Tag: politics

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Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England

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Somebody post this here – https://www.reddit.com/r/Scotland/ – I’m banned Professor John Robertson OBA In the Record today, the above and: Even with Covid in mind, Record View says closing the poverty-related attainment gap in schools is yet another key SNP promise the party has failed to deliver. They have just not bothered or deliberately avoided the evidence easily accessed in the public domain From the Scottish Government’s Literacy and numeracy standards reach record high report in December 2024: The proportion of pupils achieving the expected level in literacy and numeracy across primary and secondary schools has reached a new high, officials figures … Continue reading Daily Record manages to miss easily accessed figures proving that the SNP has closed the attainment gap in Scottish schools and widened it with England

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Storm Brann fails to breach even one of Scotland’s flood defences after 18 years of SNP Government but 8 500 fail in England

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Professor John Robertson OBA Yesterday, Sepa forecast widespread and intensive flood risk across the most populous parts of Scotland. Today BBC England had Thousands of flood defences meant to protect multiple homes or businesses in England were below the required condition when winter began, a new analysis has found. The 6,498 “high consequence” defences were among about 8,500 that were not fully working as intended due to erosion, damage or being overgrown. BBC Scotland and all of Scotland’s newspapers have nothing at all on flooding. In 2022, BBC Scotland reporters were all over the North-east interviewing the flooded and letting … Continue reading Storm Brann fails to breach even one of Scotland’s flood defences after 18 years of SNP Government but 8 500 fail in England

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There is a marked overall decline in youth violence in Scotland but a surge from 2012 in England as Tory austerity kicked in

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today’s reporting of apparent surges in youth violence across parts of England bears no resemblance to Scotland other than in the bonfire riots in 2023 and before. What is the long-term youth violence trend in Scotland? Overview of Youth Violence in ScotlandYouth violence in Scotland typically refers to violent incidents (e.g., assaults, robberies, or homicides) involving individuals under 18 as victims, perpetrators, or both. Data comes from sources like the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS, a victimization survey), Recorded Crime in Scotland (police data), and cohort studies such as the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions … Continue reading There is a marked overall decline in youth violence in Scotland but a surge from 2012 in England as Tory austerity kicked in

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The Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry must ask if the Scottish Labour Government of 20 years ago took its eye of the ball

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From Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry begins work, published yesterday: The independent Public Inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder in April 2005 has been formally set-up and begins its work today (9 Dec). Justice Secretary Angela Constance informed Parliament on the formal setting-up date and on the Inquiry’s terms of reference through a Government Initiated Question today. The statutory inquiry will examine what went wrong in the investigation carried out by Strathclyde Police into the murder of Emma Caldwell, including the direction given by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. It will examine what steps which could reasonably … Continue reading The Emma Caldwell Public Inquiry must ask if the Scottish Labour Government of 20 years ago took its eye of the ball

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Ingrained cultural bias in Scottish media that disadvantages the independence movement

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Professor John Robertson OBA In my previous post, Grok AI, correctly I feel, suggested that the above reporting was not a hit job and agreed that it was mostly cultural within Scotland’s media. So, I asekd: I agree it’s not a ‘hit job’ but could it be an example of a culture of bias against the case for Scottish independence where that bias has become normalised and where reporters habitually report in ways that will please their supervisors, get things published and enhance their career prospects without being told by supervisors how to report? The answer: Exploring Normalized Bias in … Continue reading Ingrained cultural bias in Scottish media that disadvantages the independence movement

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Why was NHS Fife nurse tribunal reported more than twice as much as Darlington County Durham equivalent?

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Professor John Robertson OBA We all, right across Scotland, know the name of nurse Sandie Peggie in NHS Fife but did you know the names of the eight nurses in Darlington, County Durham pursuing an identical case regarding a trans colleague? Do you think the folk in County Durham know their names just as we know Peggie? It seems less likely. Why? Here’s an AI report. Has the Fife case had more media attention in Scotland than the Darlington case has had in England and if so by how much? To address your query directly, yes, the NHS Fife case … Continue reading Why was NHS Fife nurse tribunal reported more than twice as much as Darlington County Durham equivalent?

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Going, going, gone? Nope, still there

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By Liz S BBC headline Scottish pages : ‘Our kids are killing each other – we need to do something’ Meanwhile what was formerly and very recently the top article on the main Scottish page of the BBC website on the 5th December, that is now no longer there and it was also formerly the top article on the Scottish Politics page, but now it has descended to being the 6th article on the Scottish politics page. It was earlier today the 11th article on the Glasgow & West Scotland page but now it has gone from that page. (at 15.36pm). So it’s gonna be a case of that article ……Going , Going and then … Continue reading Going, going, gone? Nope, still there

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‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim on grooming gangs loophole applies ONLY in England where things are less strict

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John Robertson OBA The ‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim that ‘unregistered emergency carers are able to operate on a short-term basis with no regulatory oversight due to a legal anomaly might place children directly into the hands of predators‘ is in the Scottish context, a complete lie. The English edition makes that clear.1 A quick AI question gets an unambiguous response: In Scotland are unregistered emergency carers able to operate on a short term basis or is this a loophole only in England? No, in Scotland, unregistered emergency carers are not permitted to operate on a short-term basis—registration with … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ Daily Express front page claim on grooming gangs loophole applies ONLY in England where things are less strict

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NHS England’s high risk repair bill backlog is FIVE times greater per head than NHS Scotland

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By stewartb The Herald amplifying and elaborating upon – on its front page no less – Tory health spokesperson, Dr Gulhane’s sighting of buckets catching rainwater from a hospital’s leaking roof, presents a fine, cutting-edge example of the best of mainstream news media serving Scotland – doesn’t it? In its article The Herald reports: ‘Earlier this year, it was revealed that the NHS in Scotland has a high risk repair bill totalling £64,490,724.’ (As an aside, don’t you admire the journalist’s attention to detail here? Crucial to get that last £4 a mention!) Note that the c.£64.5m figure quoted is for … Continue reading NHS England’s high risk repair bill backlog is FIVE times greater per head than NHS Scotland

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“We’ve had a lot from Scotland but the tail cannot go on wagging the dog any longer” 

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By Liz S “Nigel Farage was once run out of Edinburgh . Now Scottish voters are embracing his rabble rousing”. Really ? Which scottish voters (with a small ‘s’)? Is it not really, in reality , just actually some scottish (with a small ‘s’) voters ? Some who may live in Scotland and so then get to vote in various elections. However their allegiance is not with Scotland but instead it is elsewhere. So of course they , some scottish (with a small ‘s’) voters, vote for the party that they think will ensure Scotland stays within their UK ….as a part of England. So for Ms Garivelli to write the … Continue reading “We’ve had a lot from Scotland but the tail cannot go on wagging the dog any longer”