Tag: politics

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‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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The BBC‘s Mission, from Copy of Royal Charter for the continuance of the British Broadcasting Corporation Presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport by Command of Her Majesty December 2016: The BBC’s Mission The Mission of the BBC is to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/charter This is a royal charter, approved by Parliament giving the BBC, including BBC Scotland, a clear requirement to inform the public on matters affecting their lives, such as drug … Continue reading ‘The most heinous if not criminal failure of the media in general and public broadcasters in particular to inform the public in Scotland of the dangers these gangs represent

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As ‘Quademic’ looms NHS Scotland has 37% more beds, 33% more nurses, 27% more GPs and cleaner hospitals

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Professor John Robertson OBA On BBC Breakfast, this morning, we hear that a ‘Quademic‘ is looming in England’s hospitals as cases of Flu, Covid, Norovirus and RSV and that out of 100 000 beds, 95 000 are already occupied. BBC Scotland does not have this story. Perhaps that’s because: First, there are 13 695 hospital beds in Scotland, 3 695 more than you’d expect, per head, more than a third more.1 Second, there are 12 nurses per 1 000 people in Scotland but only 9 in the UK.2 Third, Scotland has 27.3% more GPs than England.3,4 Fourth, cleaner hospitals as … Continue reading As ‘Quademic’ looms NHS Scotland has 37% more beds, 33% more nurses, 27% more GPs and cleaner hospitals

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‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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That’s the Express headline above. BBC Scotland‘s website has no coverage, concentrating on whether police officers can be bearded but in the BBC Breakfast insert this morning they did say ‘County Lines‘ for the first time. That’s progress I suppose. The Express also has: Separately, six groups involved in county lines drugs and organised crime in Aberdeen have been targeted by police since June in a joint operation with the Met Police in London. Class A drugs, including crack cocaine and heroin, were being moved between London, Liverpool and Hertfordshire to addresses in Aberdeen, prompting 63 arrests in connection with … Continue reading ‘County Lines crackdown after cops smash English gang moving drugs to Aberdeen’

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SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the National minutes ago: 2:40pm BREAKING: The SNP will axe the UK Government’s controversial two-child benefit cap for thousands of Scots. Finance Secretary Shona Robison will make the announcement in her Holyrood Budget speech in just a matter of minutes, according to The Scottish Sun.  This would be a big move, and one that will put Anas Sarwar and Scottish Labour in a tricky position …https://www.thenational.scot/news/24770245.scottish-budget-live-snp-set-tax-spending-plans/?ref=ebbn&nid=1457&u=373de6c7573215d01eab2a2993b269b0&date=041224 At 15:25 she did it! Why is this a major moment in history? From the London School of Economics in September 2023 Support Scots Independent, Scotland’s oldest pro-independence newspaper and host … Continue reading SNP to reverse Labour’s cruel two child benefit cap and push on to eradicate child poverty for all of us

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Welsh students punished again by tuition fee hike, to leave them in debt more than twice that in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to AR for alerting me to this: Today from BBC Wales: University fees in Wales are set to rise to £9,535 a year – nearly a £300 increase – from September 2025. The Welsh government announcement brings tuition costs in Wales in line with a hike in fees already announced by the UK government for universities in England. It is the second increase in charges for Welsh courses within a year, after the maximum charge went up from £9000 to £9250 from September 2024. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yw97y9xnwo?s=03 Things were already bad for students in Wales, under Labour: Average student debt … Continue reading Welsh students punished again by tuition fee hike, to leave them in debt more than twice that in Scotland

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Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2023-24, published today, we can see that there were only 5 868 prisoners in 2000 but by 2008, as the SNP minority government took over, there were 7827, a 34% increase in only 8 years. 17 years later in 2024, there 7 856.1 In 2005, the Guardian could report: A new report claims Scotland has a higher murder rate than America. The UN says it’s the ‘most violent place in the developed world’.2 By 2024, Scotland has the lowest violent crime levels in the UK3. Sounds like new prisons are not the … Continue reading Scotland’s prison population surged under Labour as they built too few new spaces but has stabilised since SNP took charge

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Disgraceful journalism to exploit homelessness and rough-sleeping in the country with by far the least

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The Herald today has this nasty, exploitative image to misrepresent the nature of homelessness for children in Scotland. A child sleeping rough or begging on the streets would be picked up and taken to a safe place. Some facts about homelessness in the UK they don’t want you to know: 1 Core Homelessness lowest in Scotland ‘Core homelessness’ – a concept which captures the most severe and immediate forms of homelessness – is estimated to have stood at 14,250 households on a given night in Scotland in 2019, having been relatively stable over the preceding seven years. Rates of core homelessness are substantially lower in Scotland (0.57% of households) than in England (0.94%) … Continue reading Disgraceful journalism to exploit homelessness and rough-sleeping in the country with by far the least

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NHS Scotland’s stunning 98% completion rate as operations return steadily to pre-pandemic levels less than two years after the end of the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’

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By Professor John Robertson OBA Less than 2 years after the World Health Organisation declared an end to the Covid-19 pandemic on May 5 2023, and the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’ according to the United Nations Secretary General, with global economic collapse and longer-term health damage to millions, and Scotland’s Auditor General seems to have ignored the evidence to deny that NHS Scotland can and will survive while holding to the principles we all value deeply. The evidence which is easily available, making you wonder at his political agenda here, includes this: From Public Health Scotland, the above graph … Continue reading NHS Scotland’s stunning 98% completion rate as operations return steadily to pre-pandemic levels less than two years after the end of the ‘Greatest test since World War Two’

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Cap on UK political donations to limit foreign influence would help SNP limit ‘foreign’ influence too

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From the Guardian today: Caps on political donations are being considered by ministers as part of sweeping reforms to the UK electoral system. Labour is examining proposals to limit how much individuals and companies can donate to political parties as part of an effort to tighten the rules around money in UK politics. In a report to be published in the coming weeks, the Institute for Public Policy Research will recommend that ministers limit individual and corporate donations to political parties to £100,000 a year. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/dec/02/government-may-cap-uk-political-donations-to-limit-foreign-influence If implemented, the above move would be driven by Labour, Con and Lib Dem anxiety … Continue reading Cap on UK political donations to limit foreign influence would help SNP limit ‘foreign’ influence too

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Police Scotland Freedom of Information request regarding the unthinkable reveals no cases of it

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I monitor Police Scotland’s Disclosure Log daily for anything that might be of interest. At first, I thought it best to pass this one by, but then wondered why indulge in the same censorship as BBC Scotland who, of course, will not be reporting this. From Reference: 24-2764 – Crime stats – Female Genital Mutilation – 2000 TD, published yesterday: A search of our crime recording system for Female Genital Mutilation offences shows there was 1 recorded offence in 2019, 2 recorded and 2 detected offences in 2020 and 1 recorded offence in 2022. All statistics are provisional and should … Continue reading Police Scotland Freedom of Information request regarding the unthinkable reveals no cases of it