Tag: scotland

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Will Scottish Labour MPs challenge cuts to nuclear safety which will have ‘devastating consequences’ for their own constituents?

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By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Guardian today, the above, and: Rachel Reeves has been urged not to carry out mooted funding cuts for nuclear sites including Sellafield amid safety concerns, as it emerged that the number of incidents where workers narrowly avoided harm had increased at the Cumbrian site. The GMB union has written to Reeves, the chancellor, before Wednesday’s budget to raise safety concerns after rumours emerged that the budget for the taxpayer-owned Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) could be reduced, which could result in cuts at nuclear sites including Sellafield and Dounreay in Scotland. In the letter to Reeves, seen … Continue reading Will Scottish Labour MPs challenge cuts to nuclear safety which will have ‘devastating consequences’ for their own constituents?

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Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country

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and September was almost 20% higher than in the same period last year. By Professor John Robertson BBC Reporting Scotland, in their own insert but also picked out as a special on life in Scotland for BBC Breakfast and extended on the BBC website, the above report of increased rape reporting to suggest Scotland is the rape capital of the UK to go along with the fake drug death capital story. No context whatsoever is reported to counter this shameful, exploitative narrative. Here is again: Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland The police in Scotland … Continue reading Rape offences 2-3 times higher in England & Wales than in Scotland but they want you to think a different story about your country

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8% of UKthe population but 16% of the meat exports – 8% of the UK population but 31% of total UK food and drink exports

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Many thanks to Cuckooshoe for alerting me to this, from Meatex on 16 October 2024, but of no interest to BBC Scotland: Scotland’s red meat and offal exports beyond the UK have experienced a significant rise, reaching a value of £137 million, according to the latest survey by Quality Meat Scotland (QMS). The report highlights a remarkable recovery in the sector, with a 26% increase in export value compared to previous years.1 From ADHB on 1 October 2024: The latest figures from HMRC show that from January to June 2024, total UK red meat exports were up 2% in volume … Continue reading 8% of UKthe population but 16% of the meat exports – 8% of the UK population but 31% of total UK food and drink exports

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Under cover vegetables production UP 400%! – Scotland’s agricultural economy – positive news ignored because it does not tell the correct story

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By Professor John Robertson: Search for ‘BBC Scotland’ agriculture and all they have is the above image and The village that a religious sect helped to found, yet released only days ago there is Results from the Scottish Agricultural Census: June 2024. Do they have a ferm correspondent at all at Pacific Quay? Anyhow, from this important release, it’s a mixed sack which I am not competent to fully evaluate because Scotland’s farmers have been producing less of somethings to keep Reporting Scotland happy and more of other things to force them to avert their eyes. I guess it’s complex – … Continue reading Under cover vegetables production UP 400%! – Scotland’s agricultural economy – positive news ignored because it does not tell the correct story

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NHS Scotland has 25% more nurses per head than the UK and more than almost everywhere in the world but a Scottish newspaper doesn’t want you thinking the SNP can cope with anything

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By Professor John Robertson: From the World Health Organisation in May 2024 but based on , nursing and midwifery personnel per 10 000 population with England and Scotland latest data inserted separately: There are another 20 or so countries with even fewer nurses per head than India at 17 nurses per 10 000 people but with a space programme to make up for that. But, from the Daily Record‘s Andrew Quinn, yesterday this sad cringing piece: The UK has fewer nurses per head than its European neighbours, according to SNP-commissioned analysis. The House of Commons library research showed the UK has lagged … Continue reading NHS Scotland has 25% more nurses per head than the UK and more than almost everywhere in the world but a Scottish newspaper doesn’t want you thinking the SNP can cope with anything

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Under Labour NHS Wales hospital waiting list soars to TWICE that per head in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: From BBC Wales two days ago: Hospital waiting list tops 800,000 for first time 1 Scotland? From the doctors’ trade union, the BMA, in July 2024: As of March 2024, more than 690,000 people were on the NHS Scotland waiting list for inpatient and outpatient treatments, which is the highest number ever recorded.2 Shorter in Scotland than in Wales? Yes, but Scotland has a bigger population so the gap per head is even greater. With 5.44 million to Wales’ 3.16 million, Scotland’s population served by NHS Scotland is 1.7 times greater. So, for a fair, pro rate, … Continue reading Under Labour NHS Wales hospital waiting list soars to TWICE that per head in Scotland

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Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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By Professor John Robertson: More private schools opening than closing in England despite Labour’s VAT proposals, tell you all you need to know. In Scotland two tiny religious schools which had already been on the verge of closing years before the VAT announcement, will now close but two sites have also been confirmed for new schools. There’s a simple conclusion here. These institutions which perpetuate inequality, divisiveness, unfair patronage and an archaic class system can easily survive taxation at the level Labour propose and so should be taxed more. If they were, then my proposal for compensation of the Waspi women … Continue reading Latest research proves Scottish Government can tax divisive private education to pay for a Waspi women compensation scheme

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Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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By Anonymous Well here is another major problem with the BBC. Statements from panel members on BBC QT that go unchallenged by the host. Yet she, Fiona Bruce, often has notes that she refers to in order to challenge politicians on their answers, as obviously she is aware of what Q’s will be asked and so what topics will be discussed. If she, Fiona Bruce, is unaware of the veracity of what is being said by a panel member then she should ask that person making the statement to provide proof via either providing stats or examples to verify their … Continue reading Why did Question Time’s Fiona Bruce not have notes to correct fake claims on Scottish water?

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NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian today has: Private healthcare boom fuelled by NHS waiting lists. UK market rose to all-time high of £12.4bn last year, with NHS paying for nearly £3.5bn of procedures to ease backlog. More patients went private last year as the NHS waiting list peaked at 7.77 million in September, up sharply from 4.57 million at the end of 2019.1 There’s no mention of Scotland in the report so we can be sure ‘UK’, as often before, means ‘England’. In 2022/23, the total amount spent by NHS health boards in Scotland on private healthcare was £115,599,000.2 All things being … Continue reading NHS England spending THREE TIMES more on private healthcare than NHS Scotland as their waiting list soars by 800 000 more under UK Government

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Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland

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By Professor John Robertson: The Guardian yesterday had the above, 469 788 shoplifting offences, across England and Wales in the year to June 2024.1 In Scotland, the figure for the year to March 2024 was 38 674 according to the Grocery Gazette in June 2024.2 With 11 times the population, all things being equal and per head, England and Wales might have been expected to have had 425 000 cases but actually had 469 788, nearly 45 000 or 10.6% more. 10.6% is statistically significant. It tells you something is going on. Researchers into poverty levels say the presence of foodbanks … Continue reading Abortion and shoplifting – signs of the pressure on the poor to survive which are moderated at least to some extent in Scotland