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Based on what they did in Wales, a Labour Government in Scotland would add half a million to Scotland’s NHS waiting lists! Pay attention. Do not vote for these numpties without checking this out

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, Primary 7 Maths teacher till 1981. Scottish Labour have always had trouble with numbers and Scottish Labour Leader, Anas Sarwar is no exception as he walks into an embarrassing gaff in the Daily Record today, with this: Almost 1 in 6 Scots are on an NHS waiting list. The combined waiting lists total 824,725 people.1 The Scottish Con’s, Sandy Gullane, similarly no that bright, says: Around one in seven Scots is on a waiting list for NHS treatment.2 Make up your mind lads. That’s a big difference, hundreds of thousands. Never mind the sums then, what’s the … Continue reading Based on what they did in Wales, a Labour Government in Scotland would add half a million to Scotland’s NHS waiting lists! Pay attention. Do not vote for these numpties without checking this out

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With the Scottish Conservatives finished, BBC Scotland attempts to push the already fading Scottish Labour party horse over the line in 2026

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By Professor John Robertson OBA To discuss the problem of derelict buildings being left up too long, BBC Scotland choose, Colin Smyth, a Labour regional (list) MSP (not actually elected by locals) in a region (Scotland South) where there are no Labour constituency MSPs (6 SNP and 3 Cons). The above factory location is not named but there is a local MSP actually elected by the locals. Why were they not asked? Colin grew up in Dumfries. Why did BBC Scotland not approach Oliver Mundell the actual MSP for the area? As with many other recent examples, including Anas Sarwar arriving by … Continue reading With the Scottish Conservatives finished, BBC Scotland attempts to push the already fading Scottish Labour party horse over the line in 2026

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Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026

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and we know there are some small-scale examples of where they have changed public services but we’ve been talking about public service for the past 13 years and we’re not seeing anything of the scale and pace that is going to help the Scottish Government that are going to help them bridge the £1 billion gap in public spending. By Professor John Robertson OBA Above and headlining BBC Scotland today, the Auditor General, Stephen Boyle, criticises the Scottish Government again, in a sequence of such high profile media appearances. This is a uniquely Scottish experience as a public official, funded by all … Continue reading Only in Scotland, is the Auditor General a political stooge and media favourite assisting the Scottish Labour campaign for 2026

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Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual

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The current UK Government National Threat Level is: ‘substantial – an attack is likely.’ Why do I say this is unusual? As with IRA terror in the 70s to the 90s, Scotland has seen little of the Islamic terror which struck England in the first decade of the 21st Century after the Iraq invasion. In 2017, I could write: Scotland and Terrorism: Are we safer? السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكُمْ‎‎ I’m still not sure if I should be writing this.  I’m not going to tempt fate and say we won’t see anything like the Manchester attack here. I’m just going to present some information … Continue reading Bomb Squad called to three locations in Glasgow City Centre is most unusual

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Reverse Trojan Horse – Why the SNP and Labour should do a coalition deal in 2026 for independence by 2030

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When I first saw the above, my first reaction was: ‘DAFT, DAFT and…….DAFT.’ Then something flashed from the nether regions into the front of my brain, while walking the dog. First, some facts you’ll need: From a FindOutNow poll for the Alba Party on 16-23 October, 25% of Labour voters would vote YES in a second independence referendum. From a YouGov poll on 29 August to 3 September a majority of Labour voters 47%/40% would vote YES if independence meant re-joining the EU. Leaving aside their leadership, most Labour voters share similar positions with the SNP, on taxation, benefits, health, … Continue reading Reverse Trojan Horse – Why the SNP and Labour should do a coalition deal in 2026 for independence by 2030

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Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’

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Since 2007/08, poverty rates among children in England, Scotland and Wales have been consistently lowest in Scotland and often highest in Labour-run Wales according to the Social Metrics Commission. By stewartb This blog post is a follow on from the recent TuS blog post – ‘Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it’ – prompted by the Guardian’s coverage of the Social Metrics Commission’s latest report. Source: Social Metrics Commission (2024) Measuring Poverty 2024( https://socialmetricscommission.org.uk/ ) Comparing rates of povertyThe table below summarises data on the percentage of the population in England, Scotland andWales … Continue reading Yet another reason why British Labour Party leaders hope Scotland’s voters will NEVER ask the question: ‘How has Wales fared with Labour governing in Cardiff with devolved powers?’

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Failing to tell us that the early prison release scheme in Scotland has already been a success as re-offending rate plummets

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland this morning telling us that MSPs will debate legislation to cut the minimum term served by short term sentence prisoners from 50% to 40% to relieve overcrowding. Wouldn’t be interesting to know if previous early release schemes have been successful? Imagine they had caused a surge in crime? BBC Scotland don’t inform on this despite it being their day job to do so. I’ll do it. In October 2024, after previous batch of early releases the Scottish media were full of headlines like: On in ten prisoners released early back behind bars and Dozens of … Continue reading Failing to tell us that the early prison release scheme in Scotland has already been a success as re-offending rate plummets

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Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support

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Liz Kendall, UK Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, wrote today to reveal this, for the UK as a whole: An extra 450 000 UK pensioners pushed into poverty by 2030 means around 40 000 in Scotland. From the Herald on 1 August 2024, only one month after the General Election: From the National Records of Scotland in 2019: The association between mortality and low indoor temperature observed by the Eurowinter Group was also found by Wilkinson (2001) in a study on excess winter deaths in England. This used postcodes to link data on characteristics of over 21,000 houses … Continue reading Liz Kendall reveals 40 000 more Scots pensioners predicted to suffer fuel poverty leading to greater cancer risk and ending up joining the assisted dying programmes she is first minister to support

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Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it

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By Professor John Robertson OBA 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 … Continue reading Eradicating child poverty costs nothing in the long term because everything depends on it

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Latest poll – Labour collapse and Reform almost catch Tories

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I’m just seeing the full data tables from the Norstat/Sunday Times poll on 1 November 2024 which had YES/No tied, so improved from a 3% NO lead on August 22, 2024. 22 August 2024 poll by same sample in brackets below, before death of Alba leader Alex Salmond (12 October) and first Labour budget (30 October). Westminster (likely voters excluding undecided): Holyrood Constituency Holyrood Regional In the space of around 5 weeks after the last Norstat poll using the same sampling technique, we can see the clear effect of Labour’s early actions in a major collapse in their support in … Continue reading Latest poll – Labour collapse and Reform almost catch Tories