Tag: politics

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Is there any evidence before the arrival of County Lines drug gangs from cities in England of such horrors and what can we do about them? Easy!

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Is there any evidence before the arrival of County Lines drug gangs in small-town Scotland from cities in England in the last ten years that Scottish drug gangs at street level pushing drugs, were involved in cuckooing the vulnerable, using child drug mules, using extreme violence, diversifying into sex trafficking and adopting the business model exploiting markets in smaller towns and even in villages, across all of Scotland? I can’t be fully trusted. I’m angry, deeply angry at how the media operating in Scotland hides the reality of this deadly invasion. Heavy, experienced and familiar with the prison system in … Continue reading Is there any evidence before the arrival of County Lines drug gangs from cities in England of such horrors and what can we do about them? Easy!

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As STV explore everything about ‘serious organised crime’ except the appalling things the English County Lines cultural variant does, a fearful reminder of what of that, from Police Scotland but ignored by ‘our’ supposed media

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From Human Trafficking NRM referrals re county lines – 10yrs published by Police Scotland today, that ‘referrals made by Police Scotland to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) where county lines and suspected criminal exploitation was a factor‘ 26 September 2026: Under 16 year-olds – from 6 in 2020/2021 to 39 in 2025/2026, almost a seven-fold increase. 16-17 year-olds, from 16 to 65, a four-fold increase. Source: https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2026/june/26-1022-human-trafficking-nrm-referrals-re-county-lines-10yrs/ What forms does that exploitation take? County lines refers to a violent, exploitative model of illegal drug distribution in the UK, where urban gangs and organised criminal networks export drugs (primarily heroin and … Continue reading As STV explore everything about ‘serious organised crime’ except the appalling things the English County Lines cultural variant does, a fearful reminder of what of that, from Police Scotland but ignored by ‘our’ supposed media

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From “If you don’t know, vote NO!” To becoming an author

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 Okay. Cards on the table. In 2014, I wasn’t some lifelong dyed-in-the-wool independence campaigner who had spent years on the streets criticising the Union. I was just one of millions who had ‘forever’ accepted the political status quo. That is, until one political slogan challenged me to think differently. “If you don’t know, vote no!” I suppose I could have shrugged my shoulders and accepted that as reasonable advice. Instead, I didn’t just take it on board. I took it as a challenge. If I don’t know, then I’ll find out. And that curiosity became … Continue reading From “If you don’t know, vote NO!” To becoming an author

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Red Letter Days and Red Reminders – More gas, more electricity, more promises and still the bills arrive

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 Politicians announce new energy projects, celebrate investment and promise jobs, energy security and economic growth. Then the red reminders arrive. The electricity bill. The rising direct debit. The shrinking household budget. For people struggling to heat their homes, the question isn’t how many announcements smiling politicians can make. It’s how those smiles translate into a tangible difference to the bills people pay. The UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Local Energy and Jobs has recently been promoting a community-owned energy project in Argyll expected to power 800 homes. And only yesterday, the same minister welcomed … Continue reading Red Letter Days and Red Reminders – More gas, more electricity, more promises and still the bills arrive

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Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it – the EIGHT research reports supporting the SNP Government’s decision to spend 0.7% of its budget for a future we all benefit from

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In the Guardian in December 2024: The news that more than one in three children in the UK are now living in poverty should shock everyone but surprise no one. Nearly three years into the cost of living crisis, we know that young families and disabled people have been among those hit hardest by the biggest fall in UK living standards in half a century. The latest estimates, by the non-partisan Social Metrics Commission, show that the number of people in poverty has risen to 16 million, or nearly one in four of the UK population – its highest level … Continue reading Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it – the EIGHT research reports supporting the SNP Government’s decision to spend 0.7% of its budget for a future we all benefit from

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Trying to light a two-year-old damp squib as police officer injuries fall from 62 to 1 to zero last year

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BBC Scotland today, trying to scare the old folk, like me, with a complete failure to inform us. Was there a lot of trouble last year? No. The year before? No. Less than a week ago, that other tabloid medium, the Daily Record tried to light the same damp squib. The answer is the same: On 6 November 2025: Police say there was a “notable” reduction in Bonfire Night disorder with the number of calls received down by 37% across Scotland. Between 31 October and 5 November, 833 calls needed a local or specialist response, almost 500 fewer than last … Continue reading Trying to light a two-year-old damp squib as police officer injuries fall from 62 to 1 to zero last year

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As police officers in England & Wales become ‘too exhausted’ Scotland has 23% more police officers to deal with 17% fewer crimes.

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Across BBC TV News and the tabloids including The Sun, today, the above and: FOUR out of every five cops are feeling stressed over workloads, a survey reveals today. And more than three-quarters of them say they are too exhausted to perform their duties properly. The rank-and-file Police Federation of England and Wales has declared a public health emergency in policing. Acting deputy national chairman Paul Williams will today tell its annual conference in London: “Policing is a service making its people sick. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/40768891/public-health-emergency-policing-stress-exhaustion/ Nothing from BBC Scotland yet but how do the figures compare. Do Scottish cops face as … Continue reading As police officers in England & Wales become ‘too exhausted’ Scotland has 23% more police officers to deal with 17% fewer crimes.

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Scottish Government advised care homes to isolate discharged hospital patients three weeks before other three UK nations saving unknown number of lives as nearly 3 000 were lost in England

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By stewartb The Covid Inquiry report on care homes identifies multiple, alleged ‘failings’ by government bodies and ministers. But whilst it makes clear the invidious decisions and trade-offs that faced the authorities, it seems to avoid drawing what is – perhaps to the lay person – the obvious conclusion that there was no ideal, harm-free approach to mitigating risks to care home residents AND the wider public needing hospitalisation available to governments across the UK as the pandemic took hold. In terms of mitigating the risks from discharges from hospitals to care homes, this from the Covid Inquiry report is … Continue reading Scottish Government advised care homes to isolate discharged hospital patients three weeks before other three UK nations saving unknown number of lives as nearly 3 000 were lost in England

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Nearly six years ago 5 research studies found scale of Covid deaths was largely due to private care home owners over-reliant on travelling agency staff, denying sick pay to staff and failing to test them in-house

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Again, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve countered that myth about hospital discharges causing care home outbreaks but, one more time quickly: There is no evidence at all that any of the discharges of hospital cases into care homes caused any of the outbreaks in those homes. There are repeated research reports showing that agency staff working in more than one of the, especially, larger corporate-owned homes did, unwittingly, cause the outbreaks. Here’s the evidence again: The charitable MHA with a presence in Scotland did research into its own homes and discovered this: Large numbers of staff could … Continue reading Nearly six years ago 5 research studies found scale of Covid deaths was largely due to private care home owners over-reliant on travelling agency staff, denying sick pay to staff and failing to test them in-house

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Wrong, Kevin – As Protestants increasingly find a home in Reform UK, Scotland’s Catholics support for the SNP surges from 18% to 48%

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Kevin McKenna at the Herald is in SNP Overdrive these days. I keep ignoring it as best I can but something pees me off too much and here I am again. I come from a ‘Rangers’ family going back decades. My dad, working in an American factory with no closed shops found out Catholics were not aliens and left with me for Falkirk FC. I married Bernadette, in the Chapel and signed things. With a useless Higher History (B) I taught myself about the Empire and it’s atrocities in Ireland. Why is McKenna’s claim pure excrement of the male bovine? … Continue reading Wrong, Kevin – As Protestants increasingly find a home in Reform UK, Scotland’s Catholics support for the SNP surges from 18% to 48%