Tag: politics

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Martin Geissler projects his vacuous cynicism onto Stephen Flynn

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By Liz S This is a long comment but it exposes BBC bias against the SNP and the BBC’s support For the Labour party. The BBC have another new radio and TV programme called “Scotcast” which they promote as being a ‘Scottish’ news podcast. It is broadcast Monday to Thursday on BBC Radio and also on the BBC Scotland TV channel 9 and later on BBC Scotland channel 1 . It is hosted by Martin Geissler. Last night they covered Waspi women. Martin said at the outset “The UK government has gone to war with the Nation’s grannies, surely on … Continue reading Martin Geissler projects his vacuous cynicism onto Stephen Flynn

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Demand for emergency food parcels in parts of England surges to more than EIGHT times higher as unique Scottish Child Payment begins to reduce child poverty

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: From UK Poverty 2025 The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, today: Food banks in the Trussell network distributed 3.1 million emergency parcels across the UK in 2023/24, more than one million of which were for children (Trussell, 2024). This was the largest number on record (topping last year’s previous record high) and represented a 94% increase since 2018/19. The magnitude of this change varied across regions of the UK. The increase in London was 171% and Yorkshire and the Humber 157%. In Scotland it was only 21%. Research … Continue reading Demand for emergency food parcels in parts of England surges to more than EIGHT times higher as unique Scottish Child Payment begins to reduce child poverty

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Scotland’s progressive taxes, increasing tax base and inward migration – the Scottish Government statements the MSM are not telling you about.

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We’ve recently had Tom Hunter, City of London representatives and the IFS calling for reduced income taxes in Scotland. These have been widely reported but Scottish Government responses have seen little light. From Income tax and First Minister meeting with City of London Corporation correspondence: FOI release, published yesterday, selected responses from a very long set: Our tax policies are grounded in evidence and carefully balance the need to raise revenue with the impacts on taxpayers and the economy. The evidence continues to suggest that our policy approach raises significant additional revenue for investment in vital public services. Our tax … Continue reading Scotland’s progressive taxes, increasing tax base and inward migration – the Scottish Government statements the MSM are not telling you about.

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SNP will still win the Holyrood election even if Paul Hutcheon keeps telling them lies about NHS Scotland

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I know, I know, they have to keep coming up with excrement of the male bovine, but the Record’s Paul Hutcheon is special. Yesterday, he had: The SNP will lose the Holyrood election if the NHS is the top issue of voters That’s a big IF. First, opinion poll after opinion poll, recently is clear. The SNP will be the biggest party by far. Cons, Labour and Reform will fight it out for second place. The evidence is at: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2025/01/14/averages-from-seven-2014-bias-free-polls-have-snp-15-points-ahead-labour-stuck-cons-in-trouble-reform-a-wee-worry-and-lib-dems-pleased-to-hang-on-to-5th-place/ and https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2024/11/23/westminster-polls-snp-recovering-labour-plummeting-cons-consolidating-in-heartlands-and-reform-still-too-wee/ Second, NHS Scotland is doing far better than the other NHS areas in the UK. Despite Paul’s best … Continue reading SNP will still win the Holyrood election even if Paul Hutcheon keeps telling them lies about NHS Scotland

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Scottish Labour in a panic as Welsh Labour plan to ban liars like Jackie Baillie

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From the National on 23rd January 2024: MSPs were threatened with expulsion from the Holyrood chamber amid a raucous First Minister’s Questions which saw John Swinney accuse Jackie Baillie of giving false information about the NHS. Baillie had lied about NHS Scotland A&E waiting times. She criticised the ‘SNP’s‘ handling of A&E performance, saying: “Each week the First Minister says sorry and each week it gets worse.” The SNP leader said Dame Jackie’s assertions were “not true”. The FM was correct in pointing out that an increasing percentage has been seen [full ED] in 4 successive weeks from 56.7% to 62.4% by week-ending … Continue reading Scottish Labour in a panic as Welsh Labour plan to ban liars like Jackie Baillie

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Airports ‘across the UK’ could be expanded but only if they’re in London

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By Liz S The BBC published an article on their website on 21 January 2025. In this article they stated that “Airports across the UK could be expanded, including the controversial third runway at Heathrow under government growth plans” However “across the UK” was an exaggeration as within the article the only airports that the BBC specified were all in London, with only Heathrow, Luton and Gatwick noted. So much for “Scotland at the heart of the UK government” with Labour. As it seems the only money available for “infrastructure” and “growth” is for projects in England and not in … Continue reading Airports ‘across the UK’ could be expanded but only if they’re in London

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Patient satisfaction surveys rate NHS Scotland improving and far more highly than NHS England to cast doubt on 4th Health Secretary media witch-hunt

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: In the Guardian today: A quarter of people in England experienced poor NHS care over the last year but fewer than one in 10 of them complained about it, a report by the patient watchdog has revealed. 1 From the Health and Care Experience Survey 2023/24: National Results published on 28th May 2024, only 12% of the 104 000 Scots responding, rated their experience as poor or very poor, down from 15% in the previous year.2 The patients are not wrong. NHS Scotland is doing far better than other NHS areas. See: Once more we witness a gormless witch-hunt … Continue reading Patient satisfaction surveys rate NHS Scotland improving and far more highly than NHS England to cast doubt on 4th Health Secretary media witch-hunt

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The shortest waiting lists in the UK but BBC Scotland quote Sandesh Gulhane and Jackie Baillie in a 2 minute report to lie about NHS Scotland – factually better on the 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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By Professor John Robertson OBA: The 3 minute Reporting Scotland inserts, on BBC Breakfast this morning, but as often before not covered on the BBC Scotland website, exploits the news that the First Minister is speaking today on increasing access to healthcare, to platform the opposition claims, unchecked: This is a longstanding practice on BBC Scotland to platform opposition tirades with unreliable evidence uncontested. BBC England, Wales and Northern Ireland almost never do this. The NHS performance of their parties in England & Wales is never mentioned. Their own editorial guidelines are, in this way, broken every day. It’s not news, … Continue reading The shortest waiting lists in the UK but BBC Scotland quote Sandesh Gulhane and Jackie Baillie in a 2 minute report to lie about NHS Scotland – factually better on the 4 key measures of A&E, cancer, 18 weeks and overall waiting list

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Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

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By Professor John Robertson, OBA Thanks again to AR for alerting me to this. Gillian Bowditch is a columnist for The Sunday Times. She is founder of the personalised jewellery company Lily Blanche (lilyblanche.com)  and chair of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs (Scotland).  Today in the Times, she has this: Toxic Work Culture in the NHS is a matter of life and death Her argument is that toxic work environments in NHS Scotland are leading to worse care and thus unnecessary deaths, and that competition in healthcare will push standards up and, presumably, remove these. That she imagines the private … Continue reading Jewellery entrepreneur lies about NHS Scotland to make case for increased private care though Oxford University has proved it will lead to worse patient care

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After 10 years local MP fails to encourage improvement in his local A&E – Will Labour Scotland’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie offer advice based on NHS Scotland?

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Wes Streeting has been the local MP [Ilford North] in which the above hospital sits, for nearly 10 years and has been Secretary of State for Health since July 2024. On Friday January 24 2025, The Times, had the above shocking images, and: It is 4pm on a Tuesday and the tea lady is slowly wheeling her metal trolley up the crowded corridors of the A&E unit at Queen’s Hospital in Romford. She stops one by one at the makeshift bedsides of the patients crammed in beside one another, offering tea, coffee and biscuits while they wait — and wait … Continue reading After 10 years local MP fails to encourage improvement in his local A&E – Will Labour Scotland’s health spokesperson, Jackie Baillie offer advice based on NHS Scotland?