Tag: scotland

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SNP actions on destitution such as Scottish Child Payment reduce it to lowest level in UK

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 From Ending Destitution Together: Phase Two Delivery Plan, published yesterday: What is destitution? Destitution should be unthinkable in a modern Scotland. However, it remains a daily reality for many people who have moved here to work, study, join family, or seek sanctuary from violence and persecution. Nobody should be forced into destitution. People who are subject to the No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF) condition are members of our communities and we should be able to support them at times of crisis. The Ending … Continue reading SNP actions on destitution such as Scottish Child Payment reduce it to lowest level in UK

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Scotland does not leave care leavers alone at 18

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 In the Guardian yesterday, the above and: David’s death is one of a number examined in a landmark review into the deaths of more than 100 care leavers aged 18-24 in 2025. The review findings suggest the death rate of this cohort is about 3-4 times higher than the death rate of the general population. One-fifth of all these deaths occurred at age 18, with experts saying a “care cliff” means young people experience an “immense drop off in support” as they transition from being a … Continue reading Scotland does not leave care leavers alone at 18

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Independence cover-up: We would be rich

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 You Can’t Handle the Truth! The above image is quite the newspaper clipping. Don’t you think?  It tells us something very important about how Scotland was being presented to itself before the Scottish National Party came to power. The date is 30 November 2006. The SNP had not yet formed a Scottish Government. Alex Salmond had not yet become First Minister. The independence referendum was still almost a decade away. This was The Glasgow Herald reporting on revelations that … Continue reading Independence cover-up: We would be rich

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Newly created Mayors and far less powers for the Scottish government – That’s where you might live

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S “Far more probation officers and far less re-offending – that’s where you live, really” Also potentially “far more” newly created Mayors and “far less” powers for the Scottish government – “that’s where you live” , as in perhaps coming soon within Scotland under a Andy Burnham UK Premiership. BBC website politics section article dated 23 August 2026: (English) “Mayors to get powers to overrule local councils on planning decisions”. “Mayors across England will be given new powers to overrule local councils … Continue reading Newly created Mayors and far less powers for the Scottish government – That’s where you might live

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Exodus, Loquaciousness And Made-Up Numbers….in the Daily Record

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By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 ___________________________________________________________ Help Talking-up Scotland keep going. Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: MR JW ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 ___________________________________________________________ Wow! That Daily Record headline certainly gives the impression of a measurable exodus of Scots workers moving to England to “escape” SNP income tax. But it is a highly questionable — if not entirely misleading — statement to make. Where do these British tabloid newspapers pull their numbers from? That was a rhetorical question — just to preempt your answers. The latest published migration report from HMRC actually shows that Scotland has been a net recipient of … Continue reading Exodus, Loquaciousness And Made-Up Numbers….in the Daily Record

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Grenfell – England is letting companies pass the buck

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In the Guardian today, the above and: There is something profoundly wrong when the company behind Grenfell Tower’s flammable cladding paid more compensation to its shareholders than to victims of the disaster. Of Arconic’s £86m in Grenfell-related settlements, all but £1.5m was covered by insurers. Hardly enough to make a multinational think again. The company whose product the inquiry found was the “primary cause” of the fire’s rapid spread has ended up paying only a fraction of the wider social cost, while the multibillion-pound bill for making hundreds of buildings safe falls largely on the state. In June 2017, 72 people – … Continue reading Grenfell – England is letting companies pass the buck

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Serious assaults in Glasgow drop 33% to 5 year-low and overall violence increases at significantly lower rate than across Scotland

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BBC Scotland have exported the above story to BBC Breakfast, have a special on it tonight, and claim: Videos of brutal beatings, blatant drug deals, and racial violence in the centre of Scotland’s biggest city have become a common sight on social media. Posts claim that parts of Glasgow’s city centre are a “no-go zone” where it’s not safe for unsuspecting members of the public, especially women, to enter. Angry protests have spilled on to the streets – but is it as bad as some say? https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgdej0xxgyo Note, the source for these claims is not official figures but merely ‘common … Continue reading Serious assaults in Glasgow drop 33% to 5 year-low and overall violence increases at significantly lower rate than across Scotland

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One tunnel designer accuses Scotland of falling behind on tunnels while another says they’d never pay for themselves – Who will the Herald quote?

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In the Herald today the above. Who accuses? This guy, a ‘top’ tunnel designer. How strong is the case for replacing Scotland’s west coast ferries with tunnels? UK Treasury Green Book-style present-value calculations (with discounting) often make high-upfront tunnel capital look less favourable than ongoing ferry replacement and operating costs, even when undiscounted lifetime cash costs favour tunnels. Recent Shetland analyses illustrate this divergence. https://www.shetlandtimes.co.uk/news/could-much-criticised-treasury-guidance-on-public-spending-d-436409/ Low traffic volumes: On sparsely populated islands, pure financial payback via tolls or conventional CBA is difficult. One tunnelling expert [Martin Knights] publicly stated Shetland-style schemes “would never pay for itself” under standard cost-benefit analysis … Continue reading One tunnel designer accuses Scotland of falling behind on tunnels while another says they’d never pay for themselves – Who will the Herald quote?

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What would Scotland’s fiscal position be outside the UK?

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By derekscott1953 Richard Murphy’s argument (above) demonstrates why the independence debate needs two sets of numbers, not one. 1. What is Scotland’s fiscal position inside the UK? GERS addresses that. We may argue about some of the assumptions, and its origins in the 1990s, but Scottish Governments do not disassociate from the analysis. Maybe they should in future in order to move this debate on? 2. What would Scotland’s fiscal position be outside the UK? That’s the estimated calculation Murphy says matters, but his articles and videos never try to provide it. I accept if we were facing another referendum … Continue reading What would Scotland’s fiscal position be outside the UK?

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Naïve SNP dismiss China warnings

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By Liz S So today, surprise surprise (not), the front pages of the decidedly non Scottish editions of The Daily Mail & The Daily Express state this: The Daily mail – “Naïve SNP dismiss China warnings”. The Daily Express – “SNP support for Chinese turbine plant poses profound security risk“. I prefer to “dismiss” anything that the Daily Mail front pages write about either the SNP or Scotland. Also it is clear that The Daily Express “poses a profound risk” to truth and honesty when writing about politics in Scotland , that is due to their (obvious) “support” for ‘any party but the SNP in Scotland due to their (most … Continue reading Naïve SNP dismiss China warnings