Sort of dizzying to think about how many people are alive today because Patricia Hewitt (ban on smoking in enclosed spaces) was health secretary and because Norman Fowler (mandatory seatbelts) was transport secretary and health secretary (HIV/Aids).
Gay husband. Small businessman. Scottish Labour. #LGBWithTheT and women's rights. Pro-EU & pro-UK. Labourhame.com editor. Our Scottish Future board member.
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Sort of dizzying to think about how many people are alive today because Patricia Hewitt (ban on smoking in enclosed spaces) was health secretary and because Norman Fowler (mandatory seatbelts) was transport secretary and health secretary (HIV/Aids).
Anyone inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt before reading it now understands that he’s both batshit and unrepentant. Only determined bigots could support the man portrayed here
On the one hand, the Guardian headline writer’s sympathetic framing of Linehan as activist is appalling. On the other, the final paragraph of the article - quoting his own words from a recording he both made and published - gives him so much rope they might as well have kicked the chair themselves
the two americas
Also, if you pick today to say that Linehan shouldn't have faced consequences for trying to incite violence, you are implicitly saying Farage is right that there's a free speech problem. It is in fact helpful if Cabinet members think before speaking.
Linehan's call to violence was not directed at the government.
No filter required to see the facts. Scotland is not and had never been a colony.
I can agree to disagree over the idea that an independent Scotland could have delivered this sort of deal for our yards, but I can't agree to disagree over the convention that Scotland is or ever was a colony. It's just a ludicrous, ahistorical idea.
"65 countries have left"
I've already addressed this.
If you're taking about the constitution unit white paper on the economy it's not remotely credible. It's a set of aspirations, not an economic plan, and it relies on sleight of hand about how quickly and cheaply a) we could set up and use a new currency, and b) we could join the EU. It's a nonsense.
That's not an economic plan.
Ugh, the old "Scotland is a colony" nonsense. Learn some history; we were never colonised, we were the brutal colonisers. The oppression myth of Scottish nationalism is as offensive as it is nauseating.
What on earth would be the point in me taking time to engage on your terms when your terms are that votes you don't like are rigged?
I am part of "us"!
It wasn't rigged. The fact that you rely on disinformation like that, just like Farage's lot, shows exactly the problem with your false-grievance-powered movement. Shame on you. You lost fair and square in 2014, just like Trump in 2020. You're no better than his eejits.
I'm a Scottish voter. *We* DON'T want independence. I know because *we* were asked. Why won't you take no for an answer?
'Unexpected'!
Oh my goodness, nobody predicted this, did they! Wait, no, the other thing.
Three interesting things here. First, a timely reminder of one of the many benefits to Scotland of being part of the UK; second, a striking strategic choice by Norway not to buy from the US; and third, a vote of confidence in UK shipbuilders who won this contract over French and German rivals.
The UK is an independent country! By exactly the same standard as you are judging all the others. If independence makes us poorer, harming people’s lives, why on earth would you want that?
I mean, Hamas have been trying to kill Netanyahu for years. What distinguishes Bibi isn't the morality of trying to kill him, or the morality of his horrific state terrorism, it's the democratic credibility of his position. Nobody elected al-Rahawi.
Where is the plan for an independent Scotland to prosper? You were fully aware that was what I was referring to. You are deploying smartarsery to avoid answering.
What do you think I got wrong?
If it's "for poorer" then why on earth would anyone vote for it?
You literally just told me that "of course" there was a plan. Now you say there isn't. 😂
Where is it?
I think the idea of it having been watered down is largely press spin.
We can see clear water on climate change here though, at least.
No, that's nothing more than Brexit thinking. If there's no credible argument for *why and how* independence would improve people's lives then it's not going to be persuasive, because people have seen what happens when you vote for a pig in a poke like that, and it's been a disaster.
Again, "UK governments have been bad" isn't an argument for independence, it's an argument for better governments. Independence does not deliver better governments.
Your argument - essentially "I don't like the current UK government" - is vacuous. It will not persuade people to sit to independence. You know what would? A credible economic plan. But there isn't one.
I suppose that illustrates my position really, in that I think - as in the past - the fight for LGBT rights has to be fought *within* parties, not *just* as a broader political effort pitting party against party. Fixing Labour is essential for restoring and improving trans and wider LGBT rights.
Those are facts but you don't need an arrest warrant from the ICC to be a terrorist. The man was a terrorist.
I'm not sure we've seen evidence of that, though they absolutely deserve to lose the support of LGBT people. But I was responding to your broader suggestion that Zack represents someone to whom former Labour voters (in England & Wales) are currently turning. I'm just not convinced that's true.
I'm not sure they did.
Should probably be mentioned that Chaya Raichik aka Libs of TikTok's entire career centered around falsely vilifying LGBTQ+ people as groomers and pedophiles only to be a part of the largest pedophile ring coverup in history (next to the Catholic Church)
I get that but I would say people like Zack preach mostly to the choir. Not sure there would be many conversions. I may be wrong.
Okay, but nobody here was advocating blindly following Labour.
No. Not sure why you think that's relevant? Or was it just whataboutery?
Do you think it's more likely that Zack will form a government after the next election than Labour doing so?
They are in government.
It's curious how reporting about the killing of the Houthi "Prime Minister" lends an air of credibility to the man and the movement. The Houthis are an indiscriminately violent, child abusing, populist grouping which exploits poverty and ignorance to achieve power. Israel killed a terrorist.
That's nice but a) not really relevant to my point, which is that when people dismiss Labour as the same as Reform and the Tories they are dangerously wrong, and b) Zack isn't forming a government any time soon.
While I fully acknowledge the unacceptable failings of the current UK Labour government, the fact that both Reform and the Tories are explicitly in favour of maximising North Sea oil and gas extraction means it remains ludicrous to suggest Labour is no different from these dangerous reactionaries.
The confirmed sighting of a yellow-legged Asian hornet in Runcorn, Cheshire and unconfirmed reports in Yorkshire mean that we need everyone's help to be vigilant, know how to identify & report using the Asian Hornet Watch app. Ports are especially vulnerable entry points.
I want to explain a few things and then it might be clearer why UK trans people are upset. In 2001 I married my wife, Sylvia. In 2005 I started medical transition. (1/13)
Forthcoming statutory guidance could have a profound impact on trans people's lives. I've written to the Women and Equalities Minister to urge her to reject anything that undermines trans people's rights, inclusion, privacy or safety, and for Parliament to have proper oversight.
Yeah. I used to type in code from Sinclair magazines and try to save them to tape. 😂
I tell you what, @patrickharvie.bsky.social has put in a hell of a shift as co-convener and then co-leader of the Scottish Greens. 17 years ago he succeeded Robin Harper at a point when they had just lost 5 seats and Harvie was one of only 2 Greens left. Today there are 8. He should be very proud.
That's an ... interesting combination! Though to be fair the ZX81 was indeed the first platform I ever played computer games on.
Congratulations to @gillianmacmsp.bsky.social and @ross-greer.bsky.social on their election as co-leaders of the Scottish Greens, succeeding @patrickharvie.bsky.social and @lornaslater.bsky.social. The reported turnout, with less than 13% of the membership voting, seems remarkably low.
A funny and inconsequential result of the widespread tech-illiteracy in the media which also has very serious consequences.
Turns out the preoccupations of the online right don’t mirror the way population thinks at large- who knew!
Polling from @Moreincommon_ on Lucy Connolly More than half think her sentence was too lenient or about right. Only a third that it was too harsh. Only 18% think politicians should associate themselves her, while 51% think they should actively distance themselves from her.
I see the Tories' latest email to supporters is about "Rachel Thieves". I suppose it is to be expected that their offices are staffed by public schoolboys, but I didn't realise they were still *at* school. Tragic.
An email arrives advertising the use of "AI-generated invoices" and I am once again BEGGING people to stop calling basic task automation "AI". No, automatically filling in descriptions, amounts and VAT based on previous invoices is NOT AI! No, enabling online payments is NOT AI! #DeepestSigh
It's hard to imagine just how much more deafening the echoes of 1930s Germany could be right now in the US.
I'm sorry, what the fuck?
Oh my goodness, this is absolutely magnificent. How to deal with entryist bigotry. Would that other groups (and political parties) had the moral courage and wit to do the same. There is still time.
I've no idea where you are, but it seems like you need a cool drink and a lie down.
A true dialogue of the deaf this.
You're just repeating your inaccurate statement.
What on earth does that mean? The Tories have MP-only voting until the final two, and on several occasions have conspired to remove members' say entirely (Major 1990, Howard 2003, May 2016, Sunak 2022).
I feel this!
That's not a response to what I wrote, it's a diversion. Just out of interest, why is a Green Party member who apparently lives in China so invested in Labour rules? Were you a Corbyn-era entryist by any chance?
The rules stated that every candidate had to be nominated. It's not "carping on" to point out that Corbyn changed those rules to suit himself, it's a statement of fact. Never again should Labour MPs have a leader imposed on them that they cannot support. It was a recipe for disaster.
The 2016 leadership election only happened because Corbyn allowed it to, and he changed the rules so that he didn't need to be nominated. He subsequently didn't allow another challenge, despite previously being on record as saying they should be annual. So no, it was not about the membership.
The 2016 leadership election only happened because Corbyn allowed it to, and he changed the rules so that he didn't need to be nominated. He subsequently didn't allow another challenge, despite previously being on record as saying they should be annual. So no, it was not about the membership.
It's Allister Heath. He divorced reality some years ago.
Overnight, this extremely well-funded tech company run by a billionaire has gone from “There’s no way we can possibly stop our plagiarism machine from convincing children to kill themselves” to “If you type anything we don’t like, we’re calling the cops.” Either way, they take zero responsibility.
No-one understands the markets quite like Allister.
NEW The UK constitution is even more vulnerable than the US constitution In the face of an illiberal radical assault, what has happened politically in America could easily happen in the UK By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...
In his darkroom he is finally alone with spools of suffering set out in ordered rows… —Carol Ann Duffy, “War Photographer” published in COLLECTED POEMS (Picador, 2019) #poem #poetry www.panmacmillan.com/authors/caro...
I blame the current government for not responding to the SC ruling with a clarifying bill which fixed the law to meet its intent in 2010. Just FYI, your logic says Jeremy Corbyn should have left Labour in 1983.
If we want to improve things of course we have to try to be above it!
I've already said I understand why that is the case. If you read the *rest* of that thread I am making an argument against *exactly what you are doing here*. And you are still just ignoring all of it.
Sorry, I'm actually old enough to remember when and how the GRA and the EA came into being. The SC ruling addressed the EA, which had nothing to do with any ECHR cases, not the GRA, which was indeed the product of an ECHR case. Scottish Labour voted for the Gender Recognition Reform Bill in 2022.
Possible causes of your problems. It’s a diagram that (sadly) still seems relevant in 2025, so reposting a year and a bit on.
No. Are you going to engage with anything I'm writing or are you just determined to be a prime example of exactly the problem I wrote about in that thread?
You're still ignoring what I'm actually saying and instead indulging in exactly the sort of polarising social media rhetoric my thread was disclaiming.
You're ignoring what I'm saying. I've not shown them it's a line I'm prepared to cross. The Labour Party is very well aware of my opposition to this, the Scottish Labour Party especially so. I vocally and visibly oppose them on this. Labour wasn't transphobic when I joined, it can improve again.
Isn't it remarkable just how much more of a clear-eyed perspective a little distance, in this case from the Wall Street Journal in the US, can provide?
That's surely for those individuals to decide, isn't it, rather than be told they are traitors unless they leave the party?
Absolutism on social media is not the route to restoring trans people's safety. The anger is justified, the injustice unacceptable, but the way out of it is not through shunning those who don't meet our standards but by finding ways to bring them with us. Finding the way out has to be the priority.
But more importantly, we know from the history of social change, especially around LGBT rights, that *the only* way it happens in a democracy is through engagement with those in a position to affect change, *backed up* by mobilisation, protest and condemnation, but not *delivered* by those things.
I think that in the real world these interactions are able to be more nuanced, and more informed, and that leads to better conversations and greater prospects for positive change. In the real world the membership of the Labour Party hasn't become transphobic overnight, even if its leadership has.
On social media it's natural to identify friends and enemies, goodies and baddies, on the basis of expressed opinions or perceived affiliations. We even have automated systems like the Shinigami Eyes plugin which identifies anti- and pro-trans accounts by colour. Find your enemies at a glance.
As a Labour member who strongly supports trans rights it's not uncommon for me to be told, as I was the other day, that anyone who stays in the party today is "a traitor to queer people". The root of this is absolutely justified anger at the horrific anti-trans policy agenda being pursued by Labour.
When we talk about the polarising effect of social media we're often referring to the deliberate actors exploiting the medium as an extremism recruitment process. But I think it's important also to recognise that polarisation happens naturally in all systems set up around self-selecting groups.
Can't help wondering if it's more about the job - i.e. the prospects of keeping it - for him and some others. Contemptible if so. Or even more contemptible.
‘A 2022 survey of NHS hospital trusts found that there had been no complaints at all about trans women on women’s wards. Trans women avoid men-only spaces for a reason. Putting trans women in men’s wards in hospital is putting them in danger.’ - @natacha.bsky.social
Spare a thought for Russell Findlay today, who has wrenched the party of Ruth Davidson so far to the reactionary right that not just Jamie Greene but Jeremy Balfour felt unable to remain, and today Graham Simpson says it's still not reactionary enough and he's off to Reform. 3 MSPs down in 4 months.
The thing is, even if I accept the racist analogy, I have been a PAYING guest for 35 years. And recently the service around this place has sucked. So, how about you straighten up your little maid's uniform and bring me my breakfast? Full English, please. And snap to it. I'm not here for the banter.
Florida Deploys Police To Stare At Crosswalks, Stop Them From Being Painted Rainbow Colors www.erininthemorning... #transgender #trans #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA
Bold stuff from @thetimes.com this morning.
Govt has not reviewed its use of X since April 2023, despite its outsize contribution to the 2024 riots, Elon Musk's decision to replatform most accounts removed for the promotion of violence (reversing decisions after the Christchurch mosque massacre) and Musk championing Tommy Robinson
If the Times is going to use the language of kitchen implements to describe the treatment of our fellow human beings, perhaps it would like to explain to us what will happen to them once they’re sent back to Afghanistan, Iran or Eritrea.