Tag: politics

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As gangs of youths run riot in Clapham for second night will Scotland’s plummeting anti-social behaviour figures cause a problem for media operating in ‘SNP soft touch on crime’ Scotland?

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In the Telegraph and other media today, the above story and: Another day, another mini-riot, as gangs of marauding youths run amok – this time in Clapham, south London. A few days ago social media was full of footage of what seemed to be teenagers (they were all in hoodies so one can’t be sure how old they were) causing chaos in Wolverhampton, throwing eggs at anyone they could find. Video then emerged of hundreds of young men and women rushing a streetwear pop-up shop in Soho in central London. The footage was notable only for being not remotely notable; … Continue reading As gangs of youths run riot in Clapham for second night will Scotland’s plummeting anti-social behaviour figures cause a problem for media operating in ‘SNP soft touch on crime’ Scotland?

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Dear George (Monbiot), here’s why ‘this country’ is not a dump’

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George Monbiot in the Guardian today: This country’s a dump. I don’t mean that metaphorically. I mean it literally. From the point of view of criminal waste gangs, it is one big potential landfill. The chances of being caught range between minimal and nonexistent, and the penalties are mostly laughable. Successive governments have given criminals a licence to print money. Last week, the Commons public accounts committee reported that illegal waste dumping is “out of control”. The UK is now blighted with between 8,000 and 13,000 illegal waste sites. Most consist of a few lorry loads. Some contain tens of thousands of tonnes of waste, which … Continue reading Dear George (Monbiot), here’s why ‘this country’ is not a dump’

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A Guardian picture tells a story of Scotland’s place even amongst England’s liberal elite

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See those Ivory Coast players in orange, very bottom left in the (just) ‘More sport’ afterthought section? That’s the report of Scotland’s 1 nil defeat last night, right at the bottom. I read the Guardian all the time but won’t pay until they change their editorial policy to oppose Scottish independence at the same time as not opposing any other country’s departure from the brutal empire they apparently now regret. I wrote this on February 19 February 2026, six weeks ago. Not even an acknowledgement far less a response. Katherine Viner, Editor, the Guardian, katharine.viner@guardian.co.uk Dear Katharine I’d really like … Continue reading A Guardian picture tells a story of Scotland’s place even amongst England’s liberal elite

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Increased violence against teachers in English schools DOES make sense

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BBC Breakfast today had an extended piece on violence in the classroom increasing. It made sense in the context of worsening youth violence against adults across society, in England. There are similar reports from BBC Scotland. They don’t make such good sense. More on that below. First, of direct relevance, from the Guardian on 31 December 2025: The number of violent offences involving an adolescent attacking their parents or step-parents has increased by more than 60% in the past decade, according to figures recorded by the UK’s biggest police force. Data released by Scotland Yard reveals that there were 1,886 such offences … Continue reading Increased violence against teachers in English schools DOES make sense

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Scotland’s own global celebrity drug baron is not your main concern

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The media operating in Scotland have loved Scotland getting to this ‘world-cup’ of global celebrity drug barons ‘masterminding hits’ on other global celebrity drug barons and the associated relatively minor collateral violence back home in Scotland. As that peaked in the summer of 2025, the Telegraph had: A wave of violence The flames have been there for all to see. Over six weeks in March and April, there were more than a dozen arson attacks in the two cities, with cars, homes, garages and businesses set alight. In other incidents, shots have been fired and two people, a pensioner and a 12-year-old boy, seriously … Continue reading Scotland’s own global celebrity drug baron is not your main concern

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BBC Scotland admit County Lines drug gangs are another plague from England but try to contain it in the Highlands

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Charity workers have raised concern about the number of vulnerable youngsters in the Highlands being targeted big city drug dealers from England. Barnardo’s staff say they’re being exploited and threatened by County Lines drug gangs in Inverness. The charity runs the Anchor project in the City, which is trying to help tackle the problem. Police reckon 12 organised crime groups are operating in the Highland capital. BBC Scotland, in their BBC breakfast insert this morning, with a second only explicit mention of where the County Lines drug gangs are from. I must say, I’m puzzled by this openness after 7 … Continue reading BBC Scotland admit County Lines drug gangs are another plague from England but try to contain it in the Highlands

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SNP Government’s defence of the disabled against ‘a cruel penalty’ portrayed as economic mismanagement by BBC Scotland

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In the Guardian, today, the above (left) and: Hundreds of thousands of severely ill and disabled people making new claims will have their benefits cut if the government assesses that their condition might improve, charities have said. In April, the health element of universal credit – an extra payment for people assessed as too unwell to work or prepare for work – will be halved to £50 a week and frozen for new claimants unless their condition is found to be terminal or severe and lifelong with no prospect of improvement. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2026/mar/29/disabled-benefit-claimants-face-lower-payments-if-conditions-not-deemed-lifelong-charities-say Will this apply in Scotland? PIP and equivalent … Continue reading SNP Government’s defence of the disabled against ‘a cruel penalty’ portrayed as economic mismanagement by BBC Scotland

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The script that the MSM operating in Scotland prefer is one of unchecked propaganda

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By Liz S The script that the MSM operating in Scotland prefer is the one where opposition parties accuse the SNP of having “destroyed the Scottish NHS”. Of course that is a script that is minus all of the data and stats that would verify this , so then would substantiate their accusation. They, the opposition and the BBC in Scotland, could also make comparisons between Scotland’s NHS performance with that of other nations within the UK , to then they would have an opportunity to further prove that Scotland was in fact being destroyed by the SNP, and so indeed were … Continue reading The script that the MSM operating in Scotland prefer is one of unchecked propaganda

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Unionist leaders are never pressed to apologise for ex-councillors who are convicted of sex offences but rare SNP offenders linger in the media until they force one

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By Liz S Talking of “BBC Scotland” , in particular their website, on the former SNP Councillor Jordan Linden, the BBC are doing their best to keep this above story ‘alive’ via what is now four different articles on their website on the above former SNP Councillor. MSM Monitor had posted this online: “Why is Swinney being pursued by reporters over an ex-SNP councillor but Sarwar isn’t being pursued over *multiple* ex-Scottish Labour councillors incl. Frank McAveety, David Graham & Andrew Duffy-Lawson, one from the same local authority as Jordan Linden” ? Also MSM Monitor had posted this as well: “BBC Scotland … Continue reading Unionist leaders are never pressed to apologise for ex-councillors who are convicted of sex offences but rare SNP offenders linger in the media until they force one

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Never mind those terribly inconvenient ferry delays, Scotland has by far the highest level of fuel poverty ANYWHERE in Europe after 50 years of theft by Labour and Tory governments in London

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The above is frankly shocking and would still be so even if it were not for this: Why Scots have a ‘critically low’ democratic well-being score – the 50 years theft of their energy supplies for one thing? Carnegie UK today have reported (previous TuS post) that Scots have a ‘critically low‘ democratic well-being score of only 40%. Who is surprised? I’m surprised it’s not zero, same as mine. If you are at all aware of Scotland’s 300 year plus and current predicament in the Union, how could you get anywhere near 40%. Given their many problems with crap governance but at … Continue reading Never mind those terribly inconvenient ferry delays, Scotland has by far the highest level of fuel poverty ANYWHERE in Europe after 50 years of theft by Labour and Tory governments in London