Tag: politics

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Childcare – BBC Scotland’s attempts to hide SNP achievements while praising Labour ambitions

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By Brenda Robb Some of you hardier souls might remember Radio Scotland’s focus on childcare a couple of weeks ago. They were asking why Scotland wasn’t offering the same as England, inviting parents to share how disappointed/let down/betrayed they felt and even organised a Better Call Kaye phone-in to amplify the above messaging. This was of course backed up by the following article on the BBC Scotland webpage  (www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7nyxvy50ro) and we also had an attempt at a UK wide comparison of provision here (www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-62036045). The comparison article jumps between what England currently provides and what it hopes to do, nods to … Continue reading Childcare – BBC Scotland’s attempts to hide SNP achievements while praising Labour ambitions

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The Times and Top Poser Doctor on NHS Scotland ‘crisis’- shorter waits on every life-saving measure except the non-life-saving one that cost NHS England £3.5bn to clear on behalf of Tory election campaign

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks once more to AR for alerting me to this. The Times today has: Revealed: true extent of Scotland hospital waiting times scandal – Number of patients waiting more than 104 weeks for treatment in Scottish hospitals is almost 100 times higher than in England. As NHS bosses in England have focused on reducing long waits, numbers in Scotland have only grown. It’s true, for those waiting more than 2 years for, obviously, non-life-threatening procedures, the list in England has been slashed but has not in NHS Scotland. Dr Iain Kennedy, chairman of the British Medical … Continue reading The Times and Top Poser Doctor on NHS Scotland ‘crisis’- shorter waits on every life-saving measure except the non-life-saving one that cost NHS England £3.5bn to clear on behalf of Tory election campaign

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Researchers prove that Scotland’s drug death surge was the simple and tragic consequence of the UK Conservative Government’s brutal austerity strategy from 2012 to 2019

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Professor John Robertson OBA Drug deaths have always been more prevalent in poorer communities. In Scotland, half of all drug deaths are from among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods.1 According to research recently published by David Walsh and Gerry McCartney2, of Glasgow University, drug deaths amongst the most deprived communities in Scotland had begun to climb from around 2003 to 2009, under New Labour and then again, but far more dramatically, from around 2012 to 2019 under the Conservative Government. Amongst the least deprived, drug deaths were largely unaffected by austerity policies such as, of course, reduced or withdrawn benefits but among … Continue reading Researchers prove that Scotland’s drug death surge was the simple and tragic consequence of the UK Conservative Government’s brutal austerity strategy from 2012 to 2019

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Did the Sunday Times hide around 60% support for independence by dramatically reducing the number of 2014 Yes voters in their poll sample from 387 down to only 278

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The Norstat poll for the Sunday Times on 6 December 2024, on a future second referendum on Scottish independence had: Yes 54% No 46% A healthy 8% lead, well up on a tie five days earlier and a 3% lead for No on 22 August. However, as in most polls on this question, the pollsters had adjusted, ‘weighted’, their sample to reflect several factors such as gender, age, socio-economic class, country of birth and voting patterns in the 2024 general election, the 2021 Scottish election, the 2016 EU referendum and the 2014 independence referendum. This weighting is designed entirely legitimately, … Continue reading Did the Sunday Times hide around 60% support for independence by dramatically reducing the number of 2014 Yes voters in their poll sample from 387 down to only 278

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Police Scotland figures show 20% decline in drug deaths after peaking in 2020 and flattening until this year despite County Lines gangs plague

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Professor John Robertson OBA From the Scottish Government’s Suspected drug deaths in Scotland, published today: This is the first clearly falling trend on record, with the quarterly level varying little in the years before that, since the peak of 413 in Q2 2020. The totals for Q1 – Q3 only: Annual variations count for little, mean little, but trends over 5 years tell you what is really happening and, based on police observations of mortality scenes (presence of drug abuse material), the trend in Scotland is clearly down, 20% in 5 years. These data come from Police Scotland management information to provide … Continue reading Police Scotland figures show 20% decline in drug deaths after peaking in 2020 and flattening until this year despite County Lines gangs plague

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Feeling safe in Scottish schools – How BBC and Reform Scotland’s research director cannot read OECD research on that showing 90% do

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS See all that stuff up there? That’s real that is, not like that fake Reverend Stu Campbell or, or Doctor Feelgood…..or, Professor Longhair…. So, trust me, I can read research. I know you can too but the Research Director at Jack McConnell’s education ‘thinktank’ and the folk at BBC Scotland, clearly can’t or won’t. Who is she? This woman: Why? They had a woman on this morning to say her wean did not go to school because she ‘doesn’t feel safe’ there. I’m sure that’s true but is that enough data to … Continue reading Feeling safe in Scottish schools – How BBC and Reform Scotland’s research director cannot read OECD research on that showing 90% do

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SHOCK as former head of research for Scottish Conservatives uses Latin wrongly

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS In researching the previous post on school absences and the probable lack of reliable data there are for any comment on them, I noticed ‘Why Educational Data Matters’ from Reform Scotland – Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Chair), Chris Deerin (Director) and Alison Payne (Research Director!). Now, I know there’s debate and, in some specialised scientific areas, it might be acceptable, but: The grammatically correct approach is ‘data are’, because the word ‘data’ is the plural of the latin word ‘datum’. https://digitalblog.ons.gov.uk/2016/12/08/data-is-versus-data-are/ Reform Scotland like to style themselves as a thinktank with expertise in education, … Continue reading SHOCK as former head of research for Scottish Conservatives uses Latin wrongly

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School Absences – Jack McConnell’s think tank does not think that well

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Professor John Robertson OBA, former Associate Dean (Quality Assurance) Faculty of Education, UWS BBC Scotland this morning is repeating a report of increased school absences in Scotland, from Reform Scotland – Lord McConnell of Glenscorrodale (Chair), Chris Deerin (Director) and Alison Payne (Research Director!). I can’t see this year’s version in full yet but last year: That’s according to research for a think tank. The Commission on School Reform says ministers must work with councils to reverse the trend. The Scottish government says it’s looking at challenges that influence attendance…..the figures are based on Freedom of Information requests from the Scottish local … Continue reading School Absences – Jack McConnell’s think tank does not think that well

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Imagine a Scottish ambulance service told A&E patients to ‘get themselves there’

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. From the Times today: People having a heart attack or a stroke are being asked to get themselves to hospital after dialling 999 in some parts of England, as surging sickness levels plunge the NHS into another winter crisis. The West Midlands Ambulance Service, which declared itself under “severe pressure” last week, confirmed a change to the script used by its 999 call handlers to suggest patients make their own way to hospital during periods of high demand. Six out of ten ambulance services in England were at their highest … Continue reading Imagine a Scottish ambulance service told A&E patients to ‘get themselves there’

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Supposedly top policing journal allows attempt to mislead on Scottish road deaths for political agenda

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Professor John Robertson OBA In Policing Insight on 6 December 2024: Inspectorate urges Police Scotland to commit more resources to roads policing amid rising fatalities by Sarah Gibbons, former Communication Manager for the Police Superintendents’ Association of England and Wales.  Under the post, my comment: This is an irresponsibly inaccurate headline. Road fatalities in Scotland are not rising at all but falling. According to the latest statistics from Transport Scotland (29 May 2024), they fell by 10% and specifically cyclist deaths fell by 16%, from 2022 to 2023. All read deaths have plummeted year on year from a peak of 892 in … Continue reading Supposedly top policing journal allows attempt to mislead on Scottish road deaths for political agenda