Tag: scotland

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Lord Ashcroft – why did he decide to acquire the Holyrood magazine ?

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Anonymous It appears though that Labour in Scotland’s leader (of sorts) Anas Sarwar is the bees knees as in yet another trolling (or comedy) exercise by media (of sorts) who dislike the SNP so much, that we now find out that, Anas Sarwar has been named as the “MSP of the year”, by the Holyrood Magazine (now owned by Tory Lord Ashcroft) in their yearly magazine political (of sorts) awards (of sorts) ceremony. Anas Sarwar tweeted in response to ‘winning’ this award (of sorts): “Thanks @HolyroodDaily for the MSP of the year award”. “Over 3 years, we’ve changed Scottish Labour so we can deliver the change our country needs”. “Economic … Continue reading Lord Ashcroft – why did he decide to acquire the Holyrood magazine ?

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2 000 mental health deaths in Essex not linked to Tory government but 1 in Scotland connects to the SNP government twice and earns the minister an photo

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In May 2024, BBC Scotland connected a single death in a mental health institution to the minister above and included in the report: The Scottish government said the commission’s recommendations would be “fully implemented” at the unit, which was anonymised in the report. (para 4) and at the end: The Scottish government’s Mental Wellbeing minister Maree Todd said she extended her “heartfelt sympathies” to the family of Mrs F. She added: “The relevant health and social care services have been issued with specific recommendations and learning points and we expect these to be fully implemented.” https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c25rgzl55edo Yesterday BBC Essex had: … Continue reading 2 000 mental health deaths in Essex not linked to Tory government but 1 in Scotland connects to the SNP government twice and earns the minister an photo

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Scottish alcohol deaths stabilise, after years of Tory austerity and pandemic lockdowns, as Scottish Government treatment programmes repeatedly beat 95% target, just in time for Labour to drive folk to drink again

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By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland, typically thick in the junior ranks but sneaky at the top, have this today: Scottish alcohol deaths at 15-year high. The number of people in Scotland whose death was caused by alcohol remains at a high level, with the largest number of deaths in 15 years. The latest figures from National Records of Scotland, (NRS) show 1,277 people died from conditions caused by alcohol in 2023. This was one death more than the previous year, which was the highest number since 2008. As always, from BBC Scotland, a more meaningful look at longer trends … Continue reading Scottish alcohol deaths stabilise, after years of Tory austerity and pandemic lockdowns, as Scottish Government treatment programmes repeatedly beat 95% target, just in time for Labour to drive folk to drink again

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Do you have to identify as British to only then be regarded as a racist and so only then are you seen as having this racist ‘problem’ ?

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By Anonymous  “I think the Scottish are just as racist as the English, same goes for the Northern Irish and Welsh. It’s a British problem“: UK’s first professor of Black studies, Kehinde Andrews (University of Birmingham), on “what’s wrong with the conversation around racist riots”, August 8th 2024: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/far-right-riots-black-history-kehinde-andrews/ So , going by that above statement, do you then have to identify as to being British to only then be regarded as a racist and so only then are you seen as having this racist ‘problem’ ? Sweeping generalisations here by this Professor who I would suggest should perhaps “think” again to make such an observation … Continue reading Do you have to identify as British to only then be regarded as a racist and so only then are you seen as having this racist ‘problem’ ?

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UK’s first professor of Black Studies seems just as happy to malign Scots, evidence-free, as any ancient Oxbridge English History don

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In his otherwise useful piece Racist riots are nothing new – they’re part of the fabric of British society, Professor Kehinde Andrews, a bit ironically given his surname, offers these views: Some of our readers have commented in the past week that we’ve been calling these riots across the UK, when in fact they are a uniquely English thing, a uniquely English nationalism, not taking place in Scotland or Wales. What would you say to that? But, honestly, I would push back a bit. I think the Scottish are just as racist as the English, same goes for the Northern … Continue reading UK’s first professor of Black Studies seems just as happy to malign Scots, evidence-free, as any ancient Oxbridge English History don

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Why should Scottish Government pay for new disabled-friendly ferries after long neglect by a separatist island authority holding ‘large’ reserves?

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From BBC Scotland, today: For some Orcadians, taking a ferry can be more like tackling an assault course. That was certainly my experience as a blind person travelling between the islands. Last year, the Scottish government agreed with Orkney Islands Council’s request to look at the financial case to start replacing the inter-island ferries, which are vital lifelines for communities. There’s no doubt that these ferries are outdated and unsuitable for the 21st Century. The big question remains: where will the money come from to replace them, and how long will it take? Orkney Islands Council, the smallest local authority … Continue reading Why should Scottish Government pay for new disabled-friendly ferries after long neglect by a separatist island authority holding ‘large’ reserves?

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Why Scotland HAS avoided far-right unrest – Sir Prof Curtice fails to understand who Scotland’s Muslims are and even misunderstands his own percentages

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By Professor John Robertson I’ll start with the numbers. In BBC Scotland, Andrew Kerr’s grudging/riot-hopeful – Why Scotland may have avoided far-right unrest, today: Sir John says population plays a part too, with the proportion of people identifying as Muslim in Scotland much smaller than in England. The latest Scottish census shows 7% of the population is from an ethnic minority, compared to 18% overall in the UK. That would only make sense if the ethnic minority/Muslim population was spread evenly across Scotland and rest of the UK. It’s not. Ethnic minorities have clustered for decades in urban areas of … Continue reading Why Scotland HAS avoided far-right unrest – Sir Prof Curtice fails to understand who Scotland’s Muslims are and even misunderstands his own percentages

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Do the national branch offices of campaigning charities not understand devolution

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By stewartb Do third sector organisations with missions that extend across the UK feel unable to make statements that (in terms) state the following truth and if so WHY? ‘The situation in (a UK nation with a government with only limited, devolved powers) may be bad but – based on statistical analysis – not nearly so bad as in England, the nation with a government with EVERY power to have avoided this bad in the first place and with EVERY power now to deliver the necessary solution. ‘It is the government of England in Westminster – the one with ALL … Continue reading Do the national branch offices of campaigning charities not understand devolution

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Despite lowest reported anti-semitism, only Scotland must be warned about it

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By Anonymous BBC Website On the Scottish Politics page 7th story “Big rise in antisemitic incidents in UK – charity” Click on story and it comes up as part of the ‘UK’ page. Go to UK page to see article and I cannot see this story as an article on there. Story also not on UK politics page Story also not on Welsh politics page. So if the headline is “Big rise in antisemitic incidents in UK – charity” then why is this story only currently showing as a main article on the Scottish politics page ? So I checked the content of this article to see where they noted these incidents were happening within the UK as … Continue reading Despite lowest reported anti-semitism, only Scotland must be warned about it

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English County lines gangs far outnumber and totally out-gun far-right in Scotland

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The Ferret ‘fact-checker’ is punting another scare story to try to convince Scots that right-wing terror groups are active here and might trigger the same kind of riots seen in England and Northern Ireland. Reading through their report, I see evidence of around 20 individuals, a few knives and no guns. None of these individuals or wee groups has ever actually done anything. Police Scotland estimate at least 55 County Lines drug gangs from English cities operating in Scotland, with typically 4 enforcers each and an array of weapons including guns. So, English County Lines gangs – 200 plus enforcers, … Continue reading English County lines gangs far outnumber and totally out-gun far-right in Scotland