Credit: PA Images
I’m creating a ‘Ruth & Kezia’ theme which I hope will lead to a novel and a TV series about two very unhappy politicians.
Based on a new UK Tech Innovation Index Edinburgh has the most active tech innovation community outside of London, closely followed by Glasgow in fourth place. 36 UK cities were surveyed and Edinburgh’s appearance in second place with such a small population compared to London is a real sign of things going well. The research will help businesses make decisions about investment so can only be good for Edinburgh and Scotland.
See this quote from the report in Scottish Business News Network yesterday:
‘Scotland already has around 150 data innovation and exploitation companies with a combined turnover of £1 billion. We also have world-class academic excellence and data assets such as Edinburgh University’s School of Informatics, a collaborative culture between industry, public sector and academia to breed further innovation which includes DataLab – our dedicated data innovation centre – and a growing number of investors choosing Scotland as a location for their data-driven businesses.’
This could hardly come at a worse time for Ruth and Kezia on top of Scotland being ranked the best place in the UK to start a business and far fewer of them failing than in the rest of the UK:
Talking-up Scotland 
Hey Speymouth. Howabout not copying the whole article? Limits people coming to my site?
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Why does the phrase ‘Cagney & Lacey’ keep popping into my head when I see that picture and first line of text? There are no similarities! I await the TV series with great anticipation 😀
It really sounds as though Scotland’s business structure has good solid foundation eh? There seems to be a lot of positive feeling within that sector, and along with Ludo’s recent report on investing hoteliers, we really are heading towards (already there?) a vibrant and innovative country. Living in Glasgow, I am, of course, a bit disgruntled this is all happening in Edinburgh!
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Glasgow is No.1 for shopping?
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Hi Prof et al – Goodness, the casting possibilities for the proposed TV series are too ghastly to consider!
Prof – thanks for keeping us up to date with the noticeably improving prospects for the Scttish Oil Sector – being Aberdeen based myself these things have real implications for daily life in the city.
Since I seem to be on a ‘Hotels’ riff can I widen access to a snippet noticed in the evening paper? Ian Watson owner of the Cullen Bay Hotel in Moray (that’s Tory + Independent controlled Moray) abandoned a £200,000 expansion when faced with an £11,000 rise in business rates (from Tory/Independent controlled Moray council).
However, the SNP Scottish Govt have capped business hikes for Hospitality businesses @ 12.5%. Mr. Watson has responded to this positive action (from the SNP Scottish Govt) by putting his proposals back into the planning process.
NOTE: The SNP Scottish Govt has committed to around £660M of business rates relief this year – This shows how the SNP Scottish Govt is helping ‘real’ businesses progress ‘real’ projects to improve the ‘real’ economy of Scotland and her localities.
Will be interested to see how the Registrar General’s (Tim Ellis) Annual Review of Demographic Trends is reported/misreported by our ‘media’.
Tim reports a 5% growth in Scotland’s population over last decade to 5.4M. Majority due to migration as natural change (births minus deaths) hasn’t contributed significantly.
In year to 30/06/16 around 32,000 more people came to Scotland than left. Of these 23,0000 from overseas and 9,000 from rUK. More than half of these arrivals are between 18 and 32 years.(ie People choosing to come to live, work and study in Scotland – that same Scotland which elects an SNP baaad Scottish Govt).
Over next 25yrs the projected increase is of 28% in pension age population compared to an increase of 1% in working age population. The Tory Govt (and Lab Opposition) are both committed to a hard brexit – which has desperate implications for the continuing in-migration of our EU citizen friends – let alone the ‘uncertainty’ for those here right now. Let’s all think about the Westminster clowns’ actions in the light of Tim’s projections – Those Westminster eedjits are dicing with Scotland’s whole economy, social provisions and culture.
56,728 deaths registered in 2016. 1.5% fewer than in 2015 (Blinking SNP Scottish Govt overseeing a reduction in the number of deaths in Scotland – those evil seps will do anything to try and win an Indyref).
Deaths from demetia have more than doubled since 2000 (The context – of course – is that people are living longer and fewer people are dying from other conditions such as circulatory disease).
‘Nuff said, Ludo
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Once more, great additional info.
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Ruthless seems pretty happy to me. Straddling tanks and Buffaloes “Winning” elections, telling the PM to get a grip. Things will have to go pretty well in Scotland to wipe the unnatural Grin of her boat race.
To my untrained eye it’s Kez who’s the sado. Maybe her independence supporting partner will help her to see the light.
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It’s hard to see how they could never mention it.
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Edinburgh’s innovation?
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The strange thing is, Nicola Sturgeon seems to be covinced Kezia is a secret independence supporter – she has said as much a couple of times in FMQs. I can’t see it myself, Kezia seems like one of those people that only sails with the prevailing wind – opinions based on what’s best for her own career. You never can tell though!
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There’s probably a link between Kezia’s attachment to the Union and her fathers support for independence. Now she’s got a partner who is an independence supporter. A Shrink would have a field day with Kezia.
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She hides it well
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Aye, quite the puzzle. In my aging way I think ‘oh well, the flightiness of youth’… then become more bewildered at how someone so flighty has got to such a prominent position. A psychiatric assessment would certainly be an interesting one!
haha, John, I hope you are keeping your twittering uncontroversial re. Kezia… though he must be used to the public criticism she receives.
Apparently the human brain is quite an amazing thing, allegedly, and being able to retain two (or more) completely contradictory beliefs is no bother at all to it. I chalk most exasperating moments up to this amazing ability.
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Her dad follows me on Twitter!
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