Tag: politics

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Domestic abuse is twice as common in England & Wales but care should be taken in interpreting this

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From Domestic abuse recorded by the police in Scotland, 2024-25 published today: The police recorded 64,967 incidents of domestic abuse in 2024-25, an increase of 2% compared to the previous year. Despite increasing over the latest two years, this figure remains below the peak in 2020-21. https://www.gov.scot/news/domestic-abuse-recorded-by-the-police-in-scotland-2024-25/ The introduction of the Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 and greater recognition of coercive and controlling behaviour have likely improved identification and recording of some forms of abuse that previously might not have been recorded as such. The statistics show offences under that Act now make up a measurable share of recorded domestic-abuse-related … Continue reading Domestic abuse is twice as common in England & Wales but care should be taken in interpreting this

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Police Scotland merger criticised by opposition parties has resulted in world leading detection rate and every homicide committed in Scotland since 2013 solved

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The Sun ‘newspaper’ this week has been milking Scotland’s dark history of murder, based entirely on offences which took place before the merger of Scotland’s eight regional forces. They have no choice to do so because not only has the murder level plummeted from 64 in 2012/2013, to 44 in 2024/2025, 33% in only 12 years, one of the lowest rates in Europe and well below that in England & Wales, every single cases has been solved. The merger as with every SNP initiative met with opposition and media criticism. In 2017, the Herald‘s Tom Gordonstoun told us: THE SNP Government has been accused of … Continue reading Police Scotland merger criticised by opposition parties has resulted in world leading detection rate and every homicide committed in Scotland since 2013 solved

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England’s drug gangs have been cuckooing the vulnerable in Scotland for years now

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There’s no mention of Scotland in the above BBC UK story today, but we’ve known for some time how present this plague is in Scotland: Regulars here will recognise the rarely enlightening thinktank headed up by Lord McConnell, Chris Deerin and their totally non-academic, guide-leader, BBC average housewife interviewee, Research Director, Alison Payne. In May 2026, they had the above and: The recent passage of a new criminal offence of cuckooing within the Crime and Policing Act marks a significant milestone after years of sustained advocacy by the Centre for Social Justice and Justice and Care. It is a reform … Continue reading England’s drug gangs have been cuckooing the vulnerable in Scotland for years now

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Before a Nation Loses Its Chance of Freedom, It Loses Its Confidence

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 This will be my final article on the SNP/Nicola Sturgeon/Peter Murrell saga. Not because there is nothing more to say, but because I have no wish to add more fuel to a fire that is already burning. Yes. Political parties must be scrutinised. Politicians must be held accountable. Nobody is beyond criticism. That is the beauty of a healthy democracy. But what I am now witnessing goes far beyond that.  As I watch the endless stream of anti-SNP memes, AI-generated cartoons and social media derision — fed relentlessly by a 24-hour news cycle — … Continue reading Before a Nation Loses Its Chance of Freedom, It Loses Its Confidence

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Why is the Herald hiding the trend in Glasgow maternity deaths? Are they falling, I wonder?

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The Herald today headlining another scare story about the QEUH based on the infantile and suspicious method of counting up annual numbers over several years (2019 to 2025) to get a big number and carefully concealing the trend they clearly could tell you about. I can’t get at their figures but nationally, perinatal mortality is falling from 5.4 per 1 000 deaths in 2019 to 4.6 in 2023 and with roughly 45-50 000 live births per year in Scotland, those numbers matter. https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/vital-events-reference-tables-2023/?utm_source=chatgpt.com The Herald FOI report follows on from a similar attempt by BBC Scotland on 4 June this … Continue reading Why is the Herald hiding the trend in Glasgow maternity deaths? Are they falling, I wonder?

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Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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In the Guardian today: More than 1,300 patients a month in England are dying needlessly due to long A&E waits, a tenfold rise in a decade, figures suggest. There were more than 300 deaths linked to long waits every week in 2025, up from 30 a week in 2015, according to analysis by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine. The RCEM’s president, Dr Ian Higginson, said he wondered how many more deaths it would take before there was a meaningful plan to tackle the crisis. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jun/08/more-than-1300-deaths-a-month-in-england-due-to-long-ae-waits-figures-suggest As far as I can see the RCEM in Scotland have not persuaded the media here … Continue reading Research by Royal College finds TWICE as many over 60s, per head of population, waiting more than 12 hours in NHS England’s A&E departments as in NHS Scotland – a political responsibility that can no longer be ignored there

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The Curious Case of the Wee Blue Campbell

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 https://www.youtube.com/@TheScottishMinuteman https://www.tiktok.com/@thescottishminuteman/video/7544331813578231062 Author’s Note: The following article is offered as speculative political commentary. It reflects personal interpretation and historical parallels and should not be read as established fact. No allegation of wrongdoing is made against Stuart Campbell, nor is any claim made that the UK state has influenced his publications. The Curious Case of the Wee Blue Campbell Is it peculiar that a person can one day be portrayed as a menace when attacking the Union and the next as a valuable whistleblower when attacking the SNP? 2014: “Dangerous nationalist cybernat … Continue reading The Curious Case of the Wee Blue Campbell

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Alarm over freedom of information only among mass exploiters of the scheme

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In the Herald today, the above apparent concerns limiting the number of requests to five at any one time. We’re not talking about just five a year, five a month, five a week or five a day, just five at any one time. This is a perfectly reasonable response to the increasing use of AI by oppositions politicians and their staff and by journalists. If the Herald gave its readers the full facts, they’d get it, I feel sure. Here they are: Before AI: From Largest number of Freedom of Information requests made by a single person in one day: FOI … Continue reading Alarm over freedom of information only among mass exploiters of the scheme

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The real news – More important than reported knife possession by far – murder by stabbing halved in six years, hospital stabbing admissions down by one-third and teen victims of murder plummet to only one-fifth of that in 2008

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Top story from BBC Scotland relating to two murders involving knives, last year. The SNP minister described the murders of Kayden Moy, 16, and John McNab, 22, in Irvine and Edinburgh last year as “shocking” amid concerns over rising levels of knife possession among youths in Scotland. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c1ly5720vzdo There is evidence in police reporting of increased knife possession though we cannot be sure of the extent to which this is affected by increased police activity and/or new offences being added. Either way, there are other very important developments relating to knife crime, being ignored here, but which offer us a … Continue reading The real news – More important than reported knife possession by far – murder by stabbing halved in six years, hospital stabbing admissions down by one-third and teen victims of murder plummet to only one-fifth of that in 2008

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Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea

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By Jim Mennie Reform UK has positioned itself as a vocal advocate for the North Sea oil and gas industry, particularly in North East Scotland. The party presents its policies as a defence of high-skilled jobs, energy security and domestic energy production against what it describes as overly rapid net-zero targets and green levies. While the messaging resonates in oil-dependent communities, serious questions remain about the party’s experience, track record and ability to deliver on its promises. What Reform UK Proposes The party’s platform includes several core commitments: Fast-tracking new North Sea exploration licences as a priority. Maximising extraction of … Continue reading Reform UK cannot speak for workers in the North Sea