Tag: politics

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Beware ‘gushing’ British Labour Party politicians in Scotland in the wake of their government’s Spending Review which quietly cuts Great British Energy funding to zero

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By stewartb The BBC News website on June 11 covered the Spending Review announcements in separate articles, in its Wales and Scotland sections. The BBC Wales article had this cautionary headline: ‘Spending review could mean cuts in Wales – experts’. Critical views ares shared by BBC Wales on the significance of the SR and not just from politicians opposed to the British Labour Party government but from ‘experts’ too: Here we learn: ’On Wednesday, the chancellor announced a real-terms increase of 3% to day-to-day funding for the NHS in England. That will result in extra funding for Welsh ministers to … Continue reading Beware ‘gushing’ British Labour Party politicians in Scotland in the wake of their government’s Spending Review which quietly cuts Great British Energy funding to zero

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The dark Brian Wilson allowed to challenge SNP universalism on winter fuel allowance in a typically under-educated manner

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Professor John Robertson OBA Brian ‘Bad Vibrations’ Wilson, former Minister under Tony Blair, is in the Herald today to claim: Winter fuel payment u-turn exposes flaws in SNP’s universalism Have I read it? No way? Do I need to read it? No way. I have the oven-ready, fully-researched, response from a think tank set up by that real socialist, the late Jimmy Reid. The facts, from the Jimmy Reid Foundation: In 2012, I read and was much impressed by their The Case for Universalism An assessment of the evidence on the effectiveness and efficiency of the universal welfare state which made these telling … Continue reading The dark Brian Wilson allowed to challenge SNP universalism on winter fuel allowance in a typically under-educated manner

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As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland yesterday: Police Scotland has agreed to send officers to Northern Ireland after two nights of disorder in Ballymena. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) asked for extra support under mutual aid arrangements following violent scenes in the County Antrim town. The deployment will involve an undisclosed number of public order officers who are trained to police civil unrest. Police Scotland previously sent 120 officers to Belfast last summer after a number of PSNI officers were injured during several nights of rioting and disorder in the wake of attacks on children in Southport, Merseyside. Mutual … Continue reading As Police Scotland send officers to help in Northern Ireland again, how the Scottish Government has made them the only UK force able to help with such ‘uncommon’ demands

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Covid Inquiry reports praising Scottish Government’s approach which you’re not going to hear anywhere else

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By Brenda Robb I’ve done what BBC reporters routinely do ie scan a document and pick out selective bits to back up an argument. I make no apologies for this because rarely does Scotland get any positive mentions, while negative findings are highlighted, amplified in headlines and endlessly discussed. If I ever get the time & energy I’m going to work my way through all the Covid reports, maybe do a list of positive/negative statements and make my own conclusions before the BBC or Rupert Murdoch try to tell me what to think. Below are statements from the most recent Covid … Continue reading Covid Inquiry reports praising Scottish Government’s approach which you’re not going to hear anywhere else

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A closed breastfeeding support service and failed hospital disinfectants research but no mention that Scotland has the lowest stillbirth rate and the cleanest hospitals in the UK

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By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS BBC Scotland today, headlining: A breastfeeding support service which has helped mums of newborn babies for a decade has closed down after funding was withdrawn. Breastfeeding Buddies was run by the National Childbirth Trust (NCT) charity in five hospitals in Greater Glasgow and Lothian, offering peer support to mothers who wanted to breastfeed. The Scottish government had previously funded the scheme directly but this year it said it had allowed the health boards to decide how to meet local need. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lothian will no longer fund … Continue reading A closed breastfeeding support service and failed hospital disinfectants research but no mention that Scotland has the lowest stillbirth rate and the cleanest hospitals in the UK

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The impact of spending decisions by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh

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By stewartb Cut to funding for nurse training in England – what impact on Westminster’s spend for England on health, or will the ‘saving’ be from the Department of Education’s budget? Is this leading to a reduction in overall departmental spend or more likely, a more limited increase in departmental spend overall than England’s services (and devolved equivalents in NI, Scotland and Wales) need? What impact of this – and the cumulative impact of multiple other – spending decision by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and … Continue reading The impact of spending decisions by the British Labour Party government in Westminster on the so called Block Grants to the governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh

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Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK

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By JB “Institutional lies are at the level of organisations or public discourse. Many politicians use the common interpretation that telling a falsehood is lying whereas concealing or distorting the truth is not, leading to tortuous statements that technically avoid falsehoods but are certainly deceptive. Political lies in office and during campaigning are necessarily institutional: they are in the public domain. In contrast, private lies by politicians are individual lies, but they can become institutional lies when they are brought into the public domain.” Commentators and voters are less likely to believe a politician with a reputation for lying, especially … Continue reading Sarwar’s duplicity on Reform UK

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A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

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Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland continue to report and of course misreport from Spain, Scotland’s gangland feud. How did they misreport from Spain to try to add two deaths to the list? See this: What is the list of crimes affecting Scotland? This: Timeline: How the gang feud developed Very upsetting, I know, for all involved but only damage to property and no serious violence, no deaths. How does the above compare with the effects of the now 6 years, at least, of County Lines gangs from cities in England? In the Express July 20th 2024, we read: Knife crime epidemic … Continue reading A handful of assaults and damage to property in the Scottish news every day – the Scottish ‘gangland feud’ is dwarfed by the massive plague of extreme drug gang violence and surging overdoses from England’s cities but this is hidden from you

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Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Telegraph yesterday and across media in England, the above astonishing decision by this Labour government, to follow from a series of cuts to services and tax increases for the less well-off, which can only further degrade the performance of the NHS in England and strengthen to role of the private sector, which funds many leading Labour politicians. What would a Labour presence in government at Holyrood, say with Reform UK, put at risk here? The Scotsman in February 2025 was front-paging Alarm over fresh drop in applicants for nurses course based on a 2% reduction in applications, from … Continue reading Labour to slash nurse training in England as Scotland trains nearly TWICE as many

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How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters

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stewartb How to ‘play’ Scotland’s voters – how to attempt deceit or manipulation for political advantage? Is there a recurring mainstream news reporting pattern in Scotland? Step 1: mainstream media outlet/s make ‘judicious’ selection of a ‘newsworthy’ item about Scotland – to qualify, it must be a negative story and ideally linked to a topic of natural concern to many; 2: report this on newspaper front page with a ‘scary’ headline – big black font visible from metres away on a supermarket rack and visually impactful when the front page is pictured on the BBC News website’s Scotland page; 3. avoid giving … Continue reading How the media ‘play’ Scotland’s voters