Tag: politics

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Scottish Labour Councillors on the board that approved the completion of the QEUH are entirely responsible for the £170m repairs to the water supply and drainage system

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Glasgow Live today: Taxpayers could face a bill of up to £170 million to repair Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus. The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) and adjoining Royal Hospital for Children have been at the centre of a major infection scandal since opening in 2015. The Mail on Sunday has reported that an estimated £120m of further rectification work is now required, on top of around £50m already spent, according to internal documents obtained through Freedom of Information legislation. Source: https://www.glasgowtimes.co.uk/news/scottish-news/26448700.taxpayers-face-170m-bill-repairs-glasgow-qeuh/ Why would it matter when NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board approved the completion of the hospital? It was entirely their responsibility … Continue reading Scottish Labour Councillors on the board that approved the completion of the QEUH are entirely responsible for the £170m repairs to the water supply and drainage system

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Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Lost External Power Twice, Raising Nuclear Safety Risks – The final reason why Scotland should avoid nuclear energy – war

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From Wikipedia: The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in southeastern Ukraine is the largest nuclear power plant in Europe and among the 10 largest in the world. It has been under Russian control since 2022. It was built by the Soviet Union near the city of Enerhodar, on the southern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnieper river. From 1996 to 2022, it was operated by Energoatom, which operates the other three nuclear power stations in Ukraine. The plant has six VVER-1000 pressurized light water nuclear reactors (PWR), each fueled with 235U (LEU)[2] and generating 950 MWe, for a total power output of 5,700 MWe.[3] The first five were successively brought online between 1985 and 1989, and the sixth was added in 1995. In 2020, the plant generated … Continue reading Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Lost External Power Twice, Raising Nuclear Safety Risks – The final reason why Scotland should avoid nuclear energy – war

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Nearly 20 years since ending Thatcher’s right-to-buy, Scotland has built nearly three times as many really affordable houses as Andy Burnham might promise for 2030

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Thanks to Derek Scott for alerting us to this. Lewis is, of course, correct in outlining an emerging housing crisis across the UK but way out on the last near 20 years. In February 2026, aspiring Labour PM, Andy Burnham had this ambition for the UK: Significantly, it is social rent, rather than affordable homes, that Burnham appears keen on building. In February of this year, speaking at the Resolution Foundation conference, he said he would like to see the government commit to building 500,000 such homes by the end of the decade (2030). https://www.bdonline.co.uk/briefing/what-would-prime-minister-burnham-look-like-for-housing-and-construction/5142820.article Blissfully unaware, the Daily Mail in April … Continue reading Nearly 20 years since ending Thatcher’s right-to-buy, Scotland has built nearly three times as many really affordable houses as Andy Burnham might promise for 2030

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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