Tag: politics

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Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

johnrobertson834

BBC Scotland today try to have it both ways in this headline. What percentage of the population is, like TuS readers, media students and other perceptive folk out there, thinking ‘Ah it’s just charges. It might not really be soaring at all?’ It’s not. Hate crimes in Scotland are not ‘soaring.’ I’m as certain as I can be. Why? First, from the same report: A new law introduced in 2024 created a new crime of “stirring up hatred” relating to age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity or being intersex.1 Broaden the definition of hate crime and more cases are … Continue reading Researchers cast serious doubt on reality of hate crimes ‘surging’ in Scotland – I’m certain they’re not – they probably fell by around 4%

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David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

johnrobertson834

Prison security is a big story across UK media this morning, prompted by the above in the Telegraph, this morning. BBC Scotland have nothing on it but do have a piece on the QEUH not being able to report even one positive Ebola case. In April 2026, BBC Scotland were interested in the same story – prisoners released in error – as the UK media. As always, they failed to spot the main issue: Shocking incompetence as Lammy oversees the release in error of more than THREE times as many prisoners as Constance in Scotland Justice Secretaries in April 2026, … Continue reading David Lammy’s shocking incompetence to be tested again? Remember when he oversaw the release in error of 179, more than THREE times as many prisoners proportionally as in Scotland, 5

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NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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From Cancer waiting times 1 January to 31 March 2026 published today: There were 4,668 eligible referrals where the 62-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.7% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 25.4% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019, the last full quarter pre‑pandemic. 72.2% of patients started treatment within 62 days, compared with 72.6% in the previous quarter. There were 7,225 eligible referrals where the 31-day standard applied, a decrease of 2.0% from the previous quarter, but an increase of 13.1% from the quarter ending 31 December 2019. 94.5% of patients started treatment within 31 days, … Continue reading NHS Scotland cancer treatment facing massive increase in referrals since pandemic yet performing better than then and saving thousands who would have been delayed in NHS England

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The real news – The SNP era sees massive increases in attainment by looked after children with three times as many passing at National 5 and eight times as many at Higher

johnrobertson834

In the Herald today, under a frankly creepy image: Scottish Labour has accused the SNP of “breaking The Promise” after new figures showed the attainment gap between looked-after children and their peers has widened in recent years. Looked-after children are young people in the care of their local authority, including those in foster care, residential care, kinship care or some children living at home under formal supervision. How many times have I pointed out that not one credible, peer-review published educational researcher, across the globe, cares about attainment gaps. They care about improvements within disadvantaged groups over time. They know that the middle … Continue reading The real news – The SNP era sees massive increases in attainment by looked after children with three times as many passing at National 5 and eight times as many at Higher

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Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

johnrobertson834

From Open Democracy yesterday: Palantir is benefiting from millions of pounds of tax deductions that allow it to pay very little corporate tax in the United Kingdom despite soaring profits, an investigation by openDemocracy reveals. The controversial tech firm has won at least £670m in UK public contracts in recent years, which have helped to make the country its second-largest market by revenue after the United States, where it is headquartered. Yet despite accounting for 10% of the company’s global revenue last year, its tax payments in the UK amounted to less than 5% of its total global cash tax spend, according … Continue reading Will the Scottish Labour MPs protest the tax breaks for the ‘shameful’ Palantir NHS England contracts, meaning you and I pay at least three times the rate and which the SNP already rejected two years ago?

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Be Careful What You Sound Like

johnrobertson834

By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 When we read through today’s article abovefrom The Daily Express, it appears to be little more than comedy gold worthy of Armando Iannucci. Read it in the context of Scottish history, however, and it becomes something rather more sinister. The debate is supposedly about authenticity. But authenticity measured by what? Policy? Integrity? Competence? No. Pronunciation. For centuries, the British state understood something that many modern commentators of the British experiment often overlook: language is power. Following Culloden, the assault upon Scotland did not end with disarmed clans and outlawing highland dress. It continued in classrooms, … Continue reading Be Careful What You Sound Like

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Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

johnrobertson834

There are some minor problems in comparing the data for England and Scotland but you can be sure that were they to favour the former, they’d be widely reported. Here’s why they’re not: In January 2024, BBC UK made direct comparison possible: Via the BBC’s How long do patients wait for an ambulance? app, we can confirm that the average waiting time for a Scottish ambulance was 8 min and 46 secs: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59549800 Also, from BBC UK on 14 December 2023: Average response times of more than 38 minutes for category two emergency calls such as heart attacks and strokes – above the target time … Continue reading Scotland’s ambulances between 2 and 3 tines faster thousands of times but Daily Record finds one case to report

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Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Kath for prompting this. There is a correlation between national football team success and countries with imperial/colonial pasts, especially those involved in the transatlantic slave trade and exploitation of West Africa. Recent research directly quantifies this. A University of Zurich AI study in 2026 simulated the 2026 FIFA World Cup, 1,500 times and found that colonial history continues to shape outcomes on the pitch. Former European colonial powers benefit significantly from players with family roots in former colonies, especially in Africa and in the Caribbean. Source: https://www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/media/2026/colonial-legacies-soccer.html Top FIFA-ranked teams as of June 2026, often align with this … Continue reading Scotland need not be ashamed as colonialism explains world cup success

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Add the DUP to the history of the Tories, Liberals and Labour in covering-up systematic child abuse by MPs that underlies the more recent inaction by government and by police on grooming gangs

johnrobertson834

The astonishing apathy of the MSM in reacting to the above sexual abuse of children contrasts with their frothing pile-on of a man clearly with a mental health problem relating to spending but it’s part of wider historical pattern. By JB Independent Inquiry Child Sex Abuse From the 2012 investigation  ‘Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Linked to Westminster’. “This investigation concerns institutional responses to allegations of child sexual abuse and exploitation involving persons of public prominence who were associated with Westminster. Westminster is defined in this report as the centre of the United Kingdom’s government, government ministers and officials, as … Continue reading Add the DUP to the history of the Tories, Liberals and Labour in covering-up systematic child abuse by MPs that underlies the more recent inaction by government and by police on grooming gangs

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Multiple academic research studies suggest sexual crimes in Scotland are far less common than in 1971 and half the current level in England & Wales so BBC Scotland report today is tasteless, uneducated, dishonest and frankly wrong

johnrobertson834

No tasteless, titillating for some, exploitative Getty images of tearful young women victims of sexual violence here, unlike in BBC Scotland reporting. From BBC Scotland today: Sexual crimes in Scotland hit record high levels. Sexual crimes recorded by Police Scotland increased by 10% last year and are now at their highest level since 1971, official figures show. The message here is wrong, so wrong. Why? The weight of evidence (stable survey prevalence despite exploding recorded figures, increased reporting, societal improvements in women’s rights/consent norms, and parallel declines in other violence) strongly suggests actual rates for many equivalent traditional/contact sexual crimes … Continue reading Multiple academic research studies suggest sexual crimes in Scotland are far less common than in 1971 and half the current level in England & Wales so BBC Scotland report today is tasteless, uneducated, dishonest and frankly wrong