Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Today we launch our investigation into Scottish schools. FoIs from hundreds of schools revealed that 9 in 10 Scottish secondaries taught pupils that humans have a gender identity that may be different to their biological sex. https://t.co/FnAzTdyldD — For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) May 28, 2024 For Women Scotland (FWS) share the news that 9 out of 10 of our secondary schools are promoting a hotly contested ideology which encourages young people to believe they may be 'born in the wrong body' - and can self-ID into the 'correct body'. "At least 95.4 per cent are operating gender self-ID policies , meaning schools consider the gender of the child to be whatever they declare it to be." I'm afraid this is akin to teaching school children the earth is flat and that storks deliver babies. 

Godley quote tweeted this woman ending with 'answer the question' and then blocked her. They are fully aware their position harms women and are terrified of being found out. pic.twitter.com/oWcmUv6pDM — Graham Linehan (@Glinner) May 30, 2024 The ghastly Janey Godley can't seem to behave well on social media or bring herself to accept the obvious point that any man who self-IDs and magically declares himself to be a woman - is still a man.  

Just 18 months ago the political outlook in Scotland was totally depressing. Nicola Sturgeon had just railroaded her absurd gender reform/self-ID bill through the Scottish Parliament helped by all the opposition parties with the honourable exception of the Conservatives.  18 months on and the outlook is completely transformed thanks in no small measure to the Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht - who took their campaign outside parliament and refused to be fobbed off by the political establishment. The remarkable story is told in this great book edited by Susan Dalgety and Lucy Hunter Blackburn - a must read! 

The Michael Matheson affair should have been a three day story. The SNP have instead turned it into a six month saga. The ineptitude on display has been remarkable. A crime against politics, really. https://t.co/n1ihci48Je — alexmassie (@alexmassie) May 29, 2024 Alex Massie pokes fun at the SNP and John Swinney's efforts to persuade Scottish voters that Michael Matheson is the victim of a political witch hunt - instead of being the architect of his own fall from grace.  "Alas for Swinney, and doubtless for poor Matheson , the public is very much on the “string him up from the nearest oak” side of this debate. They long ago came to a firm conclusion about Matheson, and they pronounced him guilty. No amount of squabbling over the niceties of parliamentary procedure will persuade them they erred in reaching that swift, instinctive verdict. "So, to sum up, the principle of Matheson’s guilt was agreed and this being the case all that remained was a certain amount of haggling o...

And MSPs have backed booting out Mr Matheson by 64 votes to 0, with 63 abstaining - understood to be the SNP. https://t.co/O7qlUjB0wQ — Conor Matchett (@conor_matchett) May 29, 2024 Scotland's MSPs kicked Michael Matheson out of Holyrood by 64 votes to 0 - but the parliament's 63 SNP members sat on their hands and refused to vote.  Astonishingly SNP leader John Swinney failed to suggest any other punishment short of the 27 day suspension and 54 day loss of salary recommended by the Scottish Parliament's standards committee. If Swinney's a leader, then I'm a banana!

❓Is she an asset or a liability? 👍🏼SNP leader John Swinney tells @SkyNews the Former First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is welcome on the general election campaign despite the ongoing police probe. pic.twitter.com/KpZjeEKJRT — Connor Gillies (@ConnorGillies) May 29, 2024 The SNP are bogged down in scandal after scandal these days, but 'Honest John' Swinney insists Nicola Sturgeon will be an asset in the general election.  Next up - 'Morocco Mike' Matheson will be joining John and Nicola on a whistle stop tour of Scotland.  

Football may be for everyone, but women's football, changing rooms & toilets are all for women & girls. #SaveWomensSports pic.twitter.com/R4wZmwt5PL — Biology Rules Ok (@OkayBiology) May 28, 2024 Keep men out of women's sports!  

We're in the Guernsey Press again - setting the record straight on rapist Freddie Trenchard's sex. It's time that courts and news media stop pandering to the falsehood that men can become women and vice versa pic.twitter.com/mHVef0Kcmi — WRN Guernsey (@WRNGuernsey) May 29, 2024 The Women's Rights Network (WRN) in Guernsey rightly points out that referring to a convicted rapist as 'she' is an insult to all women. Imagine being a woman survivor of rape and having to refer to your attacker in court as 'she'. It's completely absurd.

This is simply the best, and most British piece of footage ever. https://t.co/eZQLw3HVpx — Dennis Noel Kavanagh (@Jebadoo2) May 29, 2024 Now this made me laugh - I think it's a sign that 'change' is on its way from the 2024 general election. Great 'product placement' by Greggs, by the way!

Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle issued a non-apology apology after his boorish outburst in the House of Commons, but on this evidence there's no doubt he's just a finger-jabbing mansplainer who calls people transphobic at the drop of a hat.  

I do wonder what kind of training went on at Lloyd Russell-Moyle's office when you hear these two women (one a senior ex-member of staff) haranguing a man and his young baby. https://t.co/jVGc9AfUfG pic.twitter.com/TphAuUuV1X — Mark Irvine (@Mark1957) January 19, 2023 Labour has suspended a sitting MP, Lloyd Russell-Mole, which reminded me of this post from the blog archive featuring two women (one a former member of LRM's staff) haranguing a man for attending a Let Women Speak event in Brighton. For his trouble the poor chap was accused of being a 'fascist' - and of raising a 'little fascist'.  Wow! Finger-Jabbing Mansplainer ( January 19, 2023 ) Labour MP Lloyd Russell-Moyle issued a non-apology apology after his boorish outburst in the House of Commons, but on this evidence there's no doubt he's just a finger-jabbing mansplainer who calls people transphobic at the drop of a hat.

Some students are struggling to cover the cost of accommodation & food, but @UniofOxford thinks a priority is to spend money on fake breasts. Bio Boys can get make-up, but not, we suppose, girls - sex discrimination at work! Maybe some friends could all be gender-diverse… https://t.co/0WD66tKqPr — For Women Scotland (@ForWomenScot) May 28, 2024 How can the Oxford Student Union defend its use of public money to pay for make-up products used by men, but not products used by women? Sounds discriminatory and anti-women - if you ask me.

NHS Scotland waiting lists hit record high https://t.co/qW01vnBtpO — BBC Scotland News (@BBCScotlandNews) May 28, 2024 Covid used to be the excuse for sky-high waiting lists, but the latest figures show outpatient treatment waits are up by 10% from the same point last year - more than double the size of the list before the pandemic. Public Health Scotland recorded more than 690,000 waits for treatment for non-urgent care as of 31 March and more than 8000 waits over two years - and 85,000 waits of over a year for either an outpatient appointment or to start treatment. In July 2022 Humza Yousaf laid out plans to "eradicate" long waits for treatment - including ending two-year waits for inpatient treatment by September of that year, 18-month waits by Sept '23 and those over a year by Sept '24.

Michael Matheson’s staying power exposes weakness at heart of Holyrood. Me for ST https://t.co/QstCvcEAYG — Gillian Bowditch (@GillianBowditch) May 26, 2024 Excellent Sunday Times article by Gillian Bowditch which lays bare the cynical behaviour of Morocco Mike Matheson and the SNP. Over a year ago Humza Yousaf declared the matter closed that there was 'nothing to see' and until yesterday 'Honest John' Swinney was trying to portray Matheson as sinned against rather than a sinner!  "Extraordinarily, the indefensible that Swinney was determined to defend was the former health secretary, Michael Matheson, whose lies about an £11,000 streaming bill for his iPad so damaged Humza Yousaf’s time in office. "To recap: Matheson, married with three children, racked up streaming charges of £10,935.74 on his official iPad in a single week on holiday in Morocco in December 2022. The fees were accrued because the device contained an old Sim card and Matheson had ignored an ...

The Scotsman reports that 65% of Scots think 'Morocco Mike Matheson should resign as MSP "The poll by Savanta found 65 per cent believe the former health secretary should quit  Holyrood , while just 15 per cent think he should not and 20 per cent don’t know. "A total of 62 per cent of those who voted SNP in the 2019 general election believe he should resign as an MSP." https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/poll-65-per-cent-of-scots-think-michael-matheson-should-resign-as-msp-4624423

  The public backlash against 'Honest John' Swinney has forced the SNP and Greens to abandon plans to water down or even rescind Michael Matheson's punishment - as proposed  by the Scottish Parliament's standards committee.  The SNP MSP for Falkirk West seems like to lose his salary for 54 days as well as being suspended from Holyrood for 27 days, but the majority of his own constituents (65%) think he should resign - and 62% of SNP voters agree!     Greens Act As Human Shields ( May 27, 2024 ) The Greens may be out of government, but they're doing their best to curry favour with John Swinney by doing a grubby deal to protect the SNP's Michael Matheson from a confidence vote in the Scottish Parliament. What a shower!     SNP - Spending Public Money On Human Shields  November 02, 2023 If you'd like an example of the SNP's casual approach to spending public money, look no further than Nicola Sturgeon's decision to create two entirely new ministerial...