Tag: wales

2 Comments

It’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales

johnrobertson834

By stewartb We know that the British Labour Party and its media allies in Scotland for the Union would have voters here believe that any shortcomings, all problems in Scotland’s public services can be laid at the door of the SNP Scottish Government. So it’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales – in education, health and social care, housing, poverty levels, unemployment; economic development and yes, local government funding etc. All can be scrutinised in order to assess the track record of the British Labour Party government in Cardiff during the extended period of Tory rule in Westminster: … Continue reading It’s good to see comparisons between Scotland and Wales

5 Comments

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

johnrobertson834

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

3 Comments

Not-for-profit water should be better but Welsh Labour mess that up too

johnrobertson834

stewartb It’s useful to have comparisons of the performance of key public services in different parts of the Union – and for a number of reasons. I’ve become especially interested in getting much better informed about what can be achieved by electing the British Labour Party to govern with devolved powers. Fortunately, we have Wales with its longstanding British Labour Party government in Cardiff to use as a benchmark. After all, we need to know what we might expect from a British Labour Party government in Edinburgh after 2026! In this context, how with the British Labour Party in power in … Continue reading Not-for-profit water should be better but Welsh Labour mess that up too

12 Comments

Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!

johnrobertson834

By stewartb Let’s begin by taking back control of the ‘framing’ from BBC Scotland: ‘A&E performance by NHS Scotland is indeed by far the best in UK’. The Scotland section of the BBC News website on 4 October ran one of its regular features on the state of A&E services within NHS Scotland. The article was constructed around the remarks of the Vice President for Scotland of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM). It followed a common pattern – negative, in parts alarmist, reported uncritically and without context or perspective. And being a BBC Scotland article, it omitted that … Continue reading Royal College of Emergency Medicine opts NOT to share own analysis with Scotland’s voters – that A&E performance in NHS Scotland is best in UK by FAR!

10 Comments

FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson: Dr John Paul Loughrey of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Hot Yoga enthusiast (@Jploughrey) has no time to grapple with the the facts as he helps BBC Scotland headline with another emergency services scare story about long waits in A&E and the risk they poses, especially for the more vulnerable. Missing from Dr Loughrey’s assessment of ultra long delays, in this BBC Scotland report, this: First, NHS England: THREE times as many wait more than 12 hours in England’s A&E departments NHS England, Type one A&E, for May 2024, 138 770 waiting more … Continue reading FACTCHECK: ‘Ultra long’ A&E waits far less common in Scotland

2 Comments

A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland

johnrobertson834

In the Guardian today: The number of customer complaints that were unable to be resolved by water companies in England and Wales has risen by almost a third to the highest level in nearly a decade. There was a 29% increase in 2023-24 in cases escalated to the Consumer Council for Water (CCW) by households that failed to achieve a resolution from their supplier, the watchdog said. The jump has been fuelled by consumer discontent over sewage spills, billing mistakes and problems with water meters, with customers having exhausted their water supplier’s two-stage complaints process by the time they turned to the CCW. Its annual report … Continue reading A flood of water complaints in England and Wales but barely a dribble in Scotland

5 Comments

No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless…

johnrobertson834

stewartb ‘The BBC Scotland report does not mention ………………….Wales’ No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless … you know what! And no British Labour Party politician in Scotland acknowledges the validity of comparing matters in Scotland with equivalents in British Labour Party run Wales. On education and the experiences of young people in Wales, the following report (March 2024) from the BBC’s much favoured, ‘authoritative’ think tank, the Institute for Fiscal Studies must never be referred to in the hearing of a potential Labour voter in Scotland! Source https://ifs.org.uk/publications/major-challenges-education-wales The IFS report concludes: … Continue reading No BBC Scotland report allows comparative analysis of matters across the nations of the UK unless…

3 Comments

Given the British Labour Party’s approach to power seeking in Scotland, whataboutery is legitimate – ‘what about Wales?’

johnrobertson834

By stewartb The logic of the British Labour Party’s messaging for the 2026 Holyrood election – that the SNP is holding Scotland back – would be open to ridicule amongst voters if it wasn’t for the support – the complicity – of pro-Union news media. The latter’s lack of critical assessment of this and other Labour negativity about Scotland is palpable. Context- and perspective-free reporting has long been a characteristic of the mainstream media that supposedly serves Scotland. Labour’s view of the UK Before and since the UK General Election we’ve been told by the British Labour Party’s leadership just … Continue reading Given the British Labour Party’s approach to power seeking in Scotland, whataboutery is legitimate – ‘what about Wales?’

2 Comments

Clear evidence that Labour cannot run a health service as even failed NHS England puts NHS Wales on life support

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA In the Guardian today but not a mention from the ever-loyal BBC Wales: NHS patients in Wales will be allowed to travel to England to receive care for the first time ever under plans to be announced by the Welsh secretary on Monday. Jo Stevens will tell the Labour conference in Liverpool that she is drawing up proposals to allow patients to travel between England and Wales to receive outpatient or elective treatment. Stevens will say that the move will help reduce waiting lists on both sides of the border. But with NHS struggling in Wales even more than in England, experts … Continue reading Clear evidence that Labour cannot run a health service as even failed NHS England puts NHS Wales on life support

13 Comments

Prisoner release in Scotland – far fewer than England and no quick re-offending unlike in England

johnrobertson834

By Professor John Robertson OBA The Herald above today, typically insensitive, exploitative and ill informed. In England, last week: Similar in Scotland? Nope, despite our media rats sniffing everywhere. The facts? Anyone for facts? There are currently 8 348 prisoners in Scotland’s prisons.2 From Audit Scotland in December 2023: SPS has advised that as at November 2023 the extended operating capacity that the prison estate can accommodate is 8,475.3 So, 127 places still available for a population only one eleventh of the population of England and Wales. They should have at least 1 400 but have ‘less than 100’, only a fourteenth! Sources: … Continue reading Prisoner release in Scotland – far fewer than England and no quick re-offending unlike in England