Tag: politics

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Gary Smith and the GMB, Scottish Labour’s biggest supporters exposed again as bullies

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The head of Sir Keir Starmer’s union is embroiled in allegations of harassing and bullying women. Former senior officials claim the GMB – one of Labour’s biggest backers which boasts the Prime Minister among its 500,000-plus members – is a ‘vipers’ nest’, and workers’ subs are ‘used like confetti’ to fight complaints. General secretary Gary Smith, who endorsed Sir Keir for PM, was allowed to run for the role despite four counts of bullying and harassment against a female union rep being upheld in their entirety by an internal GMB investigation in 2020. This is not new. In April I wrote: In the … Continue reading Gary Smith and the GMB, Scottish Labour’s biggest supporters exposed again as bullies

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Labour Government leaves Wales ‘at mercy’ of storm and it seems not to care that much

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From the Guardian today: Communities ‘left at mercy’ of Storm Bert owing to poor readiness Welsh leaders say warnings and defences were inadequate – but government says it cannot protect ‘every single home and business’ Imagine the Scottish Government said ‘it cannot protect ‘every single home and business?’ Based on the evidence, the Scottish Government has been able to protect almost every home and business after 17 years. Here’s the evidence, apologies to regulars, from even two years ago: Despite 30 flood warnings and 7 severe flood warning on November 19 2022, Scotland’s media had no images or reports of … Continue reading Labour Government leaves Wales ‘at mercy’ of storm and it seems not to care that much

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BBC Scotland inadvertently reveal SNP success in new flood defences by not finding any ‘anger’ or ‘despair’ here

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC 1 today is headlining ‘anger’ and ‘despair’ across England and Wales as flood defences in areas long run by the Conservatives and Labour, fail to protect. Readers will remember how enthusiastically Reporting Scotland teams have visited flood victims in the past to get them to blame the Scottish Government for their problems. That sort of thing has really ebbed in recent years and today, BBC Scotland has nothing. They clearly can’t even one local to complain. SEPA has put flood warnings in place but nobody is reporting any bad news. You can be sure BBC Scotland … Continue reading BBC Scotland inadvertently reveal SNP success in new flood defences by not finding any ‘anger’ or ‘despair’ here

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Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

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By Professor John Robertson OBA That face! It’s the one a wee boy pulls when he’s caught out telling a porky. At First Minister’s Questions on 21 November 2024, Anas Sarwar theatrically suggested a crisis in housing and didn’t much like being told the truth. Here it is: Year after year, Scotland builds far more, 370 000 per head, affordable (really) housing than England Today, the Scottish Government published Affordable Housing Supply Programme: quarterly updates on approvals, site starts and completions for the year 2023/2024. I thought I’d compare this with the most recent data for England. There are doubts about just how affordable … Continue reading Sarwar pulls wee boy huffy face when confronted with uncomfortable facts on housing

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By Anonymous OMG will this never end. It’s a bloody constant with these Muppets. On the 20 October this same ‘Freelance writer’ wrote in the Times “Ferry fiasco is legacy of SNP-run state” so no bias there then from Alf (Garnett ? Ha Ha). You know the constant regurgitation of Ferries #BAD in Scotland as a story by the media does prove one thing. That is that they, the media, do not have a lot of topics to choose from which they can write negatively about in respect to the Scottish government , that is blatantly obvious if they, as a media, have to … Continue reading

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Othering is a constant tactic Labour choose to deploy,

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Anonymous It is unfortunate for both her and her party that she, Ms Baillie, as one who is ‘afflicted’ by excess weight , is then , in her role as Labour’s Health spokesperson, the one who communicates the message of: “Weight-loss jabs, alongside changes to diet and exercise, have the potential to be a game-changer in the fight against diabetes and cardiovascular disease“ Physician heal thyself or being a Labour MSP and Labour’s Health spokesperson keep telling others to do that which you yourself are obviously both failing to do or even attempting to do. Baillie delivering this message on weight is like an existing chain smoker being … Continue reading Othering is a constant tactic Labour choose to deploy,

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Will Audit Scotland ever get real and fully acknowledge the UK context in which Scotland is governed?

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By stewartb – a long read In recent times leading, broadly centrist, London-based think tanks and others have been arguing that the fiscal practices of Westminster/Whitehall governments have long been dysfunctional. Their damning consensus raises a crucial question: how do ‘dependent’ governments in Belfast, Cardiff and Edinburgh – constrained to operate within devolved settlements – manage their nations’ public finances and the resourcing of devolved public services in an optimal manner to meet national needs and wants? The relevance of this is brought to mind by the recent Audit Scotland report on the state of Scotland’s public finances in which … Continue reading Will Audit Scotland ever get real and fully acknowledge the UK context in which Scotland is governed?

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Why all three 3 Scottish tower block fires have not resulted in ‘towering infernos’ and why in England they seem to be missing the point

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By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today, the above, and: Far too many high and medium-rise buildings are still unsafe after the Grenfell disaster, with dangerous cladding remaining on at least 2,400 blocks, a housing minister has warned. Wajid Khan, a Labour peer and housing minister, said on Friday that remediation work had not started at approximately 50% of properties being monitored for their unsafe cladding. He told the House of Lords there is a need to “go further, faster” on 2,415 residential buildings over 11 metres in height in England. Figures show that of 4,834 buildings on the register 983 have started remediation, … Continue reading Why all three 3 Scottish tower block fires have not resulted in ‘towering infernos’ and why in England they seem to be missing the point

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NHS Scotland/Scottish Government to avoid ‘toxic staffing row splitting the NHS’ in England, with more training and better conditions

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Health this morning: Julia’s first four years as a physician associate [PA] was everything she hoped it would be. After working in the NHS for the best part of a decade in a non-patient facing role, she was delighted to be on the wards supporting doctors and the wider healthcare teams. “I loved the contact I had with patients, assessing them and playing a part in their care. I felt supported and part of a team.” That all changed about a year ago. “Suddenly we came under attack. Doctors in the radiology department started refusing … Continue reading NHS Scotland/Scottish Government to avoid ‘toxic staffing row splitting the NHS’ in England, with more training and better conditions

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Desperately promoting Sarwar

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By Anonymous All part of the media establishment’s quest to try and get Labour elected as the next Scottish (INO) government. The Herald knows full well that those people in Scotland who voted Labour in the GE did not vote FOR Labour but instead they voted AGAINST the Tories remaining as the UK government. So his , Sarwar’s, supposed ‘achievement’ in 37 Labour MP’s being elected in Scotland in the GE , was not anything to do with him ‘Changing’ the minds of many within Scotland , but instead it was some of the Scottish public making a wrong decision, in them allowing themselves to (yet … Continue reading Desperately promoting Sarwar