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Referral for terror concerns of 11 to 15 year-olds is SIX times more common in England & Wales than in Scotland

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. From 25-3990 – Prevent Data – age breakdown of under 15s + referral reason – 2016/17 TD, published yesterday: There were 33, 27, and 39, eleven to fifteen year-olds in Scotland, referred to Prevent who had their cases followed up, in the years 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24. Before the Pandemic-affected year of 202/21, the average was around 30 so there is no sign of an increasing trend. https://www.scotland.police.uk/access-to-information/freedom-of-information/disclosure-log/disclosure-log-2026/january/25-3990-prevent-data-age-breakdown-of-under-15s-referral-reason-2016-17-td/ If the level of the problem was similar in England & Wales, you might expect a figure of around 430. It was 2 729, … Continue reading Referral for terror concerns of 11 to 15 year-olds is SIX times more common in England & Wales than in Scotland

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Dog attacks on farm animals in Scotland plummet 28% to only half, per head, of those increasing across ‘UK’ but NFU Mutual misreads simple sums to say they’re ‘alarming’ here

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in dog attacks last year. NFU Mutual is urging dog owners to be responsible ahead of lambing season. The rural insurer says attacks are down 28% compared to 2024, but farmers are asking owners to stop their dogs chasing pregnant ewes and new born lambs. Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. BBC Scotland above open with that puzzling sequence, putting a wee survey ahead of statistics. Then Hannah Binns of the insurer ignores the reduction to tell us about her survey, which found that one in ten owners said their dog had no recall, but 57% are letting … Continue reading Dog attacks on farm animals in Scotland plummet 28% to only half, per head, of those increasing across ‘UK’ but NFU Mutual misreads simple sums to say they’re ‘alarming’ here

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Anas tried to be a real big tough guy – a folk rock song on lament (not) of Labour

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. Youtube version – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-hvsbZdngk Lyrics: Anas tried to be a real big tough guy But London Labour gives no more For him than they do for any of us He’s back in his box and it’s shrinking Well, it’s goodbye to Labour now Well, it’s goodbye to Labour now They’ve sold their soul to London Now they’re no bloody use to us Richard Leonard seemed alright And he had a lefty feel to him too But the Woman of Mass Destruction Sitting fast on Dumbarton Rock Had her pals push him … Continue reading Anas tried to be a real big tough guy – a folk rock song on lament (not) of Labour

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Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years ago but the Herald seeks to scare you

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. I am not, in any way, disputing the case for police officers confronted with a knife-wielding attacker to be able to protect themselves fully and quickly, and use a gun, if it’s deemed necessary. However, the above Herald front page, based on trade union data, like its even more melodramatic cousin in the Record yesterday, is in danger of unnecessarily panicking the wider population. Why? Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level 6 years ago – From Knife crime statistics: FOI release, published today, … Continue reading Murder by stabbing in Scotland has fallen in a steady trend to half of the level of 6 years ago but the Herald seeks to scare you

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Not good enough, I know, but according to Labour’s then Dame Helena Kennedy “Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women”

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. The horrific story of Gisele Pelicot dominates BBC News this morning, understandably, and the Talking-up Scotland comment below will trigger faux rage and deliberate misrepresentation in a few comments. However, to deal with a problem, which Scotland still has ‘in spades’, we have know how we are progressing, if at all. Helena Ann Kennedy, Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, is a Scottish barrister, broadcaster, and Labour member of the House of Lords, is no supporter of the SNP in Government, so what she said nearly two years ago is important. By stewartb In the light of the … Continue reading Not good enough, I know, but according to Labour’s then Dame Helena Kennedy “Scotland has proudly led the way in many areas concerning women’s rights and violence against women”

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Road deaths halve and offences fall by a third as ‘SNP’ [sic] Road Safety Framework achieves significant results with 5 years to go

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Please Support Talking-up Scotland at:https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-talking-up-scotlandClick on the above. In the Edinburgh Reporter yesterday based on a Sunday Mail report: Scotland’s roads are becoming deadlier amid rising fatalities and surging traffic offences, latest figures reveal. Police Scotland say 92 people were killed in car, motorcycle and cycling collisions between April and September 2025 – nine more than the same period last year, an increase of almost 11%. They included one child and six cyclists. Motorcyclist deaths rose to the highest level for five years with 27 during the period. The news comes as reckless drivers are increasingly flouting the law, with … Continue reading Road deaths halve and offences fall by a third as ‘SNP’ [sic] Road Safety Framework achieves significant results with 5 years to go

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School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed

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On BBC UK’s Breakfast show this morning, a piece on the shocking increase and overall level of temporary suspension’s and permanent exclusions in England’s schools. There were 10 900 permanent exclusions! They didn’t mention other parts of the UK and BBC Scotland did not cover the issue despite having had frequent reports on various supposed crises in Scottish schools based on supposed evidence from the opposition parties. This may be why they’re not going there: Last year in Scotland’s schools there were 10 647 temporary exclusions, down from 11 672 the previous year and nearly 40 000 (39 553) when … Continue reading School suspensions fall again to only one-tenth of the level in England and a quarter of that under Scottish Labour as SNP policies embed

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In Scotland even anti-immigration groups will have nothing to do with racist Nazis

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From STV on 20th January 2026: A Falkirk anti-immigration protest group has announced it will disband because of the attendance of neo-Nazis at demonstrations. Campaign group Save Our Future and Our Kids Future organised protests outside the Cladhan Hotel, which houses asylum seekers, consistently over the last year. The demonstrations have attracted far-right groups, including Patriotic Alternative (PA) and the Homeland Party. PA is a white nationalist group founded by former BNP youth leader Mark Collett. In a documentary, released by Channel 4 in 2002, Collett was caught on camera referring to Africans and homosexuals who died due to HIV-AIDS … Continue reading In Scotland even anti-immigration groups will have nothing to do with racist Nazis

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BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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For the second day running, BBC Scotland seeks to misrepresent the findings of an official inquiry into a hospital-acquired infections inquiry. They tell us: NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) had consistently denied bacteria in the water was responsible for causing some infections which led to the deaths of patients. But in closing submissions to the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry, external it has now admitted “on the balance of probabilities”, that there was a “causal connection” between some infections and the hospital environment. That’s correct, true, but you need to have your wits about you for for their next sneaky move. The above is … Continue reading BBC Scotland repeating the lie that hospital infections ‘led to deaths in patients’ in reporting that exploits tragedy for political purposes

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Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland

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It’s another single case plucked out by grubby figures, taking advantage of a distressed family and platformed, front page, by a newspaper little better than a Labour party election leaflet. Explicit figures are not published anywhere but there’s a good proxy for corridor care and that’s 12 hour waits in A&E. By definition if you’re waiting 12 hours after triage assessment and maybe some treatment before getting a bed, that is ‘corridor care.’ A fuller AI rationale for the use of 12 hour waits, based heavily on the views of the Royal College of Medicine, Age Concern and even NHS England itself, … Continue reading Reliable transparent 12 hour A&E figures confirm corridor care in NHS Scotland less than half as common as in Labour-run England but Daily Record uses a single tragedy on behalf of Labour in Scotland