Tag: politics

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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

7 Comments

Yorkshire academics fail to read anything about Scotland or to discover that Scotland delivered 20 times as many affordable homes as Yorkshire in 2024 despite an almost identical population size

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 Shelter (Scotland) on BBC Scotland yesterday with the supposed research finding that Scotland needs 15 693 affordable homes per year compared with the 8 188 funded by the Scottish Government in 2024 is based on: Research carried out by academics at the University of Liverpool, and Sheffield Hallam University, jointly commissioned by SFHA, Shelter Scotland and the Chartered Institute for Housing So, two English universities commissioned by Shelter, HQ in London, … Continue reading Yorkshire academics fail to read anything about Scotland or to discover that Scotland delivered 20 times as many affordable homes as Yorkshire in 2024 despite an almost identical population size

9 Comments

Scotland’s drug deaths fall again to 25% below peak in 2020 and lowest since 2016 to reveal last year’s increase was the blip and to reveal the agenda of James Cook

johnrobertson834

‘Milk blood to keep from running out’ – James Cook pushes Scotland’s FALLING drug deaths on us day-after-day to try to keep us thinking if we can’t even stop this how can we run a country? 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 Yesterday and on through this morning, James Cook has been the top story. They’ve just updated: Yesterday, we had: Figures to be published on Tuesday are expected to show that Scotland remains the drugs … Continue reading Scotland’s drug deaths fall again to 25% below peak in 2020 and lowest since 2016 to reveal last year’s increase was the blip and to reveal the agenda of James Cook

15 Comments

Scotland builds far more affordable housing than England and far far more than Labour ever did but Shelter Scotland is back to suggest Scottish Government failure

johnrobertson834

Professor John Robertson OBA How do Scotland and England compare in terms of affordable housing? Scotland generally provides more affordable housing per capita than England, particularly in terms of social housing and overall supply relative to population. Here’s a concise comparison based on available data: Supply of Affordable Housing: Scotland has consistently outperformed England in delivering affordable homes per head of population. Between 2007-08 and 2022-23, Scotland delivered an average of 14.2 affordable homes per 10,000 people annually, compared to 9.8 in England. In 2022-23, Scotland completed 10,458 affordable homes (19.1 per 10,000 people), while England’s rate was 11.3 per 10,000. https://www.gov.scot/publications/quarterly-housing-statistics-march-2024/pages/housing-supply-including-affordable-across-the-uk/ Social … Continue reading Scotland builds far more affordable housing than England and far far more than Labour ever did but Shelter Scotland is back to suggest Scottish Government failure

9 Comments

They may not feel comfortable with it, but to win, the SNP should recognise that voters are ‘avoiders of danger’ and GO NEGATIVE

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 Professor John Robertson OBA It’s probably not in your nature. It’s not in mine and of all the large parties in the UK, it’s not in the spirit of the SNP. We want to campaign with a positive message and we have a lot to be positive about in our achievements, in reducing poverty such as with the unique, world-leading Child Payment, in providing universal benefits such as those for prescriptions and tuition, in the lowest crime levels in the UK, in increased attainment by pupils … Continue reading They may not feel comfortable with it, but to win, the SNP should recognise that voters are ‘avoiders of danger’ and GO NEGATIVE

9 Comments

Jackie Baillie claims NHS England is 800 times better than NHS Scotland using her clearly limited maths common sense but will never tell you facts that really matter such as 12 hour A&E waits TWICE as long in England and nearly THREE TIMES as long in Wales or NHS Scotland increases number treated within 18 weeks to lead NHS England by 14%

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 Professor John Robertson OBA It seems even BBC Scotland has its limits when it comes to stories from Jackie Baillie. Nowhere in the MSM but on RADIO NEWS HUB, (?) yesterday: Long NHS waits are over 800 times more common in Scotland than they are in England, Scottish Labour has claimed. The party said its own analysis of publicly available figures showed Scotland had nearly 15,000 ongoing waits of two years or more – representing one case per 367 people. Meanwhile, NHS England reported having 182 … Continue reading Jackie Baillie claims NHS England is 800 times better than NHS Scotland using her clearly limited maths common sense but will never tell you facts that really matter such as 12 hour A&E waits TWICE as long in England and nearly THREE TIMES as long in Wales or NHS Scotland increases number treated within 18 weeks to lead NHS England by 14%

1 Comment

BBC Scotland misunderstands the attainment gap again, only ever really closed in Maoist China and Albania, to platform the Scottish Cons and Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy un-educated rants

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 Professor John Robertson OBA For no apparent reason in the text, BBC Scotland’s Lucy Adams has an extended report today – Has Scotland closed the attainment gap in schools?, with only one 5-year retired prof (Sue Ellis) as a source, only limited broad statistics to conceal areas of success and, of course a platform for the opposition parties to rant: First Minister John Swinney is expected to renew this commitment ahead of another Holyrood campaign in 2026, but any assessment of his party’s progress so far … Continue reading BBC Scotland misunderstands the attainment gap again, only ever really closed in Maoist China and Albania, to platform the Scottish Cons and Labour’s Pam Duncan-Glancy un-educated rants

6 Comments

Sickening exploitation of own son’s drug death on behalf of Scottish Labour’s 2026 campaign when Up to 90% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, more than 90% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

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 Professor John Robertson OBA In the Daily Record (Sunday Mail?) today, the above and: Sir Ian McCartney was serving as a Cabinet Office minister overseeing drugs policy in Tony Blair’s government when his son Hugh, 23, was found dead in a Glasgow flat in 1999 after taking heroin. “It has been a huge political failure because from day one of the SNP government, despite the work that had been done previously, by [former Labour first minister] Jack McConnell, Gordon Brown and myself, there was a decision taken that all … Continue reading Sickening exploitation of own son’s drug death on behalf of Scottish Labour’s 2026 campaign when Up to 90% of Scotland’s drug deaths were among those who became addicted before the SNP came to power, more than 90% of nearly 30 000 referrals per year are treated within 3 weeks and more than half within only 1 week!

9 Comments

The SNP should absolutely not charge in and ‘tool up for dirty fight to death with Reform UK’. It should focus on its demonstrable and many strengths

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 Professor John Robertson OBA Neil Mackay in the Herald two days ago, had the above and: John Swinney and the SNP are at a fork in the road when dealing with Nigel Farage and Reform’s rise, the ascendency of the far and hard right, and the extremists within, says Neil Mackay, The SNP has two choices: accept its part in the rise of the far-right, or grow a spine and take the fight to extremists.  Before I respond, lets remind ourselves if Mackay is the kind … Continue reading The SNP should absolutely not charge in and ‘tool up for dirty fight to death with Reform UK’. It should focus on its demonstrable and many strengths