Tag: politics

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Scotland’s media ignore massive increase in criminal convictions including a 103% increase in rape convictions only two years after pandemic constraints end

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2022-23, published yesterday, we can see that there were 68 067 people convicted of a criminal offence in Scotland in 2022/2023 (latest figures), 59.8% up from the 2020/2021 figure of 42 614. Reassuringly, for serious crimes dealt with in the High Court, the figure was 733, almost double the 2020/2021 figure of 375 and up from the previous high, in 2014 of 702. Also reassuring, there was a 29% increase on the 2014 figure for Sexual crimes including a 63% increase from 2014, in people proceeded against for rape and attempted rape … Continue reading Scotland’s media ignore massive increase in criminal convictions including a 103% increase in rape convictions only two years after pandemic constraints end

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Herald lies about new house building as Scotland builds more than twice as many, per head, as Labour Wales over decades

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By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald, today, reads the above graph to say: Building of homes at lowest in decade amid crisis – Fears over affordable housing From Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update: New Housebuilding and Affordable Housing Supply to end September 2024, published yesterday, new starts are at the lowest in a decade but completions, actual building, is still 25% up on the lowest level in 2013. Not, of course in the Herald report, though easily found in the same document, Scotland’s leading position in the UK and regularly building twice as many as in Labour-run Wales: As for … Continue reading Herald lies about new house building as Scotland builds more than twice as many, per head, as Labour Wales over decades

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July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

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From BBC UK today: Police were unprepared for the scalebb of disorder that broke out in part of the UK following the Southport knife attacks, a police watchdog has found. Police intelligence did not predict the “rising tide of violent disorder well enough”, according to the review of their response to the worst UK unrest in more than a decade. Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke praised officers for their “immense bravery and personal sacrifice” while protecting the public. But he warned it was “clear” that police had missed opportunities to prepare for widespread disorder, and that earlier incidents involving … Continue reading July riots – After 17 years without Labour, only Police Scotland had the ‘formidable resources’ to be able to help other forces deal with ‘extreme nationalists’

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After 14 years of Tory rule in England and 17 of SNP rule in Scotland, 22 times as many properties at risk of flooding….in England, of course

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Independent and others, today, a warning that 6.3 million homes and businesses in England are at serious risk of flooding. According to Sepa, the figure in Scotland is 284 000: https://www.sepa.org.uk/environment/water/flooding/flood-risk-management-plans/#:~:text=Flood%20risk%20management%20plans%20are,as%20at%20risk%20of%20flooding. Crudely, 22.2 times as many, but with 10 times the population, all things being equal, you might expect there to be around 2.8 million homes and businesses at risk of flooding in England but it’s 6.3, on the way to three times as many. Why might this be? As far back as 2006, researchers at the English College of Estates Management, whose patron was … Continue reading After 14 years of Tory rule in England and 17 of SNP rule in Scotland, 22 times as many properties at risk of flooding….in England, of course

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As BBC Scotland report today on a Motherwell to Murcia drug ‘baron’ last active 4 years ago, here is the real and present threat in your town they dare not mention

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For the full story, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=county For the full story, click on: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/?s=county Above, 9 reports in November 2024. Below the story going back for 5 years: BBC Scotland and ‘County Lines’ drug gangs – now 5 years of silence to protect the Union I have an alert for ‘County Lines’ and every day I see reports from BBC UK, BBC England and from BBC regions across the country – BBC Devon (today), BBC Cumbria (last week). I never, ever, see anything from BBC Scotland despite regular reports in the ‘Scottish’ tabloids and on regional news media websites. In … Continue reading As BBC Scotland report today on a Motherwell to Murcia drug ‘baron’ last active 4 years ago, here is the real and present threat in your town they dare not mention

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Scottish Labour’s police officers leaving ‘surge’ is both suspicious and actually a ‘dribble’ of less than 1%

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By Professor John Robertson OBA As of March 31, 2024, there were 16,356 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in Scotland.1 According to the Herald, In 2023, 257 left to take up a new job, education or for personal reasons. That is according to data published in freedom of information requests obtained by Scottish Labour. However, that figure is compared to 173 in 2019 – an increase of 49% in five years.2 Notice, they’re not telling us if there a constant trend upward from 2019? Is that because, annoyingly for Scottish Labour, it was lower in 2023 than it 2022? If there was a … Continue reading Scottish Labour’s police officers leaving ‘surge’ is both suspicious and actually a ‘dribble’ of less than 1%

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Children vanish out of schools in England 41 times more often than in Scotland – Herald must tackle vanishing of decent journalism

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In the Herald today, from Dani Garavelli: SNP must tackle the disturbing ‘vanishing’ of pupils from Scotland’s classrooms Not in the Herald today: From the Children’s Commissioner for England, in the wake of the Sara Sharif murder case: A register of children not in school to be implemented urgently. This must include children who are home educated and be introduced via legislation as a matter of urgency, backed by the resource to effectively implement and monitor it. https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/resource/deaths-of-children-in-need/ Because of the above lack of record-keeping, there is only an estimate of how many children are in home education, in England – 92 000.  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c704x7e5515o#:~:text=Home%20education%20register,by%20about%2011%2C000%20on%202022. In Scotland, the known, … Continue reading Children vanish out of schools in England 41 times more often than in Scotland – Herald must tackle vanishing of decent journalism

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Many in Scotland will soon wish that they had voted YES in 2014

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By Anonymous I think this “notion” on the SNP increasing their lead over Labour in a succession of polls may just continue. Labour , since taking power in July, then announced measures that they declared would be “painful” for many of us , but the purpose behind these “painful” actions were apparently, to implement a plan for them , as a government, to then deliver long term growth. So as many now suffer for what Labour have stated is for the ‘greater’ good i.e. Growth , then we hear today that the: “UK economy unexpectedly shrinks for second month in a row“ “Official figures showed a 0.1% drop, despite expectations that … Continue reading Many in Scotland will soon wish that they had voted YES in 2014

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A retired Scottish head teacher explains why England has no idea where many of its children are or what they are doing

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By Alasdair Macdonald The reason why there are so many children in England out of school is because local authorities now have very little to do with the management of schools. Academy trusts now run a high proportion of schools and many of such trusts have a rather cavalier attitude towards exclusion from school, particularly of children from materially poor backgrounds and those with social and behavioural difficulties. In Scotland, where schools are still run by Councils (c96%), the names of pupils excluded from school or missing from school are reported to Social Work via Councils and alternative provision can … Continue reading A retired Scottish head teacher explains why England has no idea where many of its children are or what they are doing

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Labour voters’ support for the two-child benefit cap is wrong

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Feed all my children? On my wife’s income from my mother’s poverty pay business, I can afford to pay school fees as well. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images) Thanks to JR for alerting me to this. From the Spectator, yesterday: A Norstat poll for The Sunday Times revealed that 34 per cent of Labour voters in Scotland oppose John Swinney’s move to abolish the two-child cap, while only 31 per cent support its reversal. Despite the Scottish Greens blasting the Conservative policy as ‘morally bankrupt’, the party’s voters were the biggest proponents of the policy with only a quarter of the … Continue reading Labour voters’ support for the two-child benefit cap is wrong