Tag: scotland

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Two sub-polls in December now saying same thing – SNP pulling away from Labour with 18% and 15% leads

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Two days ago, I noted: From Find Out Now on 4 December 2024, the UK figures put Labour in third place with 23%, behind Reform at 24% and the Cons at 26%. The Scottish sub-set of only 118, has SNPv39%, Labour 21%, Cons 13%, Reform, Greens and Lib Dems at 8%. If repeated in May 2026, this could give SNP an overall majority. Early days I know but still good to get this kind of wee boost. https://findoutnow.co.uk/blog/voting-intention-4th-dec-2024/ The above 18% lead is much larger than previous sub-polls and, more so, than in ‘full’ Scottish polls. However, the latter, while having … Continue reading Two sub-polls in December now saying same thing – SNP pulling away from Labour with 18% and 15% leads

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Contrary to the Guardian view there IS certified water testing ‘in the UK post Brexit’ but it’s ‘so far away’ from England…….in Edinburgh

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Professor John Robertson OBA Today, in the Guardian, this shocking report for readers, in England and probably Scotland too because no one will tell them otherwise: The safety of tap water in the UK could be at risk because water companies are unable to use products to clean it, industry insiders have said, as all the laboratories that test and certify the chemicals have shut down. People in the industry have called it a “Brexit problem” because EU countries will share laboratory capacity from 2026, meaning that if the UK was still in the EU, water companies would be able to use … Continue reading Contrary to the Guardian view there IS certified water testing ‘in the UK post Brexit’ but it’s ‘so far away’ from England…….in Edinburgh

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Glenn Campbell and the ‘significant underperformance in key public services like the NHS’ that does not survive a collision with the evidence

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Professor John Robertson OBA Glenn Campbell’s opinion piece on the SNP, after its budget, is the lead story on its website today, titled: SNP rediscovers its political confidence with wily Budget Hah! We know what to expect and, within one line, we get: In the last couple of years its independence strategy has hit a brick wall, the party has tied itself in knots over gender reform, and it has fallen in and out of love with the Scottish Greens. There have been three first ministers during that period and one of those remains under police investigation as the Branchform … Continue reading Glenn Campbell and the ‘significant underperformance in key public services like the NHS’ that does not survive a collision with the evidence

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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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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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The nearly 2 000 saved from Covid death in Scotland that BBC will not tell you about

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The above table from the UK Covid Inquiry report, posted today by https://x.com/ammacj makes clear that Scotland had a 14% lower Covid death rate than UK and a 36% lower excess death rate than UK. The second table, above, make clear the scale of loss not at first apparent in percentages. Had Scotland’s pandemic response strategy been managed by the UK Tory government, 14%, 1 867, more might have died, but BBC Scotland’s view: As the UK Covid inquiry turns its attention to Scotland, what do the statistics tell us about how many people died in different countries? Our best … Continue reading The nearly 2 000 saved from Covid death in Scotland that BBC will not tell you about