As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON On the front page of Scotland on Sunday – Mothballed Hunterston B nuclear site may yet be revived. By whom? Junior Minister Michael Shanks (above left) of course. Here’s a reminder of Shanks’ insignificance: First, electricity costs From stewartb in June 2025: I fear that a majority of the electorate in Scotland still have NO IDEA of – (perhaps even conditioned to have no interest in?) – Scotland’s indigenous energy assets and their potential significance for their own lives and … Continue reading As energy price rises loom, a reminder of why Michael Shanks will not protect us from cancer risks and why Scots would pay far less for electricity after independence

Shock as proportionally 4 times as many children in England & Wales face domestic abuse compared to Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC England today: An 11-year-old boy who had both legs amputated after being assaulted by his birth parents has won his campaign for a new child safety register. Parents guilty of neglect will face similar monitoring to sex offenders following an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, which the government said it expects to table “shortly”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce3gxkn453ro Does Scotland also need such a register? Currently in Scotland, child protection operates differently: There is a Child Protection … Continue reading Shock as proportionally 4 times as many children in England & Wales face domestic abuse compared to Scotland

Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Prompted by today’s news of a planned child cruelty register for England, this: In the Guardian, November 2nd 2025, the above and: More than 50 lone child asylum seekers who disappeared soon after arriving in the UK [sic] and while in the care of the authorities are still missing, according to data obtained by the Guardian. Many of the missing children arrived in small boats or hidden in the backs of lorries and are thought to have been taken … Continue reading Scotland IS different as it protects unaccompanied children seeking asylum

There are NO places in Scotland where anything close to this horrific claim of ‘almost 100% of children live in poverty’ but there are 73, SEVENTY-THREE, in England

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Prompted by today’s news of a planned child cruelty register for England, this: Thanks to Dottie for alerting us to this. In the 31 October 2025, the above and: Almost 100% of children in 73 neighbourhoods in England are living in income-deprived families, according to new measures that factor in the impact of soaring rents. Changes to official measures reveal the neighbourhoods where in effect all children live in low-income households. Of these, 31 are in inner London boroughs with high housing costs … Continue reading There are NO places in Scotland where anything close to this horrific claim of ‘almost 100% of children live in poverty’ but there are 73, SEVENTY-THREE, in England

Geriatrician called ‘Elder’ is clearly ‘having a laugh’ when the FACTS tell us NHS Scotland is barely privatised at all compared to NHS England

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON The above threat is not the result of the gathered opinion of thousands of Scottish ‘doctors’ but just the views of Geriatrician, Professor Andrew Elder of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, above. He clearly doesn’t know what he’s talking about. NHS England is more than 100 times, 10 times per head, more privatised than NHS Scotland in England were delivered by private hospitals and clinics in the last 12 months – that’s almost 500 000 higher … Continue reading Geriatrician called ‘Elder’ is clearly ‘having a laugh’ when the FACTS tell us NHS Scotland is barely privatised at all compared to NHS England

Six Scottish Government initiatives they don’t want you liking before an election

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By stewartb I wonder how many of the following recent Scottish Government commitments/investments in General Practice have been conveyed to voters in Scotland by the mainstream media that supposedly serve our polity? Scottish Government press statement 29 November 2024: ‘Additional investment in general practice – Funding to help practices retain and recruit key staff’. ‘An additional £13.6 million will be invested in General Practice this financial year to support GPs to retain and recruit key staff, Health Secretary Neil … Continue reading Six Scottish Government initiatives they don’t want you liking before an election

Is there already research evidence on the effectiveness of ‘Walk-in GP centres’? Has the SNP policy even been designed to take advantage of those findings?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON As you might expect, Dr John Tobias who, on his cv, claims that during COP26 in Glasgow he was chosen to be a personal physician to Heads of State, did not hesitate to rule on the new SNP walk-in GP centres as failures before they can even begin. You can just hear him – ‘I don’t need researchers to tell me what to think! I know…..’ There is, however, research, lots of it, and I feel the need … Continue reading Is there already research evidence on the effectiveness of ‘Walk-in GP centres’? Has the SNP policy even been designed to take advantage of those findings?

Clear up rate for all recorded crimes goes up and remains far higher than in England & Wales

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From: the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: February 2026, published today: Increase in crime clear up rate. The clear up rate for all recorded crimes was 56.0% in 2024-25, up from 54.1% in 2023-24. Crimes against society (93.8%), non-sexual crimes of violence (68.4%) and sexual crimes (56.9%) continued to have higher clear up rates in 2024-25 than crimes of dishonesty (35.1%) and damage and reckless behaviour (31.0%). https://www.gov.scot/publications/safer-communities-and-justice-statistics-monthly-data-report-february-2026/pages/statistics-on-crime-in-general/ The clear-up rates in England and Wales, for the … Continue reading Clear up rate for all recorded crimes goes up and remains far higher than in England & Wales

Property and violent crime in Scotland has fallen by 37% since 2008-09 based on statistics that go beyond just police reporting including responses from the public

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From the Safer Communities and Justice Statistics Monthly Data Report: February 2026, published today: Property and violent crime has fallen by 37% since 2008-09. Results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) show that one-in-five (19.9%) adults were estimated to have experienced at least one crime in 2023-24. This included property crime (10.3% of adults), violent crime (2.9%) and for the first time fraud and computer misuse (9.5%). The latest findings show that the overall level of property … Continue reading Property and violent crime in Scotland has fallen by 37% since 2008-09 based on statistics that go beyond just police reporting including responses from the public

BBC Debate Night host shamefully tries to suggest Scottish Child Payment is ‘just sticking plaster’ when it is ‘turning Scotland into a European pioneer in reducing child deprivation’

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In a Debate Night session in Ayr, after a deeply ill-informed debate on GP access, totally unaware of Scotland’s far better ratio with patients, the far better funding of GPs and lower workload of GPs in Scotland, we witnessed an even more infuriating discussion of poverty where charity reps once more seem prepared to shoot themselves in the foot by failing to recognise and applaud the SNP Government’s achievements. I was very close to chucking something at the … Continue reading BBC Debate Night host shamefully tries to suggest Scottish Child Payment is ‘just sticking plaster’ when it is ‘turning Scotland into a European pioneer in reducing child deprivation’