The Arthur’s Seat honour-based murder was imported from Leeds four years ago – there has never been one by a Scot yet media choose that as their only example for a change in law for England & Wales where there are as many as 15 every year

Support Talking-up Scotland’s work to counter the lies and get you the facts, daily, at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/checkout/help-talking-up-scotland-tell-truth-about-scotland/payment/nBQxjVzq/details Professor John Robertson OBA The Guardian, today, has: UK to clarify definition of ‘honour’-based abuse in drive to cut violence against women and girls and, at the end, this: Yasmin Javed, whose daughter Fawziyah Javed was pushed off Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh, Scotland by her husband after learning she was pregnant and had planned to leave the marriage, said she was “pleased” the government had listened to calls from campaigners. “I hope that this will help many more people affected by HBA and ensure that the multiple perpetrators … Continue reading The Arthur’s Seat honour-based murder was imported from Leeds four years ago – there has never been one by a Scot yet media choose that as their only example for a change in law for England & Wales where there are as many as 15 every year

There is no evidence that ‘mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’ but Reporting Scotland want you to think so despite NHS Scotland’s lower maternity death rate and better staffing

Professor John Robertson OBA BBC Scotland this morning claimed that mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary due to a toxic culture there, as they reported on an independent review. The review as reported by BBC Scotland on their website today, does not mention that claim at all: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cj3x6vy3lkeo The claim comes from a December 2024 internal review by Lothian Health board which BBC Scotland reported as only having this evidence: But staff say they fear the risks to patients remain. “We are afraid we can’t provide safe patient care and that women and babies are being … Continue reading There is no evidence that ‘mothers and babies came to harm in Edinburgh Royal Infirmary’ but Reporting Scotland want you to think so despite NHS Scotland’s lower maternity death rate and better staffing

There are no ‘UK rape conviction cases’ only ones for England and Wales OR for Scotland and though the latter are still not remotely good enough, I know, they are very different these days

Professor John Robertson OBA, former Faculty Research Ethics Committee Chair In the Guardian today: Stacey Dooley on the UK’s shocking rape conviction statistics [sic] – Prosecuting rape is notoriously difficult in the UK [sic], with an estimated 5% of cases making it to trial, and only about 45% [of those so 2%?] resulting in a conviction. Amid such discouraging headlines, four young women have allowed Stacey Dooley to tell their difficult, complex stories about reporting being raped by someone they know, in the three-year run-up to trial. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2025/mar/13/tv-tonight-stacey-dooley-on-the-uks-shocking-conviction-statistics There are no UK rape conviction statistics. There are statistics for England & Wales … Continue reading There are no ‘UK rape conviction cases’ only ones for England and Wales OR for Scotland and though the latter are still not remotely good enough, I know, they are very different these days

5 times as many rape cases solved and 3 times as many violence cases solved in Scotland than in England & Wales

In the Guardian today: Victims are being “let down time and time again” by police, a minister has said, as almost every violent or sexual offence went unsolved in hundreds of Britain’s crime hotspots last year. Nearly 1.9m violent or sexual crimes in England and Wales were closed without a suspect being caught or charged in the year to June 2024 – about 89% of all offences given an outcome, official figures show. https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/jan/13/most-violent-or-sexual-offences-went-unsolved-in-uk-hotspots-last-year In the ‘Scottish’ Daily Express on 23 October 2024: Police only solve half of all crimes in SNP’s soft-touch justice Scotland – Police officers in Scotland are solving … Continue reading 5 times as many rape cases solved and 3 times as many violence cases solved in Scotland than in England & Wales

Labour letting the Waspi women die in poverty is just business for the BBC and, of course, BBC Scotland, as they shield Sarwar

BBC Business, minutes ago has: Campaigners have reacted with fury to what it calls the government’s “unjustified” rejection of compensation for women hit by changes to the state pension age. They say 3.6 million women born in the 1950s were not properly informed of the rise in state pension age to bring them into line with men. Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall apologised for a 28-month delay in sending letters, but has rejected any kind of financial payouts. Nine months ago, a parliamentary ombudsman recommended compensation of between £1,000 and £2,950 to each of those affected. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czr36842nd6o Many WASPI … Continue reading Labour letting the Waspi women die in poverty is just business for the BBC and, of course, BBC Scotland, as they shield Sarwar

What the Scottish Government has achieved with the Scottish NHS is more than mere mitigation

By Legerwood What the Scottish Government has achieved with the Scottish NHS is more than mere mitigation. Just look at the number of new hospitals that have been built the length and breadth of Scotland and the upgrades to existing hospitals. For example, new Community hospitals in Kirkwall, Aviemore, Broadford, Haddington to name but a few. They provide a better work environment and often increased facilities which mean better outcomes for patients. The new community hospital in Kirkwall won a silver medal in an international competition. Haddington Community Hospital which has only been open for a few years won a … Continue reading What the Scottish Government has achieved with the Scottish NHS is more than mere mitigation

Increase in funding for already better-staffed midwifery services

In January 2024, the Daily Mail reporting a drop in the number of midwives, had: Women are dying during childbirth at the same rates as two decades ago, ‘alarming’ new data shows. An independent review into maternity deaths showed 293 women died during pregnancy and within six weeks of giving birth between 2020 and 2022. Experts said the upward trend is the most compelling evidence yet that failures now span ‘across the entire maternity system’ and is ‘not just one or two hospitals.’ The overall rate in 2020-2022, was 13.41 deaths per 100 000 births and based on the graph … Continue reading Increase in funding for already better-staffed midwifery services

“Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women”

with West Yorkshire Police have been killed in domestic abuse incidents since 2018. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001y5k7/newsnight-police-unprotection By stewartb In the light of the above BBC Newsnight report of failures by two English police forces, to protect women, from ‘Misogyny – A Human Rights Issue’ (8 March 2022), the independent report from the Scottish Government’s Working Group on Misogyny and Criminal Justice led by Dame Helena Kennedy (https://www.gov.scot/publications/misogyny-human-rights-issue/ ) Helena Kennedy writes: “Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women; the zero tolerance campaign on domestic abuse, for example, was initiated here. Scotland was at the … Continue reading “Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women”

Women in West Dunbartonshire must wonder what difference having a leading Labour in Scotland politician’s ‘support’ makes?

BY stewartb Labour’s Jackie Baillie has made much of her support for the WASPI women. The official website of Labour in Scotland’s Deputy Leader still has this from 7 November 2018: ‘MP AND MSP CALL FOR WOMEN AFFECTED BY STATE PENSION CHANGES TO GET INVOLVED IN WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE WASPI GROUP’. ‘Jackie said: “I am delighted that local women are willing to take the WASPI campaign forward, to raise awareness and gather more support locally. WASPI women have been badly affected by the DWP’s State Pension Changes, they have been given little or no notice and no time to plan for … Continue reading Women in West Dunbartonshire must wonder what difference having a leading Labour in Scotland politician’s ‘support’ makes?