Tag: politics

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Poll suggests Scottish Socialists could win 17% and 16 regional MSP seats to support and nudge a pro-independence Scottish government toward the left

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By Professor of Media Politics, Dr John Robertson, SSP Member (2024), Research Ethics Chair, Faculty of Business and Media, University of the West of Scotland, 2016 (rtd) In the 2021 Holyrood Election, the Scottish Greens won 8.1% of the Regional vote and earned 8 MSPs. The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) which had 6 MSPs back in 2003 did not participate and the Alba Party did not exist at that point.1 Opinion Polls do not include the SSP and those which do include Alba, typically, have them at between 1 and 3%, o.64% in the latest Survation poll, too low to … Continue reading Poll suggests Scottish Socialists could win 17% and 16 regional MSP seats to support and nudge a pro-independence Scottish government toward the left

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Shock as Scotland trains 3 to 4 times as many nurses!

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By Professor John Robertson The Guardian today has: Numbers studying nursing down sharply in all parts of England, RCN says North-east the worst-affected region, recording 40% drop in acceptances on to pre-registration courses, union finds but for some reason never actually tells us how many have been accepted for places into English universities to do Nursing degrees. It’s: 13,870 students were accepted into nursing courses in England in 2024, down from 14,010 in 2023.1 And in Scotland? The figures show that the number of applicants for nursing courses in Scotland is down 8.3% compared to the same point last year. By … Continue reading Shock as Scotland trains 3 to 4 times as many nurses!

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Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country

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and September was almost 20% higher than in the same period last year. By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland, in their own insert but also picked out as a special on life in Scotland for BBC Breakfast and extended on the BBC website, the above report of increased rape reporting to suggest Scotland is the rape capital of the UK to go along with the fake drug death capital story. No context whatsoever is reported to counter this shameful, exploitative narrative. Here is again: Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland The police in Scotland … Continue reading Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country

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Under cover vegetables production UP 400%! – Scotland’s agricultural economy – positive news ignored because it does not tell the correct story

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By Professor John Robertson: Search for ‘BBC Scotland’ agriculture and all they have is the above image and The village that a religious sect helped to found, yet released only days ago there is Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2024. Do they have a ferm correspondent at all at Pacific Quay? Anyhow, from this important release, it’s a mixed sack which I am not competent to fully evaluate because Scotland’s farmers have been producing less of somethings to keep Reporting Scotland happy and more of other things to force them to avert their eyes. I guess it’s complex – … Continue reading Under cover vegetables production UP 400%! – Scotland’s agricultural economy – positive news ignored because it does not tell the correct story

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Hospital water supply infection – BBC Scotland refute accusation of fake news by the Humpty Dumpty reasoning of the master

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“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’ ’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so many different things.’ ’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master — that’s all.” ― Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass When I saw their reasoning in a response to TuS friend AR, I immediately thought of Humpty Dumpty in the above quote from Alice in Wonderland. Here’s their excuse with my post which had inspired the complaint, below: No … Continue reading Hospital water supply infection – BBC Scotland refute accusation of fake news by the Humpty Dumpty reasoning of the master

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Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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By Professor John Robertson: More private schools opening than closing in England despite Labour’s VAT proposals, tell you all you need to know. In Scotland two tiny religious schools which had already been on the verge of closing years before the VAT announcement, will now close but two sites have also been confirmed for new schools. There’s a simple conclusion here. These institutions which perpetuate inequality, divisiveness, unfair patronage and an archaic class system can easily survive taxation at the level Labour propose and so should be taxed more. If they were, then my proposal for compensation of the Waspi women … Continue reading Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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By Anonymous Well here is another major problem with the BBC. Statements from panel members on BBC QT that go unchallenged by the host. Yet she, Fiona Bruce, often has notes that she refers to in order to challenge politicians on their answers, as obviously she is aware of what Q’s will be asked and so what topics will be discussed. If she, Fiona Bruce, is unaware of the veracity of what is being said by a panel member then she should ask that person making the statement to provide proof via either providing stats or examples to verify their … Continue reading Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian today has: Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists. UK market rose to all-time high of £12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to ease backlog. More patients went private last year as the NHS waiting list peaked at 7.77 million in September, up sharply from 4.57 million at the end of 2019.1 There’s no mention of Scotland in the report so we can be sure ‘UK’, as often before, means ‘England’. In 2022/23, the total amount spent by NHS health boards in Scotland on private healthcare was £115,599,000.2 All things being … Continue reading NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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By Professor John Robertson: Interviewed by BBC Scotland this morning Robert Jenrick claimed that there are ‘more people on NHS waiting lists in Scotland than in England.’ That’s a blatant lie but BBC Reporting Scotland’s editor deliberately included it and allowed for no contradiction even though the published evidence quite unambiguously refutes it. Here it is: First, THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more than 4 hours and 42 555 waiting more than 12. 59.7% seen within 4 hours. NHS Scotland, Type ED full … Continue reading Reporting Scotland platform Tory leadership candidate to tell whopper, unchallenged, about NHS waiting times – all factually better in Scotland on 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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Factcheck – Based on official statistics, SNP policies have increased life expectancy in Scotland in the last decade but it has stalled elsewhere in the UK

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By Professor John Robertson After decades of improving life expectancies across the UK, the improvement stalled under Tory-rule and, largely due to Covid, fell, but only in Scotland and despite more than a decade of UK austerity, have they increased significantly. In 2010/2012, just into the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition, then in 2021/2023, 11 years later, life expectancy was: I know, life expectancy remains the lowest in the UK, in Scotland, but it’s the direction, the trend that matters. The data. from official sources listed below, are clear – life expectancy from 2010/12 to 2021/23 has only increased significantly in Scotland, by … Continue reading Factcheck – Based on official statistics, SNP policies have increased life expectancy in Scotland in the last decade but it has stalled elsewhere in the UK