adverse event is the incident itself: something that could have caused, or did cause, harm. A serious/significant adverse event review (SAER) is the investigation commissioned afterwards. The article’s … Continue reading If there is a crisis in Scotland’s maternity wards why are negligence pay-outs only a third of those in England and why is the Scotsman report double-counting incidents to get a big headline number?

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If they try to tell you ‘UK care reforms could net Scotland £1bn’, here’s your withering answer

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Here’s the Herald just passively accepting another wee London-based thinktank commentator’s claim that the Barnett formula will compensate us for loss of the triple lock pension to sort England’s care service and to generate another Andy-friendly headline. First, says who? David Phillips, a ‘leading’ economist with the IFS. To get a job as a university lecturer in Economics, you’d need a PhD and one or two research-based papers in reasonable impact peer-reviewed journals. To get to Senior Lecturer, you’d need at least 10 and have supervised PhD students to completion. To get to Professor and be described as a ‘top … Continue reading If they try to tell you ‘UK care reforms could net Scotland £1bn’, here’s your withering answer

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England running scared of independence, THEIR independence that is as UK Parliament petition fails to attract?

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Important: This a UK-wide petition sent all constituency offices across the UK. Launched on 9 June 2026, nearly 4 months ago, the above UK Parliament approved petition reveals some enthusiasm for English Independence but only really in Scotland. What are they afraid of? By Liz S A petition online that someone has created for a “Referendum on English Independence”. What is especially delicious is some of the main reasoning behind its instigation. That reasoning behind this petition is sourced from what UK politicians and UK media keep claiming to be true in relation to Scotland, that is that spending (by … Continue reading England running scared of independence, THEIR independence that is as UK Parliament petition fails to attract?

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If England has ‘more than TWO MILLION homes at risk of flooding’ how many will Scotland have?

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In the Guardian today: More than two million people in England are unaware their properties are at risk of flooding, as the UK braces for a wet and stormy start to the winter, according to the Environment Agency. Experts say the next three months are more likely than usual to be wet and windy – due to a combination of large-scale weather patterns and the “subtle” impact of a supercharged El Niño – increasing the risk of flooding. However, the EA warned on Wednesday that people in a third of the six million properties most at risk of flooding are … Continue reading If England has ‘more than TWO MILLION homes at risk of flooding’ how many will Scotland have?

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When they tell you there’s no evidence for Swinney’s radical plan to merge Scotland’s health boards, here’s what to say

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On BBC Scotland, today, the above headline claim and: Leading doctors are calling on the Scottish government to withdraw its plans to drastically reduce the number of health boards. The new chairwoman of BMA Scotland, Dr Nora Murray-Cavanagh, said the proposal to cut the number from 14 to just two would be costly and time consuming – and that there was no clear evidence it would benefit patients. So, the BMA Scotland branch is a very part-time GP and union organiser heavily distracted by politics, who, with the best will in the world, will be hard-pushed to top any committed … Continue reading When they tell you there’s no evidence for Swinney’s radical plan to merge Scotland’s health boards, here’s what to say

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Next time you’re told the Scottish Government is failing to replace inflammable cladding here’s the evidence, six times for emphasis, why it’s not necessary in Scotland

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In the National today, the above, and a report based entirely on events in England with no mention of the somewhat obvious fact that there have never been towering infernos in Scotland despite 6 tower-block fires in the years since Grenfell. What might they have mentioned? This kind of thing: In the Herald 28 April 2026, Martin Williams has: 10 buildings in Scotland have had emergency safety measures put in place after being judged an “immediate risk to human life” — yet not a single block has been declared fully repaired under the national cladding programme, nearly nine years after … Continue reading Next time you’re told the Scottish Government is failing to replace inflammable cladding here’s the evidence, six times for emphasis, why it’s not necessary in Scotland

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Far more Scots using pre-school childcare and far more satisfied with it

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Before the crowdfunder finishes tomorrow, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at:Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-goingOr by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From the Scottish Household Survey childcare results published two days ago: Results published today from the Scottish Household Survey 2025 show that 83% of households with a two to five year old child (not yet at school) used at least one form of childcare, similar to previous years. The most common forms of childcare used were local authority nurseries and private nurseries, used by 43% and 27% of households respectively. Around 4% … Continue reading Far more Scots using pre-school childcare and far more satisfied with it

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GB Grid ? Well if it pans out to be anything like Labour’s GB Energy, then we should not hold our breath

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Before the crowdfunder finishes tomorrow, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S TuS yesterday: “Scotland heading for massive increase in renewables electricity generation in 2026 to generate 4 times more per head than England”. Burnham in his speech stated that “One of the biggest barriers to growth in the UK is the cost of energy. British businesses and billpayers pay some of the highest energy costs in Europe”. What about Scottish billpayers paying higher standing charges than the rest of … Continue reading GB Grid ? Well if it pans out to be anything like Labour’s GB Energy, then we should not hold our breath

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He says the triple lock on the state pension will go by 2030, ‘to help pay for a new national care service FOR ENGLAND.’ Will you support that, Scottish pensioners? ‘Barnett! Do you trust that?

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On Newsnight, last night, the above was clear with the implication that Scottish pensioners will be impoverished to pay a new national care service in England. Before the crowdfunder finishes tomorrow, support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at:Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-goingOr by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Scotland got a mention only when Andy Crap, Prime Minister, had a wee moment telling us about John Swinney’s prediction that Andy would be the last UK PM on the very same day, THE SAME DAY, that Andy’s dad died. How could he? Does the man … Continue reading He says the triple lock on the state pension will go by 2030, ‘to help pay for a new national care service FOR ENGLAND.’ Will you support that, Scottish pensioners? ‘Barnett! Do you trust that?