Category: Society
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Labour’s Great British Railways – what’s the big deal?
Before one of the last traditional-Labour ministers, Louis Haigh, was told by Starmer’s paid help Morgan McSweeney that she’d been booted out of Government, she announced with much noise the creation of Great British Railways (GBR). A “cultural reset” that would “bring passenger services into public hands” “with a relentless focus on passengers … would…
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Would we have hard borders after Indy?
No. After Scotland regains independence you’d be able to travel freely between Scotland and the continuing UK. What’s more goods would be able to travel freely too. But even more than this, with your EU Citizenship returned you’d be able to travel freely (and live and work) in any other EU country. Firstly, as the…
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Scotland’s ferries – a success story
Scotland has over 790 islands – some 94 inhabited – so getting around them via ferr is rightly treated as a “lifeline” service by our Government. Whilst the contract to run them is delivered by private company, the Government overseas this – ensuring reliable performance and afforrdable pricing. In England ferriers are not considered an…
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Westminster’s delivery of Water in England is a failure
Since it was first sold off by Thatcher, England’s water service has been a failure. And successive Tory and Labour Westminster Governments have failed to address this. In Scotland and Northern Ireland water is a public service. In Wales its delivered by a not-for-profit private company. These services are the responsibility of their respective national…
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Will the UK ever get fairer?
NO: The gap between rich and poor in the UK continues to increase rapidly, whichever English party is in control in Westminster. And it gets worse if you compare Westminster’s performance with other countries in Europe. Inequality is much lower – and has stayed lower. Sources UK disposable income: UK Government Office for National Statistics…
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Why is a Scottish Immigration Visa Essential?
Labour promised to consider a Scottish immigration visa – until they got their turn at power in Westminster. At which point they u-turned. But why is one essential? Firstly, Scotland’s population growth is much slower than England’s – and has been for some time. Although more people move to Scotland than leave, our birth rate…
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Looking at rural Scotland
Scotland’s 2022 Census data recently became available at local level. You can find it here. It now has sufficient detail to allow quite small areas to be analysed. This is one such analysis created for Yes Tweeddale, which encompasses a rural area of the Scottish Borders. Demography and migration Adult Lifestage Those of working age…
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Winter Fuel Payment – more Westminster austerity
On 29-Jul-2024 the Labour government in Westminster announced the removal of winter fuel payments for millions of pensioners [1]. This austerity measure was not part of the party’s manifesto for election. As a result the money paid by Westminster to Scotland as the Scottish Government’s budget is to be reduced by £160m [2]. However responsibility…
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Scotland is short-changed by the BBC
Broadcasting remains entirely under the control of the UK Government. Whilst in Scotland many pay a licence fee, the BBC is unaccountable to the Scottish Government. The result is a public broadcaster that strongly represents the UKG Unionist position in its news and current affairs, and provides content very much under the production control of…
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Who’s working hardest on Alcohol-related Deaths?
Scotland has a long-standing issue with alcohol-related deaths. The rate of deaths is higher than in England and Wales – but this issue existed well before the Scottish Parliament was even set up.