Tag: politics

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Major fixes are required for a failing UK state but the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons

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From stewartb There have been some escoriating assessments of the Tory and Labour manifestos for the upcoming General Election. They include the one below from the establishment-revered Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS). When reading the extracts, written from a London/England-centric UK perspective, reflect on just how ‘distant’ – how lacking in effective agency — Scotland’s electorate and government are in all of this! The IFS is essentially arguing that major fixes are required for a failing UK state but that the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons. Within this Union, Scotland’s ability to influence the nature … Continue reading Major fixes are required for a failing UK state but the two main parties are in denial for partisan electoral reasons

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Crime slightly up in 2023/2024 but still falling in trend down 51% from the days of Thatcherism still scarring England

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By Professor John Robertson From the Scottish Government today: Crime figures based only on police reporting do understate the actual level of crime and so we need to find out what people will report to independent researchers about their own experience of crime in their communities. The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is based on 5 600 face-to-face interviews. This is a very large sample, scientifically constructed to represent all social groups. Compared with opinion polls with samples of around 1 000, this method is gold-standard for validity and reliability. It found an estimated 494,000 crimes in 2021/22 [Down … Continue reading Crime slightly up in 2023/2024 but still falling in trend down 51% from the days of Thatcherism still scarring England

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Days before an election, Reporting Scotland and the rogue BMA Scotland rep tell us there is an NHS crisis but only in Scotland – The Facts say otherwise

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By Professor John Robertson In April 2024: BMA Scotland, headed up by Dr Iain Kennedy, who has now shed the union flag on his twitter account, have a piece on consultant vacancies all over the media from 06:30 this morning on BBC Scotland. They’ll have had this one oven-ready for some time now. Why today. From the real BMA in London today: The BMA England GP committee has warned health service officials that the profession is ‘now in dispute’ with NHS England following the overwhelming vote to reject the 2024/25 contract. Is the profession in dispute with NHS Scotland? The silence talks. … Continue reading Days before an election, Reporting Scotland and the rogue BMA Scotland rep tell us there is an NHS crisis but only in Scotland – The Facts say otherwise

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London-based County Lines drug gang exploits child in Aberdeenshire but BBC Scotland look away again as election looms

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By Professor John Robertson Yesterday, STV had this headline and sub: Man, 21, charged in connection with drugs offences and child exploitation – The 21-year-old man is due to appear at Peterhead Sheriff Court on Monday, June 24. They do mention London and County Lines in the text but keep this matter, which clearly harms the Better Together story, from too much attention. I doubt the story has made a TV broadcast. Correct me if you can. BBC Scotland? It is now more than 3 years since BBC Scotland mentioned County Lines gangs, for the only time, in a post. … Continue reading London-based County Lines drug gang exploits child in Aberdeenshire but BBC Scotland look away again as election looms

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Holding government to account depends on the “attitude” of the ruling party in what is “one of the most executive-dominated parliaments in the world”

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(Director, Institute for Government, 18 June 2024) – Scotland’s 21st century democracy, UK-style! By stewartb A comment piece by the Director of the Institute for Government (IfG) – the London-based, centrist think tank close to the Westminster and Whitehall establishment – got me thinking about the democracy and associated agency we in Scotland experience within the Union. We are only too well aware that Scotland’s electorate is in a small minority in this Union; that Scotland now has a diminished number of elected members in the Union parliament; that we have a modern history of prolonged periods of rule by … Continue reading Holding government to account depends on the “attitude” of the ruling party in what is “one of the most executive-dominated parliaments in the world”

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Homeownership rates among younger people in Scotland far higher than for UK

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 Institute for Fiscal Studies (June 2024) By stewartb On 20 June 2024 the Scottish Government announced the following: ‘Help for first-time buyers across the country on low to medium incomes’. This is described on the Scottish Government website: ’A scheme to help first time buyers and certain priority groups step on to the property ladder has reopened for applications. The Open Market Shared Equity (OMSE) scheme is available across Scotland to first-time buyers on low or medium incomes who cannot afford the full price of a home. (my emphasis) ‘Successful applicants will be able to buy a home without having … Continue reading Homeownership rates among younger people in Scotland far higher than for UK

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Perhaps we’ll see NHS England under a Labour health secretary introduce the ‘breach exemption’?

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By stewartb There is another clever wheeze available to Mr Streeting [to cut A&E waits] it seems, one tried and tested by Labour in Wales. Perhaps he intends NHS England’s A&E waiting times performance reporting to adopt the practice the Labour government in Cardiff has been using to massage the A&E waits performance in Wales. Perhaps we’ll see NHS England under a Labour health secretary introduce the ‘breach exemption’? From the BBC News website’s Wales section (16 October, 2023): ‘NHS Wales: Thousands of hours missing from A&E figures – doctors’. In this we learn of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s (RCEM) … Continue reading Perhaps we’ll see NHS England under a Labour health secretary introduce the ‘breach exemption’?

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Independence – When will we reach our tipping point? 

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By Brenda Robb Following the launch of the SNPs manifesto many folk have taken to Twitter and newspaper comments to bemoan the SNPs ability to make progress on securing independence. Every armchair expert claims to know what they should have done with solutions ranging from challenging obscure constitutional treaties, declaring UDI or just somehow sorting it. In some ways the Westminster refrain of “Now is not the time” was highly successful as it has allowed time, frustration and division to take their toll on the independence movement.  This is not new. A quick internet trawl gave the following timelines for … Continue reading Independence – When will we reach our tipping point? 

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Now that was all ‘maximising’ influence and benefit for Scotland’s businesses!

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By stewartb Prominent on Labour in Scotland’s website right now is this: ‘What will Labour do for Scotland? – Our 6 first steps to change Scotland‘. This is Labour’s step number six! Perhaps a moments thought as to relevant context and perspective by Labour’s leadership in Scotland might have been helpful before issuing this kind of substance-free stuff. It’s possible of course that this ‘maximising’ pledge has been dreamt up to give an incoming Labour Secretary of State for Scotland (Ian Murray?) cover for a ‘pretendy’ purpose! This pledge to Scotland on ‘maximising influence’ on trade ironically is from the same … Continue reading Now that was all ‘maximising’ influence and benefit for Scotland’s businesses!

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Making sure Labour get full credit for the PFI disaster costing Scots £30 billion

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By Professor John Robertson Deep into today’s BBC Northamptonshire, not BBC Scotland, of course, we read The NHS is currently grappling with the detrimental effects of inefficient Public-Private Partnerships (PFI) introduced by New Labour, which are siphoning off essential funds from patient care. How much? From SNP Media, in March 2023: From SNP Media today: The price of the biggest scandal of the Devolution era – Scottish Labour’s PFI catastrophe – continues to increase after it was revealed the cost to the public purse ballooned by an extra £1million every week in just the last year alone. In response to … Continue reading Making sure Labour get full credit for the PFI disaster costing Scots £30 billion