Tag: scotland

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In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

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Professor John Robertson OBA Headlining on BBC Breakfast this morning and on their website, the above, and this: Nurses are expected to reject their pay award in England this week, raising the possibility of strikes later in the year, the BBC understands. The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has been holding a consultative vote on their 3.6% pay rise, previously describing it as “grotesque” to award nurses a lower increase than doctors, teachers, prison officers and the armed forces. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ge4905eq7o The Scottish Government has already agreed a 4.25% deal for this year, for nurses and midwives.  https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-staff-pay/ Scotland’s media will no doubt portray this … Continue reading In Day 4 of their Junior Doctor strike an NHS England nurse strike looms – How Scottish Government enabled higher pay deal for already better-paid Scottish nurses to once more prevent the loss of tens of thousands of appointments and to save thousands of lives

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For those who still maintain it was a voluntary union – the suffocation of Scotland’s independence movement in 1746

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Professor John Robertson OBA The suffocating, intense domination of Scotland’s communities by British Army forces after Culloden is often understated by historians but it’s hard to see the above as other than a brutal and thorough suppression of any surviving independence movement. Further, the myth developed after 1746 and perpetuated for the purposes of indoctrination as late as my own historical education in the 1960s, that the ‘Jacobite’ rebellions were entirely Monarchist and Catholic rebellions rather than a wider pro-independence struggle has been fully debunked by, for example, Murray Pittock of Glasgow University: The Myth of the Jacobite Clans was … Continue reading For those who still maintain it was a voluntary union – the suffocation of Scotland’s independence movement in 1746

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Donald – Scotland is not bad at all already and a damn sight safer too

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The homicide rate in Scotland? 0.8 per 100 000. The rate in the USA, 7.2 times higher! Professor John Robertson OBA Suffice to say, by contrast, sometimes stark, with England after decades of Tory/Labour rule, Wales after decades of Labour rule, Scotland has: With time, I could think of more. Ah, drug deaths! Falling but stalling, despite target beating treatment programmes, because of a recent surge of cheap, powerful, new drugs into towns and villages from English County Lines gangs. For those requiring a short cut to the evidence, try: What about the USA? Do I need to? Far higher … Continue reading Donald – Scotland is not bad at all already and a damn sight safer too

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‘An intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist or be expressed’ – How the insights of a Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’ may predict a disturbing future for the mental state of Scottish Labour politicians and for its followers

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Professor John Robertson OBA In 1975, in my first year at Stirling University, I was introduced to the revolutionary ideas of the Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’, R D Laing. I was struck by the clarity and coherence of Laing’s central thesis in ‘The Divided Self’: A central tenet of Laing’s thesis is the concept of the “divided self.” He proposed that individuals under severe duress, particularly within emotionally oppressive or manipulative family environments, might develop a profound split between their “true self” and a “false self.” The false self emerges as a protective mechanism, a way to conform to external expectations or … Continue reading ‘An intolerable reality where their authentic self cannot fully exist or be expressed’ – How the insights of a Scottish ‘anti-psychiatrist’ may predict a disturbing future for the mental state of Scottish Labour politicians and for its followers

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Talking of water

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Liz S Talking of water…..as in ‘uisge beatha’ the ‘water of life’……this below was on the UK Politics page but when you click onto the story it takes you to the Asia page of the BBC website. “India PM Modi in UK to sign ‘landmark’ trade deal with Starmer” “India and Britain are set to sign a free trade deal to cut tariffs on goods and increase market access for the two countries”. “India will lower tariffs on British whisky, gin and other drinks as well as cars. The UK in turn will import more of India’s textiles, gemstones and other goods”. At last someone has … Continue reading Talking of water

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Independent Water Commission for England and Wales makes multiple, substantive and favourably framed references to Scotland

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By stewartb The water industry is the news again. On July 21,  the ‘Independent Water Commission Final Report’ (aka the Cunliffe report) was published. Given it dodged the issue of nationalisation – incurring the wrath of some – it’s perhaps no surprise that the water industry in Scotland is also in the news. This is a result of a British Labour Party MP for an Edinburgh constituency plus a Labour minister making statements to the media that talk down Scotland. Their purpose – distraction and to diminish public confidence in Scottish Water and thus public ownership of this essential for … Continue reading Independent Water Commission for England and Wales makes multiple, substantive and favourably framed references to Scotland

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There will be no race riots in Scotland this summer

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Professor John Robertson OBA The UK media, above, are clear in their uncritical acceptance of the PM and the Deputy PM’s worries that riots will spread across the ‘UK’ again this summer. There were none in Scotland last year and the evidence remains to suggest there will be none again this year, no matter how hard the ‘Scottish’ media try to find something similar. What really happened and why did it not happen in Scotland? From BBC Scotland on 9 August 2024, in what must be an unauthorised ‘Scotland is the best‘ report by a junior reporter not yet ‘inducted‘: Police Scotland … Continue reading There will be no race riots in Scotland this summer

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English expert says – “I would say Scotland does a better job [of monitoring water quality] than England does.” 

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Professor John Robertson OBA What will look bad at first sight, above and in much media coverage a the time, for some, is a classic example of misleading reporting of percentages. Scotland has 18 743 km of coastline compared to England’s 8 982, only one-tenth of the population and, crucially far fewer areas requiring monitoring. Dr Simon Boxall of Southampton University, a leading expert on water quality, explained this in the National, in August 2022: An overview of the most obvious data on bathing water quality superficially appears to show Scotland actually has poorer-quality bathing spots than England. But this … Continue reading English expert says – “I would say Scotland does a better job [of monitoring water quality] than England does.” 

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Latest poll – Reform UK and its alien values to face ‘impenetrable SNP wall’ in Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA From GB News yesterday, the above and: Reform UK’s hopes of generating a tartan tidal wave have been handed a damning verdict as a pollster has told GB News that the party’s values do not fully resonate with Scottish voters. According to a recent MRP poll by think tank More in Common, the SNP is set to make a major comeback in the next general election, returning to 2019 levels of strength and bagging 41 of the 57 seats available in Scotland. When asked whether Scots think Reform UK aligns with their values, George Buchan, founder … Continue reading Latest poll – Reform UK and its alien values to face ‘impenetrable SNP wall’ in Scotland

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Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts expect in return?

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Liz S Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts to a political party expect in return ? Like say for example a Private Healthcare company ? As in one who donates to a Shadow Health Secretary , who is a member of the UK official opposition party , where it is , via polling, anticipated that they as the official opposition party are likely to win the next UK GE. Take a look at the UK Parliament website under various Labour MP’s names and see under their ‘Registered interests’ who has donated to … Continue reading Where political parties are open to accepting donations from various sources, the question is , what do those who donate large amounts expect in return?