Tag: politics

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As they all gloat over our drug deaths, a clear causal connection between Liverpool drug gangs, extreme violence and the flood of cheap, more powerful, drugs into Scotland is hidden from Scots

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA The ‘Scottish‘ media above collectively hanging on to our drug deaths sadness and discounting any progress. Utterly ignored by ‘your’ media but in the Liverpool Echo in November 2022, above, and: A series of raids across Scotland last week highlighted the continuing focus of Merseyside’s organised crime groups on the drugs market north of the border. Last week officers from Merseyside Police teamed up with Police Scotland for raids in Peterhead, … Continue reading As they all gloat over our drug deaths, a clear causal connection between Liverpool drug gangs, extreme violence and the flood of cheap, more powerful, drugs into Scotland is hidden from Scots

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Will Anas Sarwar back his home city Glasgow against Sir Keir Starmer and the Home Office as their failures force a refugee homelessness crisis onto it a whole year after they were warned by the SNP Council?

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald today has the above and: Sir Keir Starmer has refused to intervene in Glasgow’s escalating refugee homelessness crisis, despite warnings the city faces a £109 million bill. The Prime Minister’s unwillingness to get involved comes ahead of a planned cut in the move-on period for refugees, from 56 days to 28 — a change officials believe could be “disastrous” for Scotland’s largest city. This is a crisis made in London and dumped … Continue reading Will Anas Sarwar back his home city Glasgow against Sir Keir Starmer and the Home Office as their failures force a refugee homelessness crisis onto it a whole year after they were warned by the SNP Council?

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Drug deaths in Scotland, England, Wales and in the EU – SEVEN simple facts showing our days as the drug death ‘capital’ are numbered

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA I’ve been thinking over all the recent posts here on drug deaths and this short summary may be useful. If you have further insights into this, please comment below. Continue reading Drug deaths in Scotland, England, Wales and in the EU – SEVEN simple facts showing our days as the drug death ‘capital’ are numbered

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When all drug deaths are counted Scotland’s rate is falling fast toward the increasing rate in England and Wales and is already lower for males than in the north-east of England

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA I know we’ve covered this before, including by reader JB, but I think we need something more short, direct and easy to grasp. If we accept the published data, there remains a significant gap with drug misuse deaths in Scotland still around twice the level in England and Wales, on average, but the rates are converging fast as they fall in Scotland but climb in England and Wales. We may … Continue reading When all drug deaths are counted Scotland’s rate is falling fast toward the increasing rate in England and Wales and is already lower for males than in the north-east of England

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Scottish Labour and Jackie Baillie to purge party of Sarwar and selected ‘unpopular’ minorities in move to outflank Tories and merge with Reform UK

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA, Scottish Extremism Correspondent Talking-up Scotland can today reveal shocking rumours, emerging for the Scottish Labour HQ hut, in Royston Vasey, that the latest poll putting Reform UK only one point behind Labour in Scotland and the very real prospect of a Reform UK government in 2029, that Jackie Baillie is mounting a campaign to unseat Anas Sarwar, a well-known Muslim, and lead the party into a merger with Reform UK. … Continue reading Scottish Labour and Jackie Baillie to purge party of Sarwar and selected ‘unpopular’ minorities in move to outflank Tories and merge with Reform UK

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The longest gap in reporting ever since the series began in 2017! – Lack of financial transparency from UK government continues under Labour

johnrobertson834

‘In the absence of timely Block Grant Transparency releases, Barnett consequentials are hard to reproduce’ – Scottish Fiscal Commission in evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee (January 2025) By stewartb What’s happening to ‘transparency’ after c.14 months of this British Labour Party government in Westminster? Any ‘change’, any ‘new direction’? None to date it seems in terms of transparency over how the Barnett formula is applied. The Scottish Affairs Committee of the House of Commons has recently (July 16) published a report entitled ‘The financing of the Scottish Government’. (See https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/48818/documents/256455/default/ ) The issue of transparency over how Westminster’s so … Continue reading The longest gap in reporting ever since the series began in 2017! – Lack of financial transparency from UK government continues under Labour

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After 18 years of plummeting crime figures, police recorded AND surveyed by academics, Scots themselves confirm it again – crime IS falling and is far lower than in England & Wales

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA The above poll results for 31 August 2025, repeat something I’ve noticed for years now – Scots seems significantly les concerned about crime than those elsewhere in the UK. At the beginning of August, the same pollster found a ration of 19 to 11 between the UK and Scottish responses. Why might this be? I’d say it’s a clear indicator that the other two sources, policed recorded crime statistics, large … Continue reading After 18 years of plummeting crime figures, police recorded AND surveyed by academics, Scots themselves confirm it again – crime IS falling and is far lower than in England & Wales

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In Scotland, twice as many midwives and 33% more nurses

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA There’s a lot happening today, a lot to rebut, so we’ll do this rubbish from the Scotsman quickly. Too many vacancies is disturbing but more important is how many midwives and nurses do we have per head of population? First, England and midwives: Midwives: Using the NHS England figure of 23,396 midwives in November 2023 (most specific and recent for England). https://www.england.nhs.uk/2024/01/record-number-of-nurses-and-midwives-working-in-nhs/ Population: Approximately 57.1 million (mid-2023 estimate). https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/populationestimates/bulletins/annualmidyearpopulationestimates/mid2023 Ratio: … Continue reading In Scotland, twice as many midwives and 33% more nurses

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European Union Drugs Agency – drug deaths ‘must be understood as underestimations’ (as in England) proving that Scotland is only the ‘Drug Death Accurate Reporting’ capital of Europe

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 By JB We all saw the MSM headlines yesterday: “ although Scotland’s drug deaths fell they still ‘remain’ the highest in Europe”. Based on what comparable statistics? From AI…”Comparable statistics allow for systematic evaluation, hypothesis testing, and data-driven decision-making by identifying similarities and differences between groups or phenomena. To be comparable, data must either be collected with  standardised methods and definitions  or have undergone a thorough assessment of differences in methodology to … Continue reading European Union Drugs Agency – drug deaths ‘must be understood as underestimations’ (as in England) proving that Scotland is only the ‘Drug Death Accurate Reporting’ capital of Europe

10 Comments

BBC Scotland reporter David Wallace Lockhart mis-reports Sir Prof John Curtice to protect Labour

johnrobertson834

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details or by direct bank transfer method – Sort code 08-91-04, Account 12266421 Professor John Robertson OBA In August 2025, BBC Scotland‘s Phil Sim in Does Reform pose an existential threat to the Scottish Conservatives?, wrote: Polling guru Prof Sir John Curtice has said the party “poses a significant threat to the Conservatives and Labour’s prospects at Holyrood too“. It feels a bit like the way Labour was pulled apart in the aftermath of the 2014 independence referendum, losing support at both ends of the spectrum.That could … Continue reading BBC Scotland reporter David Wallace Lockhart mis-reports Sir Prof John Curtice to protect Labour