Tag: scotland

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A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

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stewartb The Scottish Daily Express front page article – by its Scottish Political Reporter – is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation. It seeks to link excess deaths following a visit to A&E with NHS Scotland missing its four hour standard of 95% of patients being discharged, transferred or admitted within four hours. The postulated causal link between an increase in excess deaths and A&E attendance advanced by the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) is concerned primarily with time periods of over eight and more significantly, over 12 hours. The Express fails to make this clear despite there being multiple … Continue reading A&E – Scottish Daily Express front page is a disgraceful example of misrepresentation

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THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in English and Welsh A&E departments

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By Professor John Robertson: Today, the Express is headlining – Scots dying as A&E crisis worsens every day based on the weekly 4 hour waits for week ending 6 October. A simple look at the above graph is clear – post-pandemic with increasing numbers (122 000 in April 2022 to 143 000 in May 2024) attending, a dramatic increase in those waiting beyond target times but since January 2022, a clear stabilisation and even fall from that peak with significantly fewer waiting over 12 hours in December 2024 (42 000) than in December 2022 (49 000) Missing from the Express story … Continue reading THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in English and Welsh A&E departments

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Humza Yousaf makes same error as Prof Devine in blaming ordinary Scots for imperial crimes

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Professor John Robertson OBA This is just wrong. Elites in Scotland and in India played a leading role in the British Empire. 99% of the population in both places were starved, worked into the ground and used as cannon-fodder. ‘Scotland’ did not play any role, people did. I’ve been here before with otherwise highly intelligent public figures apparently ignorant of the reality of life for the majority (99%) indigenous population in the European empires and the actions of elites (1%) in their colonies. Anyhow, Sarwar’s support for Pakistan’s independence, considered hypocritical by many including me, was dismissed by Prof Tom … Continue reading Humza Yousaf makes same error as Prof Devine in blaming ordinary Scots for imperial crimes

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Flood of British refugees into Scotland in the SNP era may surpass the level of Irish famine migration in 1845/1851

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From The Irish Famine in a Scottish Perspective 1845-1851 by Géraldine VAUGHAN, in 2015, it is estimated that there were roughly 115,000 Irish incomers to Scotland for those six years.1 From the NRS, in the ten years from 2012 to 2022 (latest data), around 100 000 arrived in Scotland from other parts of the UK, increasing sharply from 3 000 in 2012 to 12 500 in 2022. This trend seems likely to be due to worsening austerity in other parts of the UK unprotected by SNP policies, on child poverty, HE fees and prescription charges, lower crime, a better-performing NHS, low … Continue reading Flood of British refugees into Scotland in the SNP era may surpass the level of Irish famine migration in 1845/1851

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CalMac ferry fares to increase to only a fraction of those for Isle of Wight.

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From BBC Scotland today: Ferry fares in Scotland will increase by 10% from next year, the Scottish government has confirmed. The rise will take effect from 1 January 2025 on the Northern Isles network and from 28 March on the west coast. CalMac’s services in the west have been under particular pressure due to ageing vessels, with the main Arran ferry out of action for most of the year. Transport Secretary Fiona Hyslop said a fare freeze in place this year had cost £10m and it would be “too challenging to continue”. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly40y40pq9o?at_format=link&at_link_origin=BBCScotlandNews&at_bbc_team=editorial&at_campaign=Social_Flow&at_link_type=web_link&at_medium=social&at_link_id=A28BEBDA-8A30-11EF-A859-B34A7FBC4FAB&at_campaign_type=owned&at_ptr_name=twitter She said fares were frozen for 2023-24 instead … Continue reading CalMac ferry fares to increase to only a fraction of those for Isle of Wight.

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The endless stream of supposedly intelligent media cartoons misrepresenting the campaign for Scottish independence and now still offensive on the death of Alex Salmond

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By Professor John Robertson OBA When I first saw the above guardian cartoon, I didn’t know what to make of it. @Prae54Rae gets it. It’s endless. A foul-smelling stream of supposedly liberal leftist sentiment, as confused and snearing, as any on the hard right in England. Here’s the previous: Peter Brookes in the Times, gleefully shared by the slimy be-wigged lard-bucket that is Andrew Neil, the above. Imagine doing that with the leaders of any other country? Sadly, it’s not new. In February 2024, again from Peter Brookes in the Times, a snide and offensive take on the SNP’s supposed troubles. … Continue reading The endless stream of supposedly intelligent media cartoons misrepresenting the campaign for Scottish independence and now still offensive on the death of Alex Salmond

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Pay attention Ireland – Scotland ‘stands apart’ as the best educated country in Europe, perhaps even the World

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The above is from an Irish journalist today. Am I going to have to invent a new term to add to the Anglocentric media Scots face daily? Hibernocentric? The facts: Scotland is the best educated country in Europe, according to a report released by the Office for National Statistics. It says that nearly 45 per cent of people in Scotland aged between 25 and 64 have had some kind of tertiary education – including university degrees and further education — ahead of Ireland, Luxembourg and Finland, which were the only other countries to get more than 40 per cent. “In … Continue reading Pay attention Ireland – Scotland ‘stands apart’ as the best educated country in Europe, perhaps even the World

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Incompetent Welsh Labour councils face nearly 20% higher cuts than in Scotland, including free bus travel for the young, despite same UK Labour Government funding cuts

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From BBC Wales yesterday: Welsh councils are facing “unsustainable” budget pressures over the next few years according to the body which represents them. The Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) said funding shortfalls could “significantly impact” councils’ ability to deliver essential services. The BBC has identified a budget shortfall of at least £540m across Wales by 2026-27. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2kevnevwxo From Audit Scotland, in May 2024: Scotland’s councils are facing a significant gap in the money needed to deliver local services and the money they have available. Together, all 32 councils have a gap of £585 million. This is estimated to increase to … Continue reading Incompetent Welsh Labour councils face nearly 20% higher cuts than in Scotland, including free bus travel for the young, despite same UK Labour Government funding cuts

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Scotland’s state schools – in 2007, 37.6% of pupils in bad or poor condition buildings, in 2024 it’s just 5.1%.

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East Dunbartonshire Council’s brand new £34.9m Additional Support Needs School – Woodland View – opened to pupils on Friday 18 August 2023. By stewartb This provides statistics for context and perspective. It follows a BBC Scotland article on the corporation’s News website on 12 October headlined: ‘Child safety fears as ‘repaired’ ceiling falls at neglected school’. Now don’t get me wrong, no one should have a piece of wood or plasterboard fall on or near their head, anywhere. And especially no one wants children to be at risk from such an incident in a school. It’s a legitimate BBC local … Continue reading Scotland’s state schools – in 2007, 37.6% of pupils in bad or poor condition buildings, in 2024 it’s just 5.1%.

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BBC double standards on the death of a politician – There was no mention of expenses cheat or cynical class betrayal when Alister ‘Serial Second Home Flipper’ Darling died and Alex Salmond had only praise for him, but when Alex Salmond died, he had a ‘less pleasant side’ it seems

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There’s no mention of Darling’s move from the hard left to the Blair Cabinet. There’s no reference to his role in a divisive referendum campaign. There’s no mention of his 2007 mistake in the loss of 25 million British Citizens personal data or of his failure to protect 5 million low earners in 2008 from becoming worse off after a tax rate reduction that only benefited the better off or, most shocking, when he changed the designation of his second home four times in four years, allowing him to claim for the costs of his family home in Edinburgh, and … Continue reading BBC double standards on the death of a politician – There was no mention of expenses cheat or cynical class betrayal when Alister ‘Serial Second Home Flipper’ Darling died and Alex Salmond had only praise for him, but when Alex Salmond died, he had a ‘less pleasant side’ it seems