Is your street name weakening your Scottish identity and/or your religiosity?
Caledonia Road, Ayr (c) rightmove.co.uk
One of the local Ayr hotels has changed its name from the ‘Carrick Lodge’ [only a mile or two out of Carrick and really in Kyle] to the ‘Fox and Willow’. I’m sure many readers will have noticed similar Anglicisations [or are they bourgeoisifications?] in their local areas. I seem to remember reading that the burghers of Falkirk added the ‘l’ sometime way back to make it sound more English and ‘proper’. It makes no sense as the original Faw Kirk means ‘speckled Kirk’.
Anyhow:
‘Dr Oto-Peralías, of the School of Management at the University of St Andrews, compared the street names of Scottish Westminster parliamentary constituencies with a recent population census asking people to identify their national identity. In areas with a lower number of such union-themed street names, people were more likely to describe themselves as having a ‘Scottish identity only’. People living in Scottish areas with street names commemorating Britain, such as ‘Queen’, ‘Royal’, ‘Regent’ or ‘London’ are less likely to define themselves as Scottish only, new research from the University of St Andrews has revealed.’
The study published in the Journal of Economic Geography also found that people living in areas with a high proportion of streets referring to ‘church’ or ‘chapel’ were more likely to identify as Christian. See this:
a-left) Street-name indicator measuring the historical importance of Christianism (percentage of streets containing the word ‘church’ or ‘chapel’)
b-right) Percentage of the population identifying themselves as Christian (from census data)
https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/news/archive/2017/title,1745319,en.php
The correlation with religiosity seems a bit weak in parts of these maps especially West central Scotland. Three strongly Christian areas are there yet they’re clearly deprived of street names to keep up their spirits (;-). Also street names in North-east Scotland failing to stem the tide of atheism.
There’s a street in Muirkirk called ‘Pagan Walk’. The RC Primary School used to be there but has since closed. Who knows how many ‘Union Streets’ there are. Maybe I should move from my current address at……guess?
Tories to make U-turn on VAT exemption for Police and Fire Scotland and try to save Scots Tories at the same time
(c) GETTY
During Question Time the PM hinted at this reversal but used the opportunity to make a sad attempt to improve the currently disastrous image of her Scottish MPs and said the change would be because of their representations to the Treasury. I reported on this in October:
After endless exposures of bigotry, neo-facism, racism, misogyny and homophobia among the ranks of their activists, councillors, MSPs and MPs, are the Scottish Tories trying to do something useful. Here’s some of their ‘previous’:
Open Democracy Expose bad smell in funding of Scottish Tories
I told you. Tories cannot contain their inherent nastiness.
However, Scotland’s 13 Tory MPs have all written to the Chancellor to ask him to give the Scottish police and fire services VAT-exemption as is the case for their English equivalents. The anomaly is because the Scottish services are ‘national’ while the English services are ‘local’ thus exempt from VAT by HMRC under current legislation. Since 2013, Police Scotland has paid a total of £76.5 million in Vat and currently has a £25 million overspend despite an extra £55 million this year from the Scottish Government. It’s clear what is causing the overspend. As the Scottish Tories’ popularity seems to be falling again in the polls, I suspect the Chancellor might be more sympathetic to them than he has been to the same plea from the Scottish government over the last few years. So, admittedly useful but probably mainly self-interested like the DUP deal Theresa did to survive.
However, it’ll clearly take more than this news, no matter how much GMS and RepScot carpet bomb us with the story, to help them now. Peak Oil may not be as soon as we thought but Peak Scottish Tories has passed. See this for evidence:
SNP pulling ahead again and Tories falling back to third place in Westminster voting intentions
Scotland’s airports hit record highs to boost our economy
(c) Picture: Ian Georgeson
Glasgow had record numbers up 5% to 928 000. Edinburgh also had a record number up 1.5% to 465 813 in domestic and up 12.4% to 1 226 109 in international.
Edinburgh’s numbers were boosted by 6 new Ryanair routes while Glasgow was boosted by Celtic’s games with Bayern Munich.
This is part of an ongoing trend suggesting strong general economic health made apparent in air travel increases. See:
Scotland’s economic growth evident in increased passenger numbers at Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports
As UK employment levels fall, Scotland’s rises
Linked by the Guardian to the aftermath of the Brexit vote, UK employment levels have fallen for the first time since then.
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/nov/15/uk-employment-falls-brexit-vote-ons-unemployed
In contrast, Scotland’s employment rate rose to 75.2% above the UK rate of 75%. Female employment is higher at 72.1% compared with 70.6% and youth unemployment remains significantly lower than the UK figure at 9.4% as opposed to 13.2%.
Also, unemployment in Scotland remained lower than in the UK, falling over the year, by 0.8% to 4.0% as opposed to 4.3%.
https://news.gov.scot/news/labour-market-statistics-2
With particular regard to youth unemployment, Scotland has among the best rates in Europe. See:
There is rarely a day when I cannot find good news about Scotland. I don’t watch or listen but I’m guessing our Unionist broadcast media find it impossible at times. To be fair, the BBC website often manages but how many No voters read that?
SNP Government defeats the Scotch Whisky Association to introduce life-saving minimum prices for alcohol sales
The UK supreme court has ruled that minimum alcohol pricing is legal under EU law after a five-year battle between the Scottish government and the Scotch Whisky Association. Minimum pricing will be introduced as quickly as possible with a timetable put before parliament in a matter of days.
In these five years, alcohol-related deaths in Scotland rose as supermarkets sold alcohol at as low as 18p per unit. Though the plan to increase that to 50p per unit will mean a bottle of whisky costing no less than £14, it seems unlikely that whisky consumption was the main target but rather the incredibly low cost of packs of high strength lagers and of often dubiously sourced vodka used with mixers by younger drinkers.
According to the First Minister, in the Guardian today:
‘Given the clear and proven link between consumption and harm, minimum pricing is the most effective and efficient way to tackle the cheap, high-strength alcohol that causes so much damage to so many families.’
As with the banning of smoking in public enclosed spaces, Scotland is leading the way on improving public health and putting the interests of the wider community ahead of those of the corporations. How soon will Tory England follow?
Shop closures across Scotland down 35% in 2017 and net increases in openings in Paisley, Dundee and Falkirk. Yet another sign of growing economic strength?
(c) emmaus.org.uk
Though we are still seeing a net decline with more shops closing than opening, the rate seems to be slowing. Statistics from Local Data Company for Accountants PwC and reported in Insider, show 132 closures and 90 openings in the last year giving a net loss of 42. In the previous year there were 203 closures and 116 openings giving a net loss of 87.
Across the country there was some variation with Paisley, Dundee and Falkirk all showing net increases. Glasgow and Edinburgh had the most closures dropping from 50 to 44 and 82 to 37 respectively. The quite large decline, greater than the overall national decline at 45, in Edinburgh is surprising given the city’s overall economic health reported before here:
Sunshine on Leith? Edinburgh the most prosperous city after London
There is presumably a local explanation for the Edinburgh figures and they must be distorting the overall Scottish picture to suggest a decline nationally which is not actually there. Perhaps the declines in Edinburgh and Glasgow can been seen as signs of over-reach or saturation in already buoyant centres while the increases in the smaller and less affluent centres in Paisley, Dundee and Falkirk can be seen as very good news and signs of recovery there. The main decline was in banks, women’s clothing and shoe shops and the main increases were in recruitment agencies and fast food takeaways.
http://www.insider.co.uk/news/pace-shop-closures-scotland-slows-11518436
The slowing decline or the actual lack of decline outside of Edinburgh is one more factor suggesting growing strength in the Scottish economy. At risk of over-repeating, see these as other recent indicators:
Scotland’s economy continues to show signs of good health and growth
More evidence Scottish economy is strong: Demand for office space in Glasgow highest for ten years
Documentary on PFI/PPP reveals potential criminality and establishment cover-up
Europe’s biggest hydrogen-powered bus fleet and now the UK’s biggest hydrogen cell installation are both in Scotland
(c) Annenberg Learner
With a little irony, ‘Oil City’, Aberdeen, already has the UK’s largest hydrogen-powered bus fleet. The buses hold only 40Kg of hydrogen and have a range of 260 miles. The project cost £19 million and will make a major contribution to improving air quality in the city. I don’t think Aberdeen has ever had a red alert for pollution levels, like London but it’s good they’re working to pre-empt such a situation in the future.
Europe’s largest fleet of hydrogen-fuelled buses is in Aberdeen
From the Scottish Business News Network:
‘Now the UK’s largest hydrogen fuel cell installation in the UK is being installed at the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC). From the Scottish Business News Network: The cells, which will deliver clean, sustainable and reliable energy for the facility, will have a total electrical output of 1.4MW, which is on a par with the largest fuel cell installations in Europe. UK energy engineering specialist Doosan Babcock has supplied three cells which will provide an independent source of dependable, affordable, low-emission heat and power for the 150-acre site.’
https://sbnn.co.uk/2017/11/12/uks-largest-hydrogen-cell-installation-arrives-new-aecc/
While the wind-farms are getting all the attention setting productivity records monthly, hydrogen-power is an important element in an overall strategy for renewables in Scotland. I don’t know why but I’m guessing there’s a good reason for electric battery-powered cars but hydrogen-powered buses. A scientifically-literate reader will no doubt explain.
Scotland is already ahead of the game in hydrogen production too. For the first time anywhere in the world, the Scottish Government’s £3 million-funded European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) has produced hydrogen gas using electricity generated from tidal energy, in Orkney. Here’s how it works as explained in the EMEC report
‘By harnessing the power of the tide at EMEC’s tidal energy test site at the Fall of Warness, Eday, Orkney, prototype tidal energy converters – Scotrenewables’ SR2000 and Tocardo’s TFS and T2 turbine – fed power into an electrolyser situated next to EMEC’s onshore substation. Supplied by ITM Power, the electrolyser uses the electricity to split water (H2O) into its component parts – hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). The electrolyser is housed in a standard 20’ by 10’ ISO container with hydrogen generation capacity of up to 220kg/24hours.’
http://www.emec.org.uk/press-release-worlds-first-tidal-powered-hydrogen-generated-at-emec/
Remember, this was done with electricity from one marine turbine in the Orkneys. There’s a four hundred marine turbine field being built in the Pentland Firth.
Finally, there is a solution to the problem of storing the gas too, but the Germans are ahead of us on this one. I wrote a few weeks ago about a solution to storing surplus energy produced by our already massive renewables capacity to extract hydrogen simply and cheaply and safely from water and to store the gas in tanks on unused oil rigs. It’s already being looked at seriously by the Germans, so you know what that means:
Already the best staffed and least stressed in the UK, Scottish GPs to get better contracts
(c) GETTY
See this from gov.scot:
‘A new GP contract, jointly designed and agreed with the British Medical Association, will be the biggest reform of GPs services in over a decade. The proposals will ensure that all patients get the support they need from an extended community healthcare team – led by GPs and including nurses, physiotherapists, community mental health workers, paramedics, and pharmacists – to ensure more patients get the best and most appropriate care.’
https://news.gov.scot/news/new-contract-for-gps
I’m all for this. Having been a patient more often in recent times, I can see what they have to put up with. However, it’s important, I think, to remember that general practice in Scotland has been better staffed than in rUK for some time and that Scottish GPs seem to consider themselves less stressed and less overworked too.
First, Scotland has significantly more GPs per head of population:
Scotland –1 GP to 1083 people.
England – 1 GP to 1338 people.
Wales – 1 GP to 1375 people.
Northern Ireland – 1 GP to 1445 people
http://stv.tv/news/politics/1357142-scotland-has-best-gp-to-patient-ratio-in-uk-statistics-show/
Second, Scottish GPs are the most satisfied with practising medicine:
Scotland – 80%
England – 65%
Wales – 67%
Northern Ireland – 71%
Third, fewer Scottish GPs work excessive hours than those in the rest of the UK (percentages):
England Scotland Wales N Ireland
1-34 22 15 20 20
35-44 29 34 33 34
44-54 28 39 32 28
50 or over 21 12 15 19
Fourth, Scottish doctors are the least stressed in the UK (percentages)
England Scotland Wales N Ireland
Extremely 19 7 18 15
Very 43 25 37 27
Somewhat 34 57 36 47
Not too 3 11 8 10
Not at all 1 0 1 0
All of the above come from a rigorous academic study carried out by professional researchers, not interested parties like the BBC, BMA or RCGP, at the Commonwealth Institute (USA): http://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/in-the-literature/2015/dec/primary-care-physicians-in-ten-countries
I had to make a special request for the breakdown of the UK figures.
The Commonwealth Institute also identified the NHS across the UK as superior to most other systems across the globe, especially that of Obama’s USA.
Add the new contract to the above and we can at least be satisfied with the Scottish Government’s clear lack of complacency.
Talking-up Scotland 