BBC Debate Night host shamefully tries to suggest Scottish Child Payment is ‘just sticking plaster’ when it is ‘turning Scotland into a European pioneer in reducing child deprivation’

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON In a Debate Night session in Ayr, after a deeply ill-informed debate on GP access, totally unaware of Scotland’s far better ratio with patients, the far better funding of GPs and lower workload of GPs in Scotland, we witnessed an even more infuriating discussion of poverty where charity reps once more seem prepared to shoot themselves in the foot by failing to recognise and applaud the SNP Government’s achievements. I was very close to chucking something at the … Continue reading BBC Debate Night host shamefully tries to suggest Scottish Child Payment is ‘just sticking plaster’ when it is ‘turning Scotland into a European pioneer in reducing child deprivation’

Murder cases fall again to 22% lower than pre-pandemic and well below half that under Labour in 2007

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON BBC Scotland yesterday respond to the latest crime statistics, with: Crimes reported to police in Scotland rose by 3% last year, according to new government data. The crimes that increased the most , include domestic abuse incidents (which rose by 25% between 2024-25), indecent communications (21%), indecent photos of children (20%) and shoplifting (15%). Reports of rape and attempted rape, fire-raising, supply of drugs and dangerous and careless driving also increased. Categories of crime which have decreased include housebreaking (down … Continue reading Murder cases fall again to 22% lower than pre-pandemic and well below half that under Labour in 2007

Why we should not get carried away with the latest Times MRP poll predicting a ‘stunning’ majority for the SNP

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON As soon as I saw this Times piece above, I’m sorry to say, I immediately had serious reservations. I hope I’m wrong but, straight off, I thought: However, let’s concentrate on the scientific, objective, reservation based on sampling. Here’s a thorough AI response to: You note – ‘Accuracy depends heavily on sample quality and size.’ Might this be a particular concern regarding this latest poll on the Scottish Holyrood election coming up Yes, sample quality and size can … Continue reading Why we should not get carried away with the latest Times MRP poll predicting a ‘stunning’ majority for the SNP

Scotland’s first Reform UK defecator must be hoping his own bill fails

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC Scotland Politics today: MSPs are to decide whether to give voters the power to effectively sack them. Holyrood parliamentarians automatically lose their seat if they are given a custodial sentence of 12 months or more. But unlike at Westminster, where MPs can be removed by local voters, there is no recall mechanism in the Scottish Parliament. Under a members’ bill tabled by Reform’s Graham Simpson, MSPs could be recalled if they are either suspended from Holyrood … Continue reading Scotland’s first Reform UK defecator must be hoping his own bill fails

As opposition parties claim ‘mismanagement’ of prisons in Scotland how Lammy released 4 times as many prisoners by error, per head, than in Scotland and at least 12 times as many in November

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Alerted by the above from MSM Monitor, I thought I’d find out the answer to those in Scotland who will insist – “Aye it’s just as f*****g bad here, pal!” It’s not, by no means. First, England, with sources: MoJ Partial Data (April 1–October 31, 2025): 91 releases in error, equivalent to ~3 per week. Disclosed by Justice Secretary David Lammy in parliamentary statements and published via MoJ. Recent Updates (November 1–December 2, 2025): 12 additional releases, with 2 still at … Continue reading As opposition parties claim ‘mismanagement’ of prisons in Scotland how Lammy released 4 times as many prisoners by error, per head, than in Scotland and at least 12 times as many in November

On a bridge too far in a tank and with a splitting headache

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By Liz S “Labour Government promises” Aye don’t they just……..their only problem being that they then fail to deliver. An SNP investigation has revealed Starmer’s failed Brit card scheme cost the public almost £1 million – despite never being implemented. That reminds me of this………… The feasibility study into Boris Johnson’s bridge/tunnel connecting Scotland and Northern Ireland that proved to be , yet (another) flawed vanity project by Johnson , to then be considered as being totally unfeasible…….. As a feasibility study it … Continue reading On a bridge too far in a tank and with a splitting headache

No Royal in the future will be heard “purring down the line” over Scotland

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above.Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON By Liz S A huge factor in the flawed part of Gordon Brown’s past ‘plot’ to encourage Prince William to help in persuading (gullible) Scots to stay within their UK, as in William the future heir to the English Throne (if , that is, it, as an English throne, still exists in the future) . Remember when it was reported in 2021 that Gordon Brown met with Prince William at Holyrood palace. The BBC reported that “The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have held a private meeting … Continue reading No Royal in the future will be heard “purring down the line” over Scotland

Healthy live expectancy falls across Scotland but it might have been even worse

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON From BBC Scotland today, the above and: People in Scotland are spending a greater proportion of their life in poor health than in previous years, new figures from the National Records of Scotland (NRS), external show. The latest figures for the 2022 to 2024 period shows healthy life expectancy is now 59.1 years for men and 59.4 years for women. Healthy life expectancy, which is the number of years a person can expect to live in good health, has been … Continue reading Healthy live expectancy falls across Scotland but it might have been even worse

How can there be an affordable housing ‘crisis’ in Scotland when we beat the building target and Labour just give up in England?

Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Or direct bank transfer at Sort Code 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Name – JOHN ROBERTSON Under a tasteless example of a poverty porn photograph of a street beggar, the Guardian editorial has: Rough sleeping in Scotland has risen by 106% over the past three years. Record numbers of children are now living in temporary accommodation, official figures released this month show. In Glasgow, the city council leader warned last year that the authority had run out of temporary housing. This looks like a system approaching crisis point. The paradox is that Scotland has some of the … Continue reading How can there be an affordable housing ‘crisis’ in Scotland when we beat the building target and Labour just give up in England?

Supporting the Guardian if you are for Scottish Independence – an open letter to the editor

Katherine Viner, Editor, the Guardian, katharine.viner@guardian.co.uk Dear Katharine I’d really like to contribute to the Guardian but cannot because of the 12th September 2014 editorial, telling Scots to vote No in the referendum on independence, a few days later:  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/sep/12/guardian-view-scottish-independence In 1967, aged 16, starting Higher History classes in an industrial Scottish town, our teacher suggested we needed to start reading a serious newspaper, and on the following Sunday, I walked into town, had a look around and bought the Observer. I was stunned by its content. My parents took a tabloid, and I had no idea such rich, fascinating material … Continue reading Supporting the Guardian if you are for Scottish Independence – an open letter to the editor