Tag: politics

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Hell springs to mind as an apt description of that unwelcome scenario….but I believe the ball is in the court of voters in Scotland

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By Liz S I am hopeful that somehow Reform UK will never emulate the same level of success in Scotland next year that they, as a (pretend) party, seem to have achieved in England. (and also via polls are anticipated as having even more success in the future via some subsequent UK elections). However they will, I am sure , gain some seats next year in the Scottish elections which I think will be both a disgrace and also very much a huge badge of shame for Scotland as a nation. Open Democracy wrote an article in June 2025 which … Continue reading Hell springs to mind as an apt description of that unwelcome scenario….but I believe the ball is in the court of voters in Scotland

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As crime in Glasgow falls far below level in English cities, local media ‘name’ and shame it unfairly

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Glasgow Live, three days ago had the above and: On June 24, the Scottish Government released its annual Recorded Crime in Scotland report, and it was revealed Glasgow had the highest crime rate, with 829 crimes per 10,000 population recorded. https://www.glasgowlive.co.uk/news/glasgow-news/glasgow-named-most-dangerous-area-32022028 Who actually ‘named’ Glasgow? What significant person are they quoting? No one. Just those two wee corporate media hacks named in the credits. Comparative data for the rest of the UK is not yet published but we can easily compare with the 2023/2024 figures to reveal Glasgow to be the safest … Continue reading As crime in Glasgow falls far below level in English cities, local media ‘name’ and shame it unfairly

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Shock as some locals tell CNN they see fewer needles and drug paraphernalia on ground around ‘controversial’ SNP safe drug injection centre in Glasgow which has now saved lives after 2 500 supervised injections in only 6 months

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Professor John Robertson OBA From US-based international news agency CNN today, the above and: “We’ve had almost 2,500 injections inside the facility,” Dr. Saket Priyadarshi, the clinical lead of the Thistle, told a CNN team who visited the facility in early June. “That’s 2,500 less injections in the community, in parks, alleyways, car parks.” The Scottish government told CNN that the service has already delivered results in terms of public health. “Through the ability of staff to respond quickly in the event of an overdose, the Thistle service has already saved lives,” Scottish health secretary Neil Gray said. The service, … Continue reading Shock as some locals tell CNN they see fewer needles and drug paraphernalia on ground around ‘controversial’ SNP safe drug injection centre in Glasgow which has now saved lives after 2 500 supervised injections in only 6 months

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A free offer of a story for the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland: the Labour government’s new ambition for NHS England – no more than 10% of patients spending 12 hours in A&E – sets a threshold that NHS Scotland has NEVER EVER failed to better- NEVER worse than 8% and almost always very much lower! Why?

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stewartb The Royal College of Emergency Medicine issued a press statement (July 2) entitled: ‘RCEM Response to NHS England’s Urgent and Emergency Care Plan 2025’. This is part of the much heralded reforms to improve NHS services in England from the British Labour Party government in Westminster. I have little doubt that the same party in the run up to the 2026 Holyrood election, with the help of its mainstream media allies, will be telling us to vote Labour in order to get similar super-duper ‘change’ implemented for NHS Scotland. So what does the RCEM say about Labour’s plan for … Continue reading A free offer of a story for the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland: the Labour government’s new ambition for NHS England – no more than 10% of patients spending 12 hours in A&E – sets a threshold that NHS Scotland has NEVER EVER failed to better- NEVER worse than 8% and almost always very much lower! Why?

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“Learner drivers currently having to wait months until they can sit their tests, so can Scotland [sic] fix it’s [sic] driving test system” ?

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Liz S BBC Scotland News tweet: “Learner drivers currently having to wait months until they can sit their tests, so can Scotland fix it’s Driving test System” ? Linked to this tweet was a video. Then there was another tweet from the BBC Scotland News twitter account correcting their original tweet and the linked video to that original tweet. “Correction: This video refers to the Scottish government and it should have said the UK government”. So……. Who identified the error or was it identified via a complaint to the BBC, who then as those called out for this lie then had to correct the misinformation they had communicated in their … Continue reading “Learner drivers currently having to wait months until they can sit their tests, so can Scotland [sic] fix it’s [sic] driving test system” ?

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Michael Shanks – ‘[Scottish] Oil and gas has played a critical role in our energy story for the past 60 years. It will continue to play a critical role for decades to come’

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stewartb The recent session of the Scottish Affairs Committee of the Commons gained quite a few ‘insights’ from oral evidence given by Michael Shanks MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Energy) at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) See transcript of the oral evidence at https://committees.parliament.uk/oralevidence/16235/pdf/ Shanks – ‘Oil and gas has played a critical role in our energy story for the past 60 years. It will continue to play a critical role for decades to come, …’ (my emphasis) Later, Committee Chair (Patricia Ferguson MP, Labour): ‘Do you think it is necessary to reduce North Sea oil and gas … Continue reading Michael Shanks – ‘[Scottish] Oil and gas has played a critical role in our energy story for the past 60 years. It will continue to play a critical role for decades to come’

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Supplying the UK with oil & gas from offshore Scotland or from imports? For the British Labour Party government there is “not a material difference” – apparently!

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By stewartb The head of trade body Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) was moved to write (July 4) in the specialist news website, Energy Voice in order to rebut a Westminster government minister’s evidence to the Scottish Affairs Committee of the Commons. The Committee was taking oral evidence from Michael Shanks MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Energy) at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Source: Energy Voice, ’Let’s be clear about the value of the North Sea – Offshore Energies UK boss responds to minister’s claims there’s no difference between oil and gas imports and domestic … Continue reading Supplying the UK with oil & gas from offshore Scotland or from imports? For the British Labour Party government there is “not a material difference” – apparently!

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Is the rot finally setting in on the Tory party ?

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Liz S Just how many current and previous politicians at different levels will the Tory party lose from their party to the Reform UK party. The latest two are a former Tory Welsh Secretary Sir David Jones and now we have Sir Jake Berry also announcing that he too has defected to the Reform UK party. We also had Anne Marie Morris a former Tory MP also defect to Rerform. Then in the recent English local elections we saw ……….. Former Tory MP (and Tory Minister) Andrea Jenkinson elected as the Reform UK Mayor of Lincolnshire. Also the former Tory Councillor Sarah … Continue reading Is the rot finally setting in on the Tory party ?

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Had it been the opposite, England benefitting from reduced zonal pricing, then this U Turn would not have ever occurred

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Liz S It is being reported in the newspapers that Labour Minister Ed Milliand has abandoned plans to charge less for electricity in Scotland. This was reported as such in The Guardian newspaper. However in the Daily Mail (the non so called ‘Scottish’ edition) they reported it as this: “Ed Miliband ‘abandons zonal electricity pricing’ plan that would have charged people in southern England more for power than Scots” just so that we all know whose side they , the Daily Mail, are on i.e. not the “Scots” . This is the same story as The Guardian but with a different pro … Continue reading Had it been the opposite, England benefitting from reduced zonal pricing, then this U Turn would not have ever occurred

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News you won’t see – Scottish Government funding for playparks to promote children’s health and development surges by FIVE times in only five years

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Professor John Robertson OBA From: Funding to upgrade children’s playparks: FOI release Information request and response under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 published yesterday: Question 1 – How much of this money has been allocated (not to be confused with the £25,000,000 announced recently)? The Scottish Government has allocated and committed the following sums since May 2021: The Scottish Government announced recently that in 2025/26 the final funding instalment of £25 million will be provided to the local authorities, which is delivering on the 2021 Programme for Government commitment of funding £60 million for play parks renewal. https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500467583/ … Continue reading News you won’t see – Scottish Government funding for playparks to promote children’s health and development surges by FIVE times in only five years