There have been several U-turns by the Scottish Government recently, notably on juryless rape trials and the proposed ban on woodburning stoves in new-builds.
But The Herald’s Guy Stenhouse still found much to criticise in his column at the weekend, hitting out at Holyrood’s performance on health, education and transport.
Today one of our readers defends Scotland’s record.
Jackie Kemp of Edinburgh writes:
"Guy Stenhouse makes a lot of sweeping charges against the Scottish Government and Holyrood generally without any evidence.
He dismisses Scotland’s public services, but Scotland’s NHS is performing better than England’s on many measures – A&E waiting times, the percentage of people with an NHS dentist, and the number of medics per head, for example.
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There are some areas, no doubt, where England does better. It’s the same with transport: trains and ferries are cheaper in Scotland.
In education, Scotland’s score in PISA on reading was virtually identical to England’s: there was half a percentage point of difference. Westminster has failings too – too many to mention here. I am sure there are areas where each country can learn from the other but Stenhouse’s article seems more like the fact-free ranting of a pub bore than quality journalism. "
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