Tag: scotland

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First Minister’s major speech to STUC ignored

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Professor John Robertson OBA First Minister John Swinney’s major speech to the STUC today is being largely ignored. BBC Scotland fully covers all of Labour Leader, Ana Sarwar’s speeches including those to the modestly-attended party conferences. Swinney’s speech is wide ranging, optimistic and challenging on key issues such as the future of Grangemouth, Dundee University, energy, cost of living and poverty, yet the broadcasters and the so-called trusted press fail in their duty to report. He begins: It’s a pleasure to be here today to address the STUC Congress and particularly to be able to do that for the first … Continue reading First Minister’s major speech to STUC ignored

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Starmer’s celebratory video for his (real) country’s patron saint, that is England

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By Liz S Well here we are again , another St George’s day and another yearly ‘special’ celebratory video from the now, checks notes, UK PM , Sir Keir Starmer. Prior to him becoming the new UK PM, as in when he was merely the official opposition UK leader , Keir used to also do a ‘special’ celebratory video for his (real) country’s Patron saint, that is England. Scotland & Wales are not given the same ‘special’ celebratory video from Sir Keir the UK PM as that job is delegated to the minions (understudies) in the respective two English colonies, i.e. Scotland & Wales via the respective Labour branch office managers. … Continue reading Starmer’s celebratory video for his (real) country’s patron saint, that is England

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Will Scottish Labour MPs vote against Starmer’s surrender of fishing rights for new EU arms deal?

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Sir Keir Starmer is close to striking a major deal with the EU that would let British arms companies sell billions of pounds of weapons to European allies, it has emerged.Under the agreement, UK companies would be able to bid for business under the bloc’s new €150 billion (£130 billion) defence fund. But the deal comes after the UK reportedly made major concessions to Brussels on EU access to Britain’s fishing waters, in what critics will likely see as a betrayal of Brexit. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/starmer-eu-brexit-reset-defence-fishing-b2737088.html Note the disinterested ‘critics will likely see’ from ‘liberal’, metropolitan media outlet. How much does this matter to Scotland? Above, the big picture of … Continue reading Will Scottish Labour MPs vote against Starmer’s surrender of fishing rights for new EU arms deal?

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Yes, yes, but when you look at the facts globally, CalMac is the best deal for passengers in the world

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Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald today struggling to keep the flow of bad news on ferries going, ignores the wider facts: Has anyone in the Scottish media looked at any other ferry services in other parts which might be exemplars of how to do things? They haven’t? Thought so. Too tired? Here, I’ll do it. First, Calmac has 33 vessels in service, with 5 new ones imminent, for 5.3 million passengers and ticket prices kept low by the biggest government subsidies in the world. In sharp contrast: New Zealand – 4 cases of running aground, drifting toward rocks and hitting … Continue reading Yes, yes, but when you look at the facts globally, CalMac is the best deal for passengers in the world

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BBC documentary links increase in drug-related hospital stays after three years of falling to surge in activity by County Lines drug gangs from England

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Professor John Robertson OBA This most recent increase in drug-related hospital stay rates, after three years of falling, has been jumped on by the likes of Jackie Baillie as evidence that the much vaunted Naloxone opioid overdose reversal programme, introduced by the SNP, before any other country in Europe, is not so impressive after all. What Baillie, no one really, has considered is another possible and plausible cause – increased and cheaper supply of more powerful and deadly opioids such as fentanyl into rural areas where there is less familiarity with them. In a documentary made for BBC Scotland and BBC 2 by independent … Continue reading BBC documentary links increase in drug-related hospital stays after three years of falling to surge in activity by County Lines drug gangs from England

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Now conveniently forgotten about by media and settlers – How the Scottish Government transformed the economies of Scotland’s island communities

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Professor John Robertson OBA Many thanks to Legerwood for reminding us of this The above chart from the Evaluation of Road Equivalent Tariff [RET] on the Clyde and Hebridean Network Prepared for Transport Scotland March 2020 reveals a massive increase in ferry usage to the islands with a consequent economic boost, but increasing costs for the taxpayer in lost revenue. The comparison is based on ticket sales only and takes no account of retail revenue, which is likely to have increased as a result of the increased numbers of passengers. What is the RET? In October 2008, Transport Scotland introduced … Continue reading Now conveniently forgotten about by media and settlers – How the Scottish Government transformed the economies of Scotland’s island communities

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South Uist islanders get a free lift to Oban cutting their travel time and effort to Glasgow but John Daniel Peteranna is still not happy and tells a big fat lie about the extra crossing time, unchecked by BBC Scotland

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Professor John Robertson OBA Thanks to Bob Lamont for alerting me to this. From BBC Scotland today: South Uist has been under particular pressure recently as state-owned ferry operator CalMac struggles with a shortage of ships while it awaits replacements for its ageing fleet. Winter maintenance has uncovered new problems with several vessels, forcing CalMac to rejig its schedules and move ferries onto different routes. Instead of sailing to Mallaig, it travels to Oban, 85 miles away from the normal scheduled port, which adds more than four hours to the crossing time. John Daniel Peteranna, from the South Uist Business … Continue reading South Uist islanders get a free lift to Oban cutting their travel time and effort to Glasgow but John Daniel Peteranna is still not happy and tells a big fat lie about the extra crossing time, unchecked by BBC Scotland

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The deep irony of BBC Scotland talking about ‘hidden’ waiting lists when they routinely hide target-beating and lists much shorter than elsewhere in the UK

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC Scotland today, based on a feed from one psychiatrist and no actual figures, the above tasteless image and unsubstantiated headline. Let me be clear, as always, I’m not doubting the opinion of the medic here, but challenging the politicising of the unconfirmed data by BBC Scotland with a view to, always, implying failure by the Scottish, SNP, Government. In this report, BBC Scotland do credit the meeting of targets for children and adolescent’s mental heath care last month but when the data were first published on 4 March 2025, were quick to move on … Continue reading The deep irony of BBC Scotland talking about ‘hidden’ waiting lists when they routinely hide target-beating and lists much shorter than elsewhere in the UK

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Westminster MP report and BBC UK suggests ‘unprepared police’ and summer riots ‘across the country’, hiding the Scottish data and why they are different

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Professor John Robertson OBA From BBC UK today: Police forces were in several cases unprepared for the level of violence that broke out in riots after the murder of three children in Southport last summer, a report by MPs has found. Acknowledging this was the worst disorder the country had seen since 2011, MPs said police forces should have “better anticipated the risk of disorder in general” following an initial instance of disorder in Southport. Officers across the country worked “tirelessly”, the report said, but forces being unable to act proactively left them exposed. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20zrjr5n4ro In the full House of … Continue reading Westminster MP report and BBC UK suggests ‘unprepared police’ and summer riots ‘across the country’, hiding the Scottish data and why they are different

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SNP 1 and 2? A bold and bald campaign

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Professor John Robertson OBA How and why did we manage to get an overall majority in 2011? How might we shape future campaigns to recreate this result? Some ideas for debate: The campaign Research by the London School of Economics (LSE), in 2011, concluded that this was ‘an extraordinary result in an ‘ordinary’ election.’ By this, they mean that the data from 4 000 eligible voters in the Scottish Election Study did not reflect a surge in support for independence but, rather a desire to reward the SNP for effective government from 2007 to 2011. This is echoed today in … Continue reading SNP 1 and 2? A bold and bald campaign