Tag: politics

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The Herald’s reporting on homes is ‘Not fit for trust’ and ‘well below a tolerable standard’ as proper researchers find 90% of Scottish homes entirely free of damp

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Herald today: More than 700,000 Scottish homes are classed as not fit for habitation – with 600,000 more properties registered as below a legal tolerable standard since the pandemic, The Herald can reveal. Official surveys carried out for the Scottish Government show that in 2023, the number of Scots properties falling below the ‘tolerable standard’ in order to be fit for habitation has shot up from an estimated 54,000 (2%) in 2018 to 729,000 (27%) in 2023. The report is keen to link the above figures to child deaths: OMG, we think, until we … Continue reading The Herald’s reporting on homes is ‘Not fit for trust’ and ‘well below a tolerable standard’ as proper researchers find 90% of Scottish homes entirely free of damp

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Covid fallout – How Scotland did better on Covid deaths, life expectancy, homelessness and mental health care

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: Britain performed worse than most other developed nations in its response to the Covid pandemic, according to an Observer analysis of international data, five years on from the first lockdown. The UK spent more money than most other countries on economic help yet still ended up with larger drops in life expectancy, more people too sick to work, huge levels of homelessness and soaring mental health problems among young people. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/08/five-years-on-britons-among-hardest-hit-by-covid-fallout There’s no mention of Scotland in the Guardian survey and there’s the regular use of data from England to back … Continue reading Covid fallout – How Scotland did better on Covid deaths, life expectancy, homelessness and mental health care

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Falkirk SNP council tried to set lower council tax but Labour and Independents forced through largest council tax increase of 15.6%

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By Liz S BBC have an article on their website which is the top story on their Scottish Politics page and top story on the Tayside & Central page too and also it’s the sixth story on the main Scotland page with a headline that states: “Falkirk sets largest council tax increase of 15.6%” The text of the article explains that “The budget of the council’s SNP administration was defeated. Instead the motion of Independent councillor Laura Murtagh was backed by the Labour group and other Independents”. “Council leader and SNP councillor Cecil Meiklejohn said her administration’s proposed 13.7% would have brought … Continue reading Falkirk SNP council tried to set lower council tax but Labour and Independents forced through largest council tax increase of 15.6%

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Leading European expert says Scotland is ‘at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety’ since 2007 but BBC Scotland desperately try to hide that from you

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In Scotland’s health service every day on average. That’s according to figures obtained by the BBC. Data released under a Freedom of Information requests show the number of significant adverse events, including avoidable deaths jumped by 41% in the last four years. Professor John Robertson OBA This wee story today seems to be another one of those carried out by the Pacific Quay team, at public expense, in the hope of undermining the Scottish Government via the NHS. Details are not available at the BBC Scotland website, as yet but I’m looking forward to seeing how the wee souls came … Continue reading Leading European expert says Scotland is ‘at the very top pillar with regards to patient safety’ since 2007 but BBC Scotland desperately try to hide that from you

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The treatment of refugee children – How Scotland is trying to become a better place even before we have full control

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Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: Tens of thousands of children in migrant and refugee families in the UK are being denied access to government-funded childcare because of benefit restrictions linked to their parents’ immigration status, a report says. Having “no recourse to public funds” (NRPF) means parents are not entitled to 30 hours of free childcare and are having to stay home to look after their young children instead of working. This is pushing families into poverty and denying their children the benefits of the early years education available to their peers, the report … Continue reading The treatment of refugee children – How Scotland is trying to become a better place even before we have full control

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Major balanced poll – Information-starved public critical of Scottish Government’s record but are sure Labour would not do a better job

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The first thing I check for in any full poll is the extent to which the initial sample has been adjusted to reflect the make-up of the electorate in the 2021 Holyrood Election (not required) and they 2014 Referendum (good, they have not). In the light of the latter non-adjustment which many feel has distorted previous poll results against the SNP, we can, for the first time, reasonably trust these results. Their own headline – Public critical of Scottish Government’s record but aren’t convinced that Labour would do a better job – is surprising given … Continue reading Major balanced poll – Information-starved public critical of Scottish Government’s record but are sure Labour would not do a better job

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More than twice as many wait more than 12 hours in A&E in England than do in Scotland? Try telling Glenn Campbell that

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By Liz S “More than twice as many, per head, wait more than 12 hours in A&E in England than do in Scotland” Try telling the BBC’s Political Editor in Scotland, Glenn Campbell, that ! MSM Monitor tweeted this: “Glenn Campbell’s ‘analysis’ of key political events this last few months have all been pro-Labour”. MSM Monitor also linked a Video to his tweet showing exactly what Campbell had said on specific topics so then emphatically prove his , MSM Monitor’s, point. Campbell on Reeves budget : “Just think back to the GE campaign, one of the SNP’s core attack line … Continue reading More than twice as many wait more than 12 hours in A&E in England than do in Scotland? Try telling Glenn Campbell that

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Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above and: The case is one of a growing number of school-shooting plots detected in the UK, where young men and boys are being inspired by online material glorifying US massacres, including the 1999 Columbine High School shooting. In the year to March 2024, 162 referrals were made to Prevent (the government-led counter-terrorism scheme) related to interest in school massacres, up 2% on the year before. Only 19 resulted in people being adopted for intervention and mentoring under the programme.1 https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/02/i-hate-my-school-why-are-more-british-teenagers-plotting-shooting-attacks The total number of referrals to Prevent in England … Continue reading Five times more, adjusted per head of population, at risk of being exploited by violent extremist narratives and drawn into terrorism in England & Wales than in Scotland

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How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Today, BBC Reporting Scotland Down has the above story on disability payments in Scotland. As always there’s no context so that the narrative can remain pure – critical of the Scottish Government. What is the most important recent historical fact in disability payments in the UK? This: A leading disability rights charity has described new suicide statistics as the “tragic face of systemic inequality”. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) suggested disabled people had the highest rate of dying by suicide compared to other groups. It found 48 disabled men per 100,000 people and 19 … Continue reading How Scotland’s disability benefits system has been kinder, remains affordable but is not apparently worthy of proper media coverage

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Trump – Are you expecting us to believe that other American presidents and the CIA were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world?

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By Liz S Whatever you think of Trump or Zelensky one thing stands out with a Trump presidency. He is acting in a way that is normally hidden from public view when other presidents were in charge of America. I mean , come on , are some supposedly intelligent people , as in those who are political commentators for MSM and also those online, actually expecting us to believe that other American presidents and also their secret service organisation, the CIA, were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world. Or rather they, as political … Continue reading Trump – Are you expecting us to believe that other American presidents and the CIA were incapable of acting in a way that put “America First” in the world?