18 November 2025 - today's press releasesHighest number of 8 hour waits at A&E in 2025 Scot Lib Dems call for action on Alzheimer's and dementia Rennie: Scottish education deserves better than third decade of SNP Government must set out support for workers at Mossmorran McArthur: Prison crisis shows every sign of getting worse Rennie: Housing Secretary has some nerve as heating bill dropped Highest number of 8 hour waits at A&E in 2025 Responding to new figures showing only 61.5% of people attending A&E were seen within the 4 hour target in the week ending 9th November 2025 (11,020 waited more than 4 hours, the ... (more) |
The long history of Chinese food in BritainThe view that the British subsisted on overcooked vegetables until the Eighties is a tenet of faith for many, but the reality is more nuanced and interesting. Here's an extract from an article on the Newham Chinese Association website:The history of Chinese food in Britain is best understood in relation to the history of Chinese immigrants. Historically, the first Chinese eating houses in Britain catered not for local customers, but for Chinese sailors who had settled around the docks in London's Limehouse and wanted a taste of home. Until the 1940s, the majority of customers in the restaurants were not ... (more) |
Economic growth - simple but not easy, part 3This article concludes a three-part series on what the UK needs to do to manage 'beneficial growth' policy across government. This article briefly considers examples in banking, trade, commercial law and infrastructure. De Jure Monopoly Banking - 'Never a lender or borrower be' A purposefully restrictive banking sector, dogged by regulatory capture, has done much to inhibit the UK economy. The monopolistic sector structure was designed to create high profitability and crisis resilience in the UK banking sector; but the 2008 crash did not change this justification! In effect the sector's self-governed, cartelised approach, with multiple regulators, failed. Instead of ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1437Sienna Rodgers takes us inside the power struggle at the top of Your Party: "There is talk that the leadership race could feature at least one other candidate; a non-MP perhaps with a 'plague on all your houses' campaign aimed at highlighting the chaos that has emerged under those running the show so far." "The whole estate shares the same creaking water, electric, sewage and gas systems, most of which are interconnected across the buildings - meaning shutdowns for repair affect the whole estate. According to the official Restoration and Renewal unit, there are 'also hundreds of miles of rusting ... (more) |
The Supreme Court decision - End the Trappist-like silence nowThe Supreme Court (SC) was asked to interpret what 'man' and 'woman' meant is respect of the Equality Act. Their decision was that 'with respect to the Equality Act and that Act only' man and woman were to mean the biological gender recorded at birth and not that recorded on gender recognition certificates. This was a very unwelcome judgement and it has been seized upon by all manner of anti-trans people to mean that the judgement applies in all circumstances and in every possible situation. Most notably, this interpretation was jumped on by Kishwer Faulkner, Chair of the Equality and ... (more) |
Our West End weekly ward surgeries tonight #dundeewestendOur West End surgeries take place later today. This week, they are as follows : Blackness Library (Tuesdays 5pm - every week during school term time) West End Campus (come to reception area of St Joseph's RC PS and Victoria Park PS) - (3rd Tuesday of each month at 5.45pm during school term time) All welcome - no appointment needed! (more) |
The futile attempt to out-Farage FarageA Guardian editorial hits the nail on the head over the Shabana Mahmood's asylum overhaul, which they say burdens an overstretched system and hands political advantage to her opponents. The paper says that the home secretary's flurry of proposals are designed to signal purpose, but constitute a wishlist of demands that her department can't deliver: Currently, those fleeing persecution are given a five-year right to stay in the country and can apply for settled status after that. Ms Mahmood wants refugees to stay in the country initially only for a 30-month period, and then review their status to see whether ... (more) |