Tag: politics

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NHS Highland director reveals child poverty in her previous Wales responsibility is predicted to be a shocking nearly 60% higher

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are living in poverty. BBC Scotland’s wee insert in BBC Breakfast this morning is announcing the above and, on their website: Public health director Jennifer Davies said that of its 12,834 under-fives, almost 22% lived in relative poverty. In a new report, Davies said the “sheer geographic scale” of the area – which covers the Highlands and Argyll and Bute – posed challenges in reaching health services for some families. She said they could benefit from greater availability of housing, improved transport links and investment in play spaces. Davies said support for families should also be strengthened to maximise access … Continue reading NHS Highland director reveals child poverty in her previous Wales responsibility is predicted to be a shocking nearly 60% higher

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Swinney praised by all right-thinking folk ie not James Cook for his compassionate policy on essential food prices

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By Liz S BBC website top story Scottish politics page: “Swinney defends food prices policy ahead of first minister vote” “SNP leader John Swinney has denied his food prices policy is an attempt to force a fight with the UK government” “defends” and “attempt to force a fight with the UK government” ? So we are still in a cost of living crisis where it seems that the Labour UK government are not willing to do anything to help relieve the pressure on those families who are feeling the squeeze. Yet somehow the BBC (James Cook) thinks that Mr Swinney’s position in trying “to legally cap the price … Continue reading Swinney praised by all right-thinking folk ie not James Cook for his compassionate policy on essential food prices

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Significantly fewer Scots dissatisfied with social care services but Royal College of Nursing lies to deny Scottish Government any possible satisfaction

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Treat negativity about Scotland’s NHS and social care services with healthy scepticism: evidence of the Royal College of Nursing being plain wrong and opting to omit relevant positives. My apologies to stewartb but I’ve used my perhaps unattractive unilateral editorial powers to replace his more mature header above with my more combative version at the top! By stewartb When political advocacy in advance of a parliamentary election takes by its own admission, a ‘gloves off‘ tone, it seems reasonable to point out a clear error in case-making. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) recently published this report: ‘The Nursing Workforce … Continue reading Significantly fewer Scots dissatisfied with social care services but Royal College of Nursing lies to deny Scottish Government any possible satisfaction

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Restore Britain’s position – You live in England, you speak English

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By Liz S Rupert Lowe , an English Nationalist , has now created a new party that he has called ‘Restore Britain‘. Reading his many daily posts on ‘X’ you will see how often he sees England and English as the same as Britain and Britishness , as for him there seems to be no distinction between the two. Yesterday he wrote (yet another) long post about Councils , Reform UK ones, “spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on foreign language translation” He concluded his post in stating this: “Let me be clear about Restore Britain’s position. We would scrap ALL foreign language … Continue reading Restore Britain’s position – You live in England, you speak English

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Described by Nicola Sturgeon as ‘incoherent and absurd’ Andy Burnham, is no friend to Scotland

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By Liz S So it seems a Labour MP, Josh Simons, is willing to give up his seat to allow Andy Burnham to stand in his seat in a (unnecessary) by-election. Josh Simons was the former Labour Together Director , he stood down from that role in order to stand as a Labour candidate in the 2024 UK GE. The recent scandal(s) connected to him were : While running the think-tank Labour Together, Simons commissioned an American public affairs firm, Apco, to investigate journalists who were reporting on the think-tank’s undeclared political donations. Simons subsequently emailed the National Cyber Security … Continue reading Described by Nicola Sturgeon as ‘incoherent and absurd’ Andy Burnham, is no friend to Scotland

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Rejected by people but still loved by billionaires – Smug Anas leads Scottish Labour to its end

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The Corporate Herald too, has no problem with anti-democratic behaviour today. Watching Anas reveal his true non-Labour-as-was values, only a lingering rump of Labour loyalists stayed him last week. You can see from that face, that Mussolini ‘visionary’ face, that Anas won’t let stupid voters affect his self-esteem when two super rich brothers will give him lots of money. You’ll know from those terrible counter-productive YouTub videos of him, parading Glasgow streets like a well-spoiled son, that Scottish Labour had wads to spend but no members to knock your door. They’ve been getting cash by the barrowload for years. Here’s … Continue reading Rejected by people but still loved by billionaires – Smug Anas leads Scottish Labour to its end

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New houses built in flood risk areas – 1 in 9 in England but only 1 in 200 in Scotland

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In the Guardian today, the above at: https://www.theguardian.com/society/video/2026/may/14/why-do-we-keep-building-on-land-at-risk-of-flooding The ‘one in nine’ reference reminded me: News houses built in flood risk areas – 1 in 9 in England but only 1 in 200 in Scotland In February 2026, the Guardian had already covered this: One in nine new homes in England built between 2022 and 2024 were constructed in areas that could now be at risk of flooding, according to new data. The figures show the number of homes being built in risky areas is on the rise – a previous analysis showed that between 2013 and 2022, one in 13 new … Continue reading New houses built in flood risk areas – 1 in 9 in England but only 1 in 200 in Scotland

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Ayrshire MP backs leader candidate who pompously refused us a referendum, is closest to private healthcare and to Lord Mandelson

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In his local Ardrossan and Saltcoats Herald today, the above and: He insists the former health secretary already has the support of more than 81 Labour MPs – the number needed to back a single candidate to trigger a leadership contest against PM Keir Starmer. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s World at One, Mr Gemmell said: “It’s clear in conversations with MPs and with the unions that the party wants a discussion, a battle of ideas, an open contest, a broad contest for the direction that we should take and how we fix the problems that we’re in. “I hope … Continue reading Ayrshire MP backs leader candidate who pompously refused us a referendum, is closest to private healthcare and to Lord Mandelson

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‘This is disturbingly similar to what Donald Trump did earlier this year when he gutted the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency.’

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Thanks to Jim Draper alerting me to this. From the Canary factchecker today: The nuclear industry will become “more dangerous” and regulation of the sector has been captured by “vested interests,” campaigners and experts have told the Canary, after the Nuclear Regulation Bill was put forward in the 2026 King’s Speech. From CND: When you think of nuclear accidents like at Windscale in 1957, Chernobyl in 1986, or Fukushima in 2011, it’s easy to see that Britain’s current nuclear regulatory procedures and rules are in place for a simple reason – that nuclear power is inherently dangerous. Rather than acknowledge these risks or legacy issues – like tackling the … Continue reading ‘This is disturbingly similar to what Donald Trump did earlier this year when he gutted the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the US Environmental Protection Agency.’

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Rt Hon Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale’s thinktank tries to hide entirely English culture of County Lines drug gang ‘cuckooing’ plague in Scotland

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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. Today, they have 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 grounded not in theory, but in the lived experience of some of the most vulnerable individuals across the UK. Cuckooing, sometimes described as “forced home invasion”, occurs … Continue reading Rt Hon Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale’s thinktank tries to hide entirely English culture of County Lines drug gang ‘cuckooing’ plague in Scotland