Tag: wales

1 Comment

Crime continues to fall in Glasgow but corporate media cannot tell you the truth that it is falling fast and NOT the highest in Scotland or even near the several highest in England and Wales

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Chair, UWS  Glasgow Live yesterday, had: Glasgow named as most dangerous Scottish area with highest crime rate in government report – A new report from the Scottish Government has revealed Glasgow is the most dangerous area in the country, as crime in the city increases by four per cent in 2024.1 The ‘report‘ is actually Recorded Crime in Scotland, 2023-24, where in the attached tables, you can see the data for different parts of Scotland. No one has ‘named‘ Glasgow anything, other than two journalists. As for the above 4% increase, concentrate lads (!), … Continue reading Crime continues to fall in Glasgow but corporate media cannot tell you the truth that it is falling fast and NOT the highest in Scotland or even near the several highest in England and Wales

Leave a comment

‘Scottish’ media try to drag England’s knife crime crisis over the border despite crimes plummeting here to only half the level under Labour and 90 times as many, per head, ‘Zombie’ knives mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

johnrobertson834

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 As another tragic death by knife of a child in England, headlines across the media, Scotland’s Herald and the policing magazine 1919, attempt to scare Scots into thinking things are no different here when they clearly are. … Continue reading ‘Scottish’ media try to drag England’s knife crime crisis over the border despite crimes plummeting here to only half the level under Labour and 90 times as many, per head, ‘Zombie’ knives mentioned in crime reports in England & Wales

4 Comments

The lowest Band D council tax rate in British Labour Wales is higher than the highest in SNP Scotland

johnrobertson834

stewartb Worth repeating this from a recent TuS blog post to give another way of setting out Council Tax baselines prior to next financial year’s CT increases across Great Britain. Insights into differences across Great Britain in 2024-25 for the benchmark average Band D tax can be found at https://propertydata.co.uk/council-tax Focusing on Wales where the British Labour Party governs: The contrast between Council Tax Band D rates in Scotland and Wales is quite remarkable! Is this what the British Labour Party would like to see in Scotland after 2026? ‘Levelling-up’ Scotland Labour style? Continue reading The lowest Band D council tax rate in British Labour Wales is higher than the highest in SNP Scotland

10 Comments

Research – school achievement higher and attainment gaps far smaller in Scotland than in rest of UK

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA: From UK Poverty 2025 The essential guide to understanding poverty in the UK, published by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, today: There are differences between the statistics on attainment in schools in the four UK nations which limit comparisons but the size of the gap between the most and least deprived at the ages of 11 and 16 can be usefully compared. First, 11 year-olds, percentage of most deprived and of least deprived achieving literacy and numeracy and size of gap: So, far more of both the least and the most deprived in Scotland achieve target literacy and numeracy levels … Continue reading Research – school achievement higher and attainment gaps far smaller in Scotland than in rest of UK

Leave a comment

Starmer’s pledge of named police officers for every neighbourhood in England & Wales becomes laughable as staffing falls to lowest since 2022 and far below the level in Scotland

johnrobertson834

Thanks to Dottie for alerting me to this. In the Guardian today: Police officer numbers in England and Wales at lowest level for two years, figures show The number of police officers in England and Wales has slipped to its lowest level in two years, PA Media reports. PA says: The headcount of officers employed by 43 forces stood at 148,886 at the end of September 2024. This is down 883 from a peak of 149,769 at the end of March and the lowest total since the end of September 2022 (144,346), according to Home Office data published today. Last month, Keir … Continue reading Starmer’s pledge of named police officers for every neighbourhood in England & Wales becomes laughable as staffing falls to lowest since 2022 and far below the level in Scotland

1 Comment

Cancer waiting times – UK Government figures reveal that NHS Scotland performs significantly better than NHS England and shockingly better than NHS Wales and Northern Ireland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA From Waiting times for cancer treatment across the UK A summary of the cross-UK comparability of cancer waiting time statistics that are published by each nation published by the ONS on 23 August 2024 for Quarter 1, 2024: The percentage waiting longer than the 31 day [from the “decision-to-treat” a cancer patient to when the patient starts treatment] and 62 day standards [there should be no more than 62 days between a cancer referral being received by a hospital (specialist) to when a patient starts treatment]: *NI Q3 2023 is latest information So, based on the … Continue reading Cancer waiting times – UK Government figures reveal that NHS Scotland performs significantly better than NHS England and shockingly better than NHS Wales and Northern Ireland

2 Comments

Valuing ‘culture’ and public funding – how Wales with a Labour government in Cardiff fares!

johnrobertson834

By stewartb There will be a Scottish Government debate in Holyrood on January 14 on ‘Valuing Culture: Scotland’s Support to the Culture Sector’. Will it generate heat or light? It will be worth observing how British Labour Party politicians in Scotland approach this debate. Will they acknowledge longstanding stresses and strains on Scottish Government finances due to Westminster austerity and inflation? Or will we hear the usual carping? And how will BBC Scotland and the rest of the mainstream media ‘serving’ Scotland report: devoid of context and perspective as usual? As we assess the various contributions, it will be worth … Continue reading Valuing ‘culture’ and public funding – how Wales with a Labour government in Cardiff fares!

3 Comments

NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

johnrobertson834

By stewartb More numbers designed to shock from the British Labour Party’s spokesperson on talking down Scotland’s health and social care services! Any context offered? The numbers on delayed discharge are to be deplored but are they really big by comparison to those incurred by Scotland’s peers? From the BBC News website, Wales section (November 11, 2024): ‘Staff burnout warning over plan to free NHS beds’ (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cy5lqn19275o ) ‘At any one time, there are about 1,600 patients, mostly elderly, in hospital beds in Wales who are otherwise fit to be discharged. In some hospitals, this is 20% of all beds. ‘But delays around … Continue reading NHS Scotland had 27% fewer delayed hospital discharges than NHS Wales after decades of Labour control there but Scottish Labour conveniently ignore that

2 Comments

‘The UK’s worst economic performance in post war economic history.’ Devolved government and economic management: the case of Labour governing Wales

johnrobertson834

By stewartb – a long read When the UK economy is in a poor state, can governments in Scotland or Wales with devolved powers counter UK economic performance in a substantive way given that key policy levers are ONLY available to Westminster and the UK’s central bank? Proponents of the Union point to Scotland’s economic performance and allege: (i) it’s failing due to the political party that has governed in Edinburgh since 2007; and (ii) to have a successful economy, Scotland needs ‘change’, it needs to have the Labour Party (or the Tories) become the government in Edinburgh. Of course … Continue reading ‘The UK’s worst economic performance in post war economic history.’ Devolved government and economic management: the case of Labour governing Wales

11 Comments

In Scotland no actual ambulance crisis as in Wales but still even the possibility of delays has the BBC inviting Scottish Cons and Labour round to finish 2024 off with one more SNP-bad session

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA You have to laugh as BBC Wales use the image on the left above for Ambulance chief says ‘drink sensibly’ over New Year after critical incident but BBC Scotland can only find the one parked outside a corner shop in Forfar as the paramedics nip in for bridies, for Ambulance crews put on highest level of emergency. BBC Wales have this staggering report: Welsh ambulance service chiefs have urged the public to “drink sensibly” at New Year to help reduce demand on emergency services that suffered a 340-call backlog on Monday. Jason Killens, chief executive of Welsh … Continue reading In Scotland no actual ambulance crisis as in Wales but still even the possibility of delays has the BBC inviting Scottish Cons and Labour round to finish 2024 off with one more SNP-bad session