Tag: politics

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Does Michael Marra still think Andy Burnham should ‘shut up?’

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By Liz S Daily Record 28 September 2025. “A senior Labour MSP has told wannabe party leader Andy Burnham to “shut up” amid speculation he plans to launch a bid to topple Keir Starmer” Guess who the ‘senior’ Labour MSP was? None other than one of the contenders for the Labour Branch office manager’s post i.e. Michael Marra. Embarrassing now is it not . That is , it would be embarrassing for any decent politician . However for a Labour politician , who now stands in the (supposed) ‘leadership’ contest for Labour in Scotland, it will be be no more than yet another self … Continue reading Does Michael Marra still think Andy Burnham should ‘shut up?’

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Just as Burnham would never come to Dunsinane – In 2024, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoided looking north for help with child poverty

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You won’t be surprised to hear how in May 2024, campaigning for Labour, there was not a word, from Gordon Brown, this Labour Party elder, of Scotland’s far lower child poverty nor of how the SNP’s child payment is leading to its disappearance in Scotland, nor of Labour’s refusal to end the cruel two-child benefit cap, if elected. Maybe the Archbishop would mention poverty in Scotland and the Child Benefit? Not a word. It turns out the Bishop of Leicester too had a piece in the Guardian. He doesn’t know about Scotland either, it seems, but does mention Labour, if … Continue reading Just as Burnham would never come to Dunsinane – In 2024, the Bishop, the thinktank Chief Exec, the editor and Gordon Brown all avoided looking north for help with child poverty

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English newspaper looked 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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The Guardian in September 2024 had: Australian demand for overdose drug naloxone more than doubles after spike in synthetic opioid deaths but no mention of Scotland in the report. Why might it have? This: Scotland was the first country in the world [2011] to introduce a national naloxone programme, empowering individuals, families, friends and communities to reverse an opiate overdose. https://www.gov.scot/policies/alcohol-and-drugs/naloxone-provision/#:~:text=Scotland%20was%20the%20first%20country,years%20from%202011%20to%202016. From Public Health Scotland in August 2021: Since the establishment of the National Naloxone Programme in 2011/12:• 74,629 THN kits have been issued by services based in the community.• 8,793 THN kits have been issued by prisons in Scotland.• 10,388 THN kits … Continue reading English newspaper looked 10 000 miles south to report opioid crisis in Australia but fails to notice a solution launched THIRTEEN years ago just 400 miles to the north

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Scottish Government’s reluctance to support and caution on e-bike/scooter trials will have massively reduced traumatic brain injuries

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In the Guardian today, the above, and: Electric scooter riders are three times more likely to suffer traumatic brain injuries than motorcyclists, according to an analysis of accidents in England and Wales – which found women were particularly at risk of serious harm. Brain injuries accounted for more than a third of adult injuries on e-scooters, but riders also sustained more internal organ and blood vessel damage than did motorcyclists or pedal cyclists, the study found. The government has backed trials of rental e-scooters in England since 2020, but an additional 1m or so e-scooters are privately owned in the UK. These … Continue reading Scottish Government’s reluctance to support and caution on e-bike/scooter trials will have massively reduced traumatic brain injuries

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Listeners ‘short changed’ on quality and accuracy by BBC Radio Scotland

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By Liz S BBC ‘Scotland’ is at it again….but then, (big sigh), that is what we have all come to know and expect by this British propaganda outfit that works relentlessly for the sustainment of their UK State. MSM Monitor added a post via BBC Radio Scotland (sourced from an accusation by the Labour leader of the Council in Edinburgh against the Scottish government- the SNP). The BBC Radio Scotland post on ‘X’ stated this: “Edinburgh City Council leader Jane Marr says Glasgow is being prioritised over Edinburgh when it comes to fire recovery funding. Do you think the money is being shared fairly” ? “Has Edinburgh being short … Continue reading Listeners ‘short changed’ on quality and accuracy by BBC Radio Scotland

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Giving greater weight in public contract awards to tackle youth unemployment crisis in UK – Labour Government copies Scotland but only after 12 years!

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From Catch22 yesterday, the above and: Catch22 has long recommended that government should invest more, without additional costs, into tackling youth unemployment through revising the social value model applied when it buys goods and services. We therefore welcome today’s Cabinet Office announcement of new measures for using public procurement to create jobs and address skills development. The new measures will mean that, when awarding contracts, the government will give more weighting to how its potential suppliers will generate additional social value outcomes for local growth, tackling skills shortages, and apprenticeships and work placements opportunities. We are particularly pleased that this new … Continue reading Giving greater weight in public contract awards to tackle youth unemployment crisis in UK – Labour Government copies Scotland but only after 12 years!

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‘The Multiplier Effect’ – Stunning US study in 2025 made clear the enormous wider benefits of building the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa ferries on the Clyde and points confidently to a future there

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From the Washington State, USA, based Lynwood Times 28 May 2025 A new independent study by Pennsylvania-based Martin Associates confirms the economic value of building the new Washington State Ferries hybrid fleet in-state, showing that each ferry constructed in the state would generate 1,298 jobs and $31.9 million in state and local taxes. Washington State Ferries, which operates the largest ferry system in the nation, solicited bids this spring to build five new hybrid ferries over a six- to eight-year period with a budget of $1.3 billion. The new hybrid electric ferries have 160-car capacity to support growing rider demand and reduce … Continue reading ‘The Multiplier Effect’ – Stunning US study in 2025 made clear the enormous wider benefits of building the Glen Sannox and the Glen Rosa ferries on the Clyde and points confidently to a future there

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Rupert Lowe and the NHS in a badly ‘Restored Britain’

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By Liz S Talking of healthcare I saw this online from Rupert Lowe in a post on ‘X’ dated 5 August: “Under a Restore Britain Government, private healthcare costs will become tax-deductible. Care will be come far more affordable for millions of Brits. Our plans will hugely ease pressure on the NHS, and save you thousands of pounds. Private healthcare is not our enemy”. “Care will be come far more affordable” ? More affordable than now , via the NHS , which is FREE AT THE POINT OF DELIVERY ? “For millions of Brits” ? How many million ? What level of service will those “millions” get via private healthcare, that … Continue reading Rupert Lowe and the NHS in a badly ‘Restored Britain’

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Glasgow misses Scottish Government target but still has massive, 135 times more, genuinely affordable social rent homes than Manchester

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From BBC Scotland yesterday: Targets for the delivery of new affordable homes in Glasgow were missed last year, with construction hampered by rising costs. The Scottish government provided £127.75m for the city’s affordable housing supply programme but although all the money was spent, only 448 homes were recorded as complete against a target of 633. Other targets for approvals and site starts were also missed in 2025/26 for the city, which declared a housing emergency in 2023. However, a report to the council’s city administration committee said Glasgow had managed to deliver significantly more new-build affordable homes compared with other cities within … Continue reading Glasgow misses Scottish Government target but still has massive, 135 times more, genuinely affordable social rent homes than Manchester

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Inexperienced patient safety commissioner sides with tabloid’s anecdotal evidence against the reliable factual evidence of NHS Scotland’s superior maternity services

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In the Herald today: Scotland’s patient safety watchdog privately urged ministers to scrap their maternity taskforce over concerns it was failing to act with sufficient urgency, The Herald can reveal. Karen Titchener, the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland, wrote to Health Secretary Angela Constance in June recommending the Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce be discontinued and replaced with an independent, nationwide assessment of services. and these unfounded claims: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26431969.watchdog-urged-ministers-axe-scotland-maternity-taskforce/?ref=ebln&nid=1220&block=article_block_a&u=54f15f1382a35160f5f9fbd9de82faff&date=050826 Kitchener’s previous experience was in the US and in England. Her one peer-reviewed research paper is co-authored with 7 others in Utah and North Carolina, 10 years ago. Her claim that … Continue reading Inexperienced patient safety commissioner sides with tabloid’s anecdotal evidence against the reliable factual evidence of NHS Scotland’s superior maternity services