Peter Murrell arrested

That's a reasonable question varian.

My interest is in independence, not party politics. I considered joining the SNP after the 2014 referendum but would have had to commit to always voting SNP, and as we have constituency and list MSPs here in Scotland I wanted to be able to decide to vote for another party, if I wanted. The Greens benefitted from that decision.

I agree with the SNP stance on many, many things, but not all. But when people attack the SNP or its members, they need to be aware that they are attacking Scotland, and I don't sit by and let that happen.

I did, however, join Independence Organisations, paid them subs, attended their conferences and canvassed for what I believe in. I haven't been sat on my rear end, pontificating on Social Media.

Some University places are strictly limited and only available to applicants from deprived areas. Students with very good grades often have to go out with Scotland for their higher education.

When I was a student people could do everything right, pass all their exams and not be able to move on to 3rd year because there were no places on the course for them to move into.

When you manage to get education working perfectly, do let us know.

Volver 3 your education was last century? Time to move on and rethink university education in Scotland. It’s really not very satisfactory as it stands. Time for change.

How about the rent cap /freeze ..rents have been frozen during the pandemic and the Cost of living crisis ,now we can give notice of rises but ONLY of 3% and not before September .Evictions have also been put on hold for well over a year.
Now this doesn't affect me as the landlord of a number of Flats and houses .My tenants dont get regular rises some not for over 7 years but I do know of landlords who are spitting feathers over this .
I believe its been the right thing to do.
A decent roof over your head should be a right ,as should food on your table ,the SNP government has not only made the new Child payment extend to 16 year olds and provide free bus travel for 22 year olds and under.

That of course stops old bangers on the roads and saves young folk, studying or in low paid jobs huge travel expenses , and it keeps busses in rural areas.
AND the SNP government spends 600million a year MITIGATING the effects of tory policies ,like the bedroom tax and the rape clause for more than 2 children .

THATS the kind of government I want to see,not Michelle Mone swanning off to the sun on a Yacht bought with her ill gotten gains and NO tents in her garden of vans loaded with police !!No comeback on the governemnt criminals either who handed the money over !
Thats why I and most of Scotland DONT vote tory of the red or blue variety ...and haven't since 1955 !!

Only private rentals have been frozen/restricted to 3% rises while Housing Associations are free to raise rent by 7% - which means that many of those who are poorest are having their rents increased the most…I’ll say no more!

Scotland has the lowest life expectancy of anywhere in Europe and it has been lower for quite some time. Why ?

Your figures are mistaken nanns8.

Scotland does not have the lowest life expectancy in Europe.

Scotland 81 females, 76 males

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_European_countries_by_life_expectancy

nanna8

Scotland has the lowest life expectancy of anywhere in Europe and it has been lower for quite some time. Why ?

May I ask where you found your information nanna8?

It also depends in which area in Scotland you live, Deprivation impacts on life expectancy.
I also believe climate plays a role. All these factors need to be taken into consideration.

Life expectancy was highest in Orkney Islands at 83.9 (±1.2) years for females and 80.4 (±1.4) years for males and lowest in Glasgow,
My information is from the National Records of Scotland.

I should have said Western Europe, not Europe. Still, why ?

The information is from several sources, not just one. Just check it out.

As orkneys is pretty cold and you d expect a lower life span with hard conditions it is obviously down to artificial climate ie smoke fumes, versus clean air
I think all inner cities will have a higher death rate than open air villages won’t they? be it UK or Australia *Nana8
There are so many variables amount of people per sq mile must be up the top of the ladder

nanna8

The information is from several sources, not just one. Just check it out.

I have!

BTW, I live in Glasgow and worked in deprived areas. Lifestyle and poverty plays a huge part in lower life expectancy.

nrscotland.gov.uk Scotland has a higher avoidable mortality rate at 336 per 100k.
England 257 per 100k
Wales 287 per 100k
Alcohol and drug related deaths feature.

ronib

nrscotland.gov.uk Scotland has a higher avoidable mortality rate at 336 per 100k.
England 257 per 100k
Wales 287 per 100k
Alcohol and drug related deaths feature.

These figures don’t prove anything though ronib, because current mortality rates are related to post industrial poverty and health inequalities and are a long term issue. If you drill down into the figures, you will find that the rural, wealthier areas and market town mortality rates are completely different to depressed, urban areas.

Casdon

ronib

nrscotland.gov.uk Scotland has a higher avoidable mortality rate at 336 per 100k.
England 257 per 100k
Wales 287 per 100k
Alcohol and drug related deaths feature.

These figures don’t prove anything though ronib, because current mortality rates are related to post industrial poverty and health inequalities and are a long term issue. If you drill down into the figures, you will find that the rural, wealthier areas and market town mortality rates are completely different to depressed, urban areas.

Exactly what I was going to say.
Thank you Casdon.

Yes Casdon. Figures indicate that there is a discrepancy whether simply down to urban/rural or not.

ronib

Yes Casdon. Figures indicate that there is a discrepancy whether simply down to urban/rural or not.

Can you post the evidence please ronib? There is precious little data available comparing the four UK nations in my experience, so I’d be interested to see it.n

Casdon I have just googled information from Scottish sources and there’s quite a bit available online. King’s Fund, Nuffield, the Scottish government… I started with a search for excess Scottish deaths.
Don’t forget that Wales and England also have urban/rural populations.

Rather than all of us imaging what the various sources say, here's the link to the ONS figures for 2020.

www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/causesofdeath/bulletins/avoidablemortalityinenglandandwales/latest

No surprise that the Scottish avoidable deaths figure is greater, but it has been narrowing on the rest of the UK countries since 2002. Upturn for everybody since 2020; Covid, clearly. Figure 1.

Terrible rise in alcohol or drug related deaths for Scotland in recent years. But something is happening about the alcohol related deaths with the introduction of minimum level pricing. That's just coming through this year.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-65017659

Lowest life expectancy in Western Europe

NRS
&
www.ons.gov.uk

Sorry volver - x'd posts

Great minds Katek

These figures don’t include NI, which I suspect has higher mortality rates. It’s a pity the map doesn’t include Scotland as well, as it’s helpful to have a visual representation of mortality rates by area I think - no surprise that rural England has the lowest rates. I also noted that the highest mortality rates in GB are in Blackpool, which could well be the result of the deliberate strategy to use B&Bs for people on benefits, resulting in the creation of a poverty hotspot. It’s just not a simple equation of current health policy relating directly to current mortality.