10th sub-poll in a row confirms Reform UK in second place, death of Cons and SNP 21 points ahead of Labour for second time in a row

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS Since the 2nd of December 2024, I’ve been monitoring the Scottish sub-polls of 100-200, in UK-wide Westminster polls which have a breakdown for Scotland. Each sub -poll, in and of itself, is … Continue reading 10th sub-poll in a row confirms Reform UK in second place, death of Cons and SNP 21 points ahead of Labour for second time in a row

MI5, CIA, SNP and the GRA – Have I watched Homeland and the Diplomat too often?

Professor John Robertson OBA The Express today has: Nicola Sturgeon was CIA agent who stoked gender wars to foil Scexit, claims top nationalist – Former diplomat Craig Murray suggests that American spooks used USAID funding to split the SNP, adding that the former First Minister was likely ‘bribed, indoctrinated and blackmailed’ https://www.scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/politics/nicola-sturgeon-cia-agent-who-34647121 Mad, eh? Who would believe any of that? I’m saying nothing….well nothing much but I have worried and written at times of a more subtle form of CIA presence – a form of cultural imperialism which manifests itself in ‘Atlanticism‘ – a tendency to admire US politics, especially … Continue reading MI5, CIA, SNP and the GRA – Have I watched Homeland and the Diplomat too often?

Latest of NINE bias-free sub-polls has SNP 21 points ahead of Labour, further evidence that Sarwar is the problem, the Cons are in deep trouble and Reform is in second place again in Scotland

From Opinium today, based on polling on 5-7 February 2025, with a 1 475 total sample including 124 Scots, the above results. Saying essentially the same as the previous 8 sub-polls and now based on a total sample of more than 1 000, unaffected by the dubious sampling adjustment used in most Scotland-only polls, to reflect the 2014 referendum result, the SNP is well-ahead and Labour/Cons are collapsing under the Reform UK assault. We also see, clear as day, the Scottish Labour support under Sarwar at barely half that of UK Labour under Starmer, as both Conservative and Labour social … Continue reading Latest of NINE bias-free sub-polls has SNP 21 points ahead of Labour, further evidence that Sarwar is the problem, the Cons are in deep trouble and Reform is in second place again in Scotland

Opposition MSPs and journalists waste £5 MILLION in taxpayer’s money to try to dig dirt on SNP Government in a 42% surge

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/talking-up-scotland#start By Professor John Robertson OBA, Research Ethics Chair, Faculty of Media, UWS According to the Daily Record today: A Tory MSP cost the taxpayer over £100,000 after tabling almost one thousand “spurious” parliamentary questions. Douglas Lumsden was accused of a “flagrant abuse” of … Continue reading Opposition MSPs and journalists waste £5 MILLION in taxpayer’s money to try to dig dirt on SNP Government in a 42% surge

Another Scottish Labour leader believes in accuracy in the media unless you’re talking about Scotland

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA Elon Musk circulates information which is untrue and tries to distort what is going on. Ayesha Yousef Hazarika, Baroness Hazarika MBA ‘Scottish broadcaster, journalist and political commentator, and former political adviser to senior Labour Party politicians’, features in Can … Continue reading Another Scottish Labour leader believes in accuracy in the media unless you’re talking about Scotland

A year later after they had queued round the block for a dentist, Labour has no plan but the SNP has managed 95% registered with an NHS dentist

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA Today lawyer Peter Stefanovic re-posted the above video to makes these points: The Labour Party went into the 2024 election promising to reform the discredited NHS contract fuelling the current crisis. According to @TheBDA there has … Continue reading A year later after they had queued round the block for a dentist, Labour has no plan but the SNP has managed 95% registered with an NHS dentist

How the SNP Government kept your health data out the hands of an NHS England contractor who openly boasts about killing people in Gaza for profit

By Professor John Robertson OBA From the Skwawkbox, today, the above video (link below) and this: Alex Karp, the chief executive of software company Palantir – which supplies military software and services to the Israeli occupation that has murdered and maimed hundreds of thousands of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and the West Bank and also has a huge contract from the UK government to manage NHS data – has told shareholders he’s sure they’re having as much fun as he is and approves of the company ‘scar[ing] enemies and on occasion kill[ing] them’. Palantir has also been linked, in a parliamentary enquiry and … Continue reading How the SNP Government kept your health data out the hands of an NHS England contractor who openly boasts about killing people in Gaza for profit

UK Government’s maintenance backlog for England’s devolved public service facilities reaches £30.5 billion – what impact of this neglect on Scotland?

By stewartb The eye-watering scale of the maintenance backlog associated with UK government  property is exposed in a new report from the National Audit Office (NAO). A figure of £30.5 billion is identified as the scale of the backlog associated just with properties used in the delivery of devolved public services in England (some in Wales). Source: NAO (January 22, 2025) Maintaining public service facilities. Cross-Government Report, HC 544 (https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/maintaining-public-service-facilities.pdf ). When decisions by Westminster/Whitehall to neglect basic property maintenance in England result in budget numbers on this scale, the possible negative consequences for Scotland’s own public finances should merit … Continue reading UK Government’s maintenance backlog for England’s devolved public service facilities reaches £30.5 billion – what impact of this neglect on Scotland?

NHS Scotland has the shortest waiting lists and 97% efficiency in progressing operations regardless of delays in building new units because of UK Government’s spending review

The Talking-up Scotland fund raiser primarily to enable the recruitment of some research assistance, in order to take pressure off me [74 in June and tiring] and hopefully to further improve the blog, has made a good start. To contribute, only if you can (!) go to: Talking-up Scotland – a Politics crowdfunding project in Ayr by Professor John Robertson By Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland today has: More than £34m has been spent developing plans for five delayed NHS treatment centres which are meant to deal with a backlog of operations. then largely demolishing any value their report might have: … Continue reading NHS Scotland has the shortest waiting lists and 97% efficiency in progressing operations regardless of delays in building new units because of UK Government’s spending review

Latest of eight bias-free sub-polls has SNP 19 points ahead of Labour, Cons in deep trouble and Reform surging into second place, even in Scotland

On January 14, 2025, I had the above, based on 7 Westminster sub-polls unaffected by bias, resulting from adjusting the sample to reflect the more than 10 years old 2014 referendum result, still used in all-Scotland polls and suggesting we’re still ‘even Stevens’ (not Flynn) on the yes/no vote while the SNP remain in the doldrums. Today, from YouGov: UK-wide Scottish Sub-poll (214) Regardless of the SNP support not back at full strength, though Op Branchform looks like withering soon, this suggests an SNP wipe-out other than in the LibDem seats. Transferred to Holyrood, I feel sure we can say … Continue reading Latest of eight bias-free sub-polls has SNP 19 points ahead of Labour, Cons in deep trouble and Reform surging into second place, even in Scotland