Talking-up Scotland

Leaving to one side, for the moment, that the Labour/Unions Coalition is using many of the teachers as unwitting tools in their Operation Obvious Eejit campaign against the Scottish Government, is their underlying case for special treatment strong? Recently published research by University of Sussex for the Varkey Foundation offers interesting evidence though it is based on UK-wide data.

1. How relatively respected (so special) are teachers are compared to other professional occupations?

To measure this, they:

‘asked people to rank 14 occupations in order of how they are respected. These occupations were: primary school teacher; secondary school teacher; head teacher; doctor; nurse; librarian; local government manager; social worker; website designer; police officer; engineer; lawyer; accountant; and management consultant. These occupations were deliberately chosen as graduate (or graduate type) jobs. The occupations were also chosen carefully with respect to how similar or dissimilar the work might be to teaching. By giving respondents many alternatives, we were able to extract a precise ranking of occupations.’

From the above graph, we see that UK teachers are quite well-respected but not especially so. Support among the general population for a unique pay package might be then, modest, regardless of Reporting Scotland finding one or two to gush for them. The apparent resilience of the Scottish government in the face of strike threats may then be well-judged.

2. How relatively well-paid are teachers compared to those in other countries?
3. How relatively well-paid are teachers relative to the PISA performance measure?

Readers will know that I am no fan of the PISA rankings but given that they are widely accepted and used by politicians and MSM, their use in this context is at least interesting. The table above is based on salary figures adjusted for ‘purchasing power parity’ and compares those with PISA rankings to produce an index of crudely, ‘value for money.’

So, Chinese teachers are cheap and quite successful (7) thus good value for money while those from Singapore are supposedly the most effective (1) but are also among the more expensive. Teachers from Peru and Brazil are cheap but in terms of results (28, 29), according to PISA, not worth even that! Teachers from the UK are, by these measures, only moderately good value being moderately effective (12) but also quite expensive and thus not really worthy of a special increase?

That UK teachers’ pay correlates quite strongly with pupil performance, based on PISA scores, can be seen in these two scattergraphs, based on actual pay and on estimated pay:

So, both actual pay and what people think they should be paid correlate quite strongly with their PISA performance. All is in harmony in the world of UK education, it seems!

If we accept all of these conditions and, of course, I don’t really, but many others do, UK teachers are paid no less than they deserve.

Don’t get angry with me. My tongue is firmly stuck in my cheek on this.

https://www.varkeyfoundation.org/media/4790/gts-index-9-11-2018.pdf

4. How well-paid are Scottish teachers (and FE lecturers) compared to those elsewhere in the UK

Regarding EIS members working in colleges, see this, from October 2018:

‘Scottish college lecturers are being paid on average £5,000 more than their peers in England, Tes research has revealed. Average pay in April this year, calculated by Tes, was £35,809 in Scotland, where many have seen their salaries increase significantly following a harmonisation deal with management in the wake of a return to national bargaining. By comparison, average lecturer pay in England was £30,035 in 2017, according to University and College Union calculations based on responses from 166 colleges.

https://www.tes.com/news/college-teacher-pay-higher-scotland-england

However, regarding EIS members in schools, in January 2018:

‘The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that teachers’ salaries in England were between 83 per cent and 89 per cent of the average salary earned by graduates in all jobs in the UK. In Scotland, teachers earned 82 per cent of the average graduate salary, regardless of the type of school that they worked in.’

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/scots-teachers-salaries-fail-to-keep-pace-with-england-bnqxrkbjx

5. How good is the deal being offered to Scottish teachers compared to that being offered elsewhere in the UK?

Apparently, it’s a better deal so it may make up for the above differential in schools.

‘The Scottish government and councils say the deal they are offering teachers is the most generous for public sector workers in the UK.’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-46829153

This probably needs more explanation and evidence but I’m stopping here, in my interest and in yours, with this thought on the logic of a strike for some teachers:

LATEST: Ross Thomson for the India Office with immediate effect!

From TuS London Correspondent, L Thierry:

May’s exercise of patronage is bringing her ‘Scottish’ Tory WM cohort aboard the May Brexit deal. Remember – these folk have been considered unemployable in the payroll vote until now – see link and snippet from New Statesman article below:

https://archive.fo/UMuC9

Scottish Tory MPs are the big winners from a quiet round of government promotions

More than half of the 13 Conservative MPs from Scotland now have government jobs after a raft of PPS appointments.

The exodus of Tory MPs from government jobs after Theresa May struck her Brexit deal left the prime minister with lots of vacancies to fill – or deckchairs to shuffle.

While those ministers who resigned were replaced reasonably quickly, a raft of parliamentary private secretary positions – the first, unpaid rung on the ministerial ladder – were left unfilled.

In some cases, this was deliberate: Julian Smith, the chief whip, told existing PPSs in November that some positions had been left unfilled on purpose – so as to give him carrots or “poor man’s knighthoods” to wield before would-be rebels or to reward loyalty ahead of the meaningful vote.

Since then, appointments to the vacant posts have been made quietly, with announcements made at the discretion of the gigs’ recipients… Andrew Bowie, a
Scottish Tory elected in 2017, became Theresa May’s second PPS in the days between Christmas and New Year.

Otherwise, there has been radio silence and the government has not updated its official PPS list since September. The NS has learned, however, that a raft of appointments have been made with next to no fanfare from either the MPs or ministers in question.

Most striking, however, is the promotion of two more Scottish Conservative MPs elected in 2017 onto the government payroll. Kirstene Hair, MP for Angus, has been appointed PPS to the junior justice ministers, while Colin Clark, MP for Gordon, replaces Julian Knight at the DWP.

Their promotions – and that of Bowie – means that more than half of the 13 Scottish Conservative MPs now occupy a government job. (David Mundell sits in cabinet as Scottish Secretary while Hair, Clark, Bowie, Paul Masterton, Alister Jack and Luke Graham all have PPS roles.) The presence of Clark and Jack on that list is significant – last February, both signed a European Research Group letter demanding “full regulatory autonomy” for the UK after Brexit.

That they have been brought and kept inside the government tent in recent months reflects Downing Street’s hold over the 2017 intake and particularly the Scottish Tory MPs, only three of whom – Douglas Ross, Ross Thomson and John Lamont – will vote against the Withdrawal Agreement. The appointments of Clark and Hair to the payroll also mean that more than half of the 32-strong 2017 intake of Tory MPs as a whole now have government jobs. As all else collapses around her, Theresa May retains the power of patronage.

Patrick Maguire is the New Statesman’s political correspondent.

I wonder if wee* Kirstene Hair will have worked out how to vote by the time (if?) the ‘meaningful’ vote is held in WM next week?

Ed: Surely they’ve found something for Ross?

*TuS takes no responsibility for contributors’ abusive language.

The New Statesman is no friend of the Independence movement, but it has given space to some writing sympathetic to it and none of the mad frothing stuff we’re getting currently around Salmondgate. For example, in November 2018, we could read Nicholas Lezard writing:

‘I wasn’t pro-independence when there was a referendum on it, but now I’m here I begin to see the attraction, especially as England seems to have gone mad.’

However, giving space to serial raging distorter, Chris Deerin, they join the mob desperately trying to fabricate civil war in the SNP:

‘The war between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon could be catastrophic for the SNP. If the sexual misconduct allegations against Salmond are not proven, his successor will be left helplessly exposed.’

I’m only doing this because I’ve got a lingering residual fondness for the New Statesman, which I subscribed to in the pre-Blair days, up to 1997. Pre-Internet, there wasn’t much else to read, and they sometimes featured the great Neal Acherson. I cancelled it when they thought it clever to let Alistair Campbell edit it and then to let Tony Blair write for them. They kept sending me free copies with invitations to re-subscribe but they’d crossed my red lines and the independence movement pulled me back.

I won’t take long with this. Just a few points:

‘His tactics – and he is good at tactics – have been to obscure the grim nature of the allegations by going after flaws in the process. His crowdfunding of £100,000 to cover his legal fees may leave a bitter taste in the mouth – Salmond is by most people’s standards well-off – but it has been effective. The step seems to have been made for political as much as financial reasons, to show that even amid this crisis he could command the loyalty of independence supporters. And they flocked to him – 4,000 people donated.’

‘Grim nature?’ He has been accused of sexual ‘harassment’ and not ‘assault’ as one Labour lackey tweeted today. ‘A bitter taste in the mouth?’ Why one earth should he not crowdfund? I contributed. His costs could have been enormous. ‘They flocked to him?’ There are 125 000 members. 1.6 million voted Yes when he was First minister. In that context, it was no clucking flock.

‘His latest tactic, having won his case on a technicality, is to force the resignation of the Scottish government’s permanent secretary, Leslie Evans. Evans drew up new procedures for handling sexual harassment claims shortly before the allegations against Salmond were made early last year.’

‘A technicality?’ It was a significant error and an ethical failure by the civil servants involved. ‘Scottish Government?’ Salmond knows, and many supporters know, that Evans is technically part of the Scottish Government and that Sturgeon has to support her staff in public, but they also know that Evans is the target along with the UK civil service. As things proceed Sturgeon’s signing-off the policy will be distinguished from Evan’s misuse of it.

‘Salmond and Sturgeon are now at war over Evans’s future. The former first minister says his victory is an “abject humiliation” for the Scottish government and insists Evans must “consider her position”. The current First Minister, who appointed the permanent secretary, and who signed off the new harassment procedures, is standing by her woman.’

Well of course she is standing by Evans in public but when politicians are let down by civil servants, they are already on the way out. Evans is replaceable, but the party apparatchiks will make sure no dynastic war ensues. Salmond is hurt but it will pass once Evans has gone, the Indyref2 campaign begins and his powers are wanted.

Finally, the media gaze will turn. What fascinating horrors do the Tories have in store for us in 2019?

 

From the Community Security Trust, yesterday:

‘CST and the Antisemitism Policy Trust has published a new report, called Hidden Hate: What Google searches tell us about antisemitism today, that uses Google search data from 2004 to 2018 to show what people in the UK are searching for in relation to Jews, Zionism and the Holocaust, and what this tells us about antisemitic attitudes in Britain today.’

In February 2018, we had been able to see evidence from another CST report, contrary to Scottish media coverage, that anti-Semitic acts were much less common in Scotland:

‘There had been 1 382 incidents in the UK in 2017 up 3% from 1 346 in 2016. Of these, only 16 had occurred in Scotland, up 1 from 15 in 2016. With 8% of the population, only 1.15% of all anti-Semitic incidents took place in Scotland. ‘Incidents’ included tweets and shouts from passing cars. In the report, no cases of physical assault in Scotland were reported. Only two examples were offered, one was a tweet and the other was an insult from a shopkeeper angered by Israeli attacks in Gaza.’

https://cst.org.uk/public/data/file/a/b/IR17.pdf

A year later, this Google-search based survey tells a similar story. See the map above.

How useful is this kind of research? Here’s what the researchers say:

‘What can the internet tell us about antisemitism in the United Kingdom? It has been shown that people are remarkably honest when they search for information online. Their Google searches and queries reveal interests, prejudices and hatreds that they might keep hidden from friends, family members, neighbours, surveys and even from themselves. They have been shown to share their health secrets, sexual preferences, and hostility towards other groups.’

For more detail see:

https://cst.org.uk/public/data/file/a/b/APT%20Google%20Report%202019.pdf

For related evidence and media distortion of it, see

Herald fakes it with SNP Government failing to protect Scotland’s Jews shock

Scotsman headline is untrue: hate offences against Jews in Scotland are extremely rare by contrast with the rest of the UK?

Abuse of women and the disabled far higher in England than in Scotland

As religious hate crime soars by 40% in one year in England and Wales, Reporting Scotland struggles to keep up

Glasgow Herald’s nauseating attempt to distort truth about Scotland and racist violence

*Term used by UCAS

 

(c) SSEN

From reader, Ludo Thierry:

Further to the excellent news about Orbital Marine Power’s successful funding venture to commence constructing their commercial scale tidal energy turbine (interestingly using a novel concept of suspending the turbine from a floating structure rather than attaching to the sea-bed) we have a good report from beeb Scotland concerning another completed (major) link in the ever expanding Scottish electricity transmission network – see link and snippets below:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-46828162

Work has been completed on a £1bn subsea electricity link between Caithness and Moray.

The cable will allow renewable energy generated in the far north to be sent to areas of dense population in central Scotland.

The 100-mile-long cable is capable of carrying enough electricity to power three million homes.

Project leader SSE says it is the biggest single investment in the north of Scotland network since the 1950s.

The link uses a high voltage direct current to transmit power beneath the Moray Firth to a substation at Blackhillock near Keith.

Covering an area the size of 24 football pitches, it is the largest substation in the UK.

Project leader Dave Gardner said: “The successful energisation and commissioning of the Caithness-Moray link, on time and within budget, is a significant achievement for SSEN and everyone involved in the project.

“It will support deployment of renewable energy in the north of Scotland and beyond for many years to come.

The link is regarded as an important tool in tapping into Scotland’s abundance of renewable energy sources.

It is connected to the Beatrice offshore wind farm and the Doreness onshore farm in Caithness.

More sites in Caithness and Ross-shire are due to be connected in the next few months.

Another piece neatly fitted into the mosaic needed for a quick, smooth transition to Scottish Indy when the time comes.

Hayley Miller and the GMS Editor at work

From reader, Contrary:

Radio Scotland GMS is the strangest thing this morning:

(Millar and Maxwell reporting)

Their reporting between 7am and 8am has been fairly SNP-positive. They poured scorn on Willie Rennie’s stance of not approving the Scottish budget until the SNP drop independence campaigning – asking if he really thinks that’s a reasonable thing to do, when independence is SNP s raison d’etre. Implying that his stance is unreasonable. Not badgering him, but fairly incredulous questioning. As this article indicates, if the SNP are proposing good progressive taxation, why aren’t the LibDems supporting, or not, on its own merits? They really are a bunch of weirdos.

Questioning Labour’s man in the Scottish Parliament – wow that man is an embarrassment, and the questions had to be repeatedly simplified for him (again no actual badgering) and he still couldn’t answer most of them. On brexit: what is Labour’s stance if they are ready for a GE – he couldn’t answer (except for the tired old trope of ‘the people voted to leave’, and he avoided totally mentioning that Scotland very decisively voted remain) – and the interviewer said ‘so, the SNP are the only party that gives an alternative to Brexit’. He had no answer to that, but did not, bizarrely, criticise the SNP.

Then there was the question about Nicola Sturgeon being pressured to self-refer to an investigation on the Alex Salmond harassment case, what would labour do if she didn’t, and how long were they giving her? He couldn’t answer either except to say ‘it will be days rather than weeks’, actually, he did say, after simplified questioning, that labour would try and get support of (Scot) Parliament to take action. The reporters did say after this interview that it should be noted that Alex Slamond denies any allegations etc. In general, it didn’t have the feel of trolling the SNP.

A temporary hiatus? Are news outlets frightened of litigation? Or in fact, do I just perceive this as ‘fair’ because their usual raving is so extreme and anti-SNP and all things Scottish, that a milder not-so-critical reporting (but certainly not supportive) seems fair in comparison. Yes, I think it’s just my perception. But therein lies the biggest problem – we are so used to hearing extreme bias, that anything even mildly neutral sounds fair. That needs consideration.

Usual misinforming reporting: let’s tackle their headlining news item ‘research shows that people who miss doctors appointments tend to die prematurely’. Strictly sort of correct, but that headline is wholly misleading – what they actually mean is ‘people with mental health problems that miss doctors appointments tend to die prematurely, usually through suicide’. In fact, regardless of the rest of the reporting that explains this, the headline is strictly wrong – they are making the wrong association between death and missing appointments. Cause and effect. Repeatedly missing appointments is likely to indicate a mental health problem that’s not being dealt with, and keeping missing appointments may lead to not receiving help & further degeneration of that mental health.

                                                                                 (c) Mirror

Squeezed into three minutes of BBC Breakfast this morning we got a sad Andy Murray, the EIS having meetings about striking, the GMB warning their hospital porters about sharps and researchers telling us that people who miss GP appointments are more likely die.

I’ll get back to Operation Obvious Eejit but first, remember three things:

1. There doesn’t need to be a conspiracy at BBC Scotland to get this anxiety-inducing mix for especially, the old, vulnerable and infirm. In their bubble, long-conditioned, mostly making decision subconsciously, they think it’s normal and not biased.
2. We do know that such media messages, especially in the early morning, influences audiences in the direction of conservatism or fear of change.
3. Doses of generalised anxiety creation (GAC) do not need to be repeated every day to be effective, Indeed, daily doses of the kind common in the Soviet Union can lead to connections being made and a consequent suspicion that they are not good for you.

More detail with sources for evidence are listed at the foot of this report.

Perhaps higher in the consciousness of editors at Pacific Quay is the sense that contributions to Operation Obvious Eejit (OOE) are important for their careers. OOE is the willing coalition of Richard Leonard and his old chums in the trade unions especially at the GMB and RMT but also at Unison and the EIS. So far, we’ve had strikes and protests by care, rail and teaching staff with Richard speaking weakly at them. That such activity is not happening in England or in Labour Wales but only where the feared and loathed SNP can be attacked, is clear evidence of the cynical political nature of these actions and, of course, their callous disregard for staff and those whom they serve.

So, when we hear of ‘a number’ (1? 2?) sustaining injuries including ‘puncture wounds’ (pricks?) at one hospital, we feel we’d like a bit more detail.

When we hear that the EIS is having meetings about deciding whether they might ask teachers if they might decide to strike, we smell a non-story inserted to keep the OOE narrative boiling and sustain the GAC in readiness for any election or referendum.

When we hear that folk, who didn’t get in touch with the NHS, are more likely to die we smell a research award for finding out the bloody obvious. When we hear that, thus, the NHS ‘needs to do more’, we smell again GAC and OOE.

When all of that Scottish miserabilism follows an extended, morbid, gaze at a likeable but very rich and successful tennis player, as he nearly greets for the camera, we sense the editor just getting in the groove for the rest of the choices of what is ‘really happening out there where you live.’

Sources:

The Power of Early Morning Nightmares: The consequences including even death at home for expectant mothers of BBC Scotland’s reporting of one stillbirth

How BBC Scotland will disclose a painful and anxious reality for you

‘Stress and anxiety could cause early death’ says BBC Scotland. Could exaggerated, melodramatic and distorted, reports on health care ‘failures’, be contributing to thousands of avoidable deaths in Scotland?

 

It’s clear that Brexit could lead to the loss of development funding in several areas, but tidal energy research seems particularly vulnerable at this early stage. See this for more detail:

https://www.commonspace.scot/articles/11413/concerns-over-eu-renewable-energy-investment-west-scotland-after-brexit

So, this news is especially encouraging:

Peer-to-peer ethical investment company Abundance has closed its largest fundraising to date with £7 million for Scottish tidal energy company Orbital Marine Power, based in Orkney. Orbital Marine Power, formerly Scotrenewables Tidal Power, will use the funds raised to build its first production model Orbital O2 2MW turbine. The project has secured a number of supporting grants as well as equity funding, including from the Scottish Government. The Abundance offer of 2.5-year debentures with an annual return of 12% attracted 2,278 individual investors, with over half investing via an Innovative Finance ISA for a tax-free return. The average investment was approximately £3,000, with the project attracting particularly strong interest from investors in Scotland who put in 50% more on average, at £4,500.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/news/orbital-marine-power-abundance-crowdfunding-13839693

The notion of 2 278 investors, many presumably quite small-scale, seems quite heart-warming. Am I starting to find this face in capitalism attractive?

 

(c) scotlandstophostels.com

In that leftie online business magazine, Insider, today:

‘The Scottish Budget for 2019/2020 was introduced to the Scottish Parliament by Derek Mackay, Cabinet Secretary for Finance, Economy and Fair Work on 12 December 2018. The Budget contains a proposal to increase Ads from 35 to 4% of the relevant consideration. ADS is an additional amount of Land and Buildings Transaction payable on the purchase of a second residence in Scotland, e.g. a second home or a buy-to-let property. This additional amount of LBTT was only introduced relatively recently, in 2016.’

https://www.insider.co.uk/special-reports/what-is-additional-dwelling-supplement-13838231

A 1% increase might not seem that radical but it means that a second home bought for £200 000 would require a payment of £8 000 as opposed to £6 000 in 2018.

This news follows earlier example of Scotland’s tax system diverging from that of the UK, and in a progressive manner:

Revenue from SNP progressive tax regime to rise dramatically upsetting Murdo Fraser

Debunking the Tory idea that Scotland’s progressive taxes will trigger flight of the wealthy

More evidence of a difference as 73% of Scots back increase in taxes for higher public spending

Scotsman wrongly labels council tax rises as ‘SNP tax rises’ and fails to understand value for businesses of SNP reducing taxation of majority lower income groups

 

The combined forces of the Union, party branches, broadcasters and press, are all over this one, snapping, howling and slavering like a pack of hyenas round a lion which has stumbled and which they hope is mortally wounded. They’re in for a surprise as it stands, shakes its temporarily confused head, stares at them and pushes through, on its way again.

Back out of Africa – having attacked in the previous days, first by reminding and insinuating against Alex Salmond, then last night, slicing the other way trying to weaken the SNP Government with his victory in the courts over, in reality, a Westminster civil service appointee, they turn.

Now high on adrenalin, they try to use his victory to split off what they think is a compromised First Minister who, though a friend of his, must defend her Permanent Secretary. Indyref2 predicted this some months ago.

Richard Leonard looks nervous as his colleagues urge him onward – fight, fight, fight. Gammon-faced with pantomime rage, Jackson Carlaw, throws himself at her, all bluster and unsure footing.

BBC Scotland and the Herald feed their diminished audiences who, frankly, have seen more blood with David Attenborough. The Scotsman goes mental letting off its blunderbuss.

Some reader and viewers, trapped in front of their TVs or tired-eyed behind their papers, believe it really is happening. ‘Salmond is in for it now! Sturgeon has made a fatal mistake! She won’t last.’

But wait, as in SNP Civil War I, the infantry have not moved. Kenny is talking to the press. The MacTwittersphere is alive with debate. The Yes movement is showing signs of some anxiety, but the SNP seems unflinching in its outward stare.

The two ‘big beasts’ are wounded. They show it in their faces, but they are not turning toward each other with hatred. At worst there is regret but that will pass.

You should never predict anything in politics, but I’ll make an exception this time. Sturgeon will stay and lead impressively as Brexit and Indyref2 return in full force to demand everyone’s undivided attention. Police Scotland will not proceed with a case against Alex Salmond and the ‘offenses’ will turn out to have been, at worst, relatively minor, not physical and the kind of thing older guys sometimes forget they should not say these days but do say with a drink in them. [If I’m wrong I will eat my hat….which is made entirely from dark chocolate-covered ginger snaps]. Despite that, the media will attempt to blame him for the disappointment the two complainants now feel. The permanent secretary will take a package and she, with her alleged ‘rock’n’roll husband, will go off on his motorbike, three strings of pearls flying, to make a Scottish version of a Star is Born.

The SNP hold tight and focused on its purpose.

It’s that sense of overriding purpose that means the SNP will not split. Though now huge and with great diversity within it has a common core of such strength and meaning that it holds the centre together easily.

Labour, Conservatives and Lib Dems, in contrast, are coalitions of convenience sharing few essential values or visons. Pragmatic and calculating, they will readily jump ship and join each other as long some material need is promised to be met.

Though some SNP members are most concerned with greater economic and social equality, where others are driven by a desire for a place where all, women, ethnicities, sexualities, beliefs, are treated with respect, where still others foreground the environment and where some, like me, care most about having a foreign policy free of imperialist pretensions and violence, all know one thing.

We know that only independence from the last part of hostile, unequal, jingoistic, delusional superior, Britain, will allow any of our shared desires to be achieved. We know how high the stakes are. If we split, all is lost. The centre will hold because it must.