Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Despite the appalling record waiting times and people being forced to pay privately for treatment, Scotland's health minister Neil Gray says the NHS is not in crisis. What a plonker.

Given the mess the SNP have made of things over the past 10 years I'm afraid Irvine's argument doesn't stand up to serious scrutiny. Irvine of course has lived in America not Scotland during this period, Chicago I believe, so he doesn't experience first hand the terrible NHS waiting times, the drop in education standards, £400+ million 'ghost ferries', Covid care home deaths, self-ID baloney etc etc. I think it's fair to say that if SNP ministers had put the same effort into combatting drug addiction as they've invested in 'Indy' over the past decade, Scotland would not still be the drug deaths capital of Europe.

Scottish Greens MSPs offered themselves up for cosy lunches in exchange for cash https://t.co/DurImcFP8r https://t.co/DurImcFP8r — Sunday Mail (@Sunday_Mail) September 15, 2024 Great story in the Sunday Mail about 'cash for access' and the Scottish Greens: Lobbying expert Will Dinan from Stirling University said:  “This is a bad look for the Greens. It also appears to breach the rules in place that governs access to ministers. There is clearly a perception of privileged access created by how this sponsorship is pitched.  "The Greens appear to have travelled some distance from when they were champions of probity when in opposition in Holyrood.”

Patrick Harvie finally got back to me about arranging a meeting to discuss the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.  Seems like Pat's only prepared to be respectful and meet with people who already agree with him - but what a rude, out-of-touch, arrogant man! Imagine a politician refusing to meet one of his  constituents for attending a peaceful demonstration in support of women's rights. I'll share my response to the Glasgow regional list MSP when I get round to replying to him in the next day or so. Dear Mr Irvine, Given that you attended the recent anti-trans protest and have misrepresented the proposals in the current Gender Recognition Reform Bill by claiming that they pose a threat to women's rights, I do not believe that any purpose will be served by meeting with you.  Clearly you disagree with the Bill, which will remove barriers to gender recognition which trans people have faced since the original GRA was passed. I strongly support the Bill, as did the cross party

  So while wee Patrick Harvie has been refusing to meet Glasgow constituents like me, the Sunday Mail reports that the Green MSP and his chums have been offering to meet any old Tom, Dick or Harry for lunch - in exchange for cash. What a bunch of horrible hypocrites! https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scottish-greens-offer-exclusive-meetings-33670582

Utter scumbag, hiding behind carefully selected rape victims after she put so many others through hell: https://t.co/CDjrJvPy1b — Julie Bindel (@bindelj) September 15, 2024 The head of Rape Crisis Scotland (RCS), Sandy Brindley, says she's unaware of the fierce criticism RCS has faced over its role in the Mridul Wadhwa affair. Worse still she's now trying to use rape survivors to defend her position:  “I didn’t see growing calls. Are you going to speak to some rape survivors, I think that would be an important voice if you are talking about me resigning from Rape Crisis Scotland, to include them?”

NEW on @LBC : “the ability to have women only spaces is central to… the Equality Act… it’s a position that must be protected and implemented effectively… the safety of women and girls must be protected at all times” - John Swinney on Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre report pic.twitter.com/veM4M82EPD — @GinaDavidson (@ginadavidsonlbc) September 14, 2024 John Swinney is full of baloney - for years the SNP leader has been posted missing in the fight to defend women's rights to single sex spaces. Instead Swinney has been at the heart of an SNP led government which has been shamelessly promoting self-ID and the absurd notion that men can magically transform themselves into women. In this interview with LBC's Gina Davidson, Swinney deliberately uses the words "women only spaces" instead of 'single sex spaces', as a sop to the trans lobby and in keeping with his SNP  predecessors Humza Yousaf and Nicola Sturgeon. Because the term 'single sex spaces' would exclude

That’s a bit of a diatribe, Willoughby. It’s also all false. What stands out is how not once do you mention you the vulnerable women using the ERCC All that matters to you, is your jealousy and hatred of @jk_rowling and your support for your fellow men. You’re a real mans man. pic.twitter.com/M0z3pemqTB — 🦖Leonora Christina 🦕 (@JammersMinde) September 14, 2024 India Willoughby loses his shit over Mridul Wadhwa, a man who self-IDs as a woman, being forced to resign in disgrace as chief executive of Edinburgh Rape Crisis. Yet the real scandal is that a man was appointed this role in the first place, as head of a single-sex service set up by and for women victims of male violence.  

What connects the SNP, the Scottish Greens and Mridul Wadhwa - the man at the centre of the Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) who identifies as a woman? Roz Adam has won her case against the ERCC and its boss (Mridul Wadhwa) for the 'heresy hunt' launched against her for refusing to believe in self-ID, gender ideology and the magical ability of men to declare themselves as women. Surely Wadhwa, Sturgeon and Chapman have to explain themselves and be held to account - along with Rape Crisis Scotland and the charity regulator (OSCR) who looked the other way when the going got tough?

"The leadership of Rape Crisis Scotland has been a cheerleader for the removal of women’s sex-based rights." https://t.co/9ESYMHCP5c — Dr Kath Murray (@kathmurray1) January 29, 2024 Joan McAlpine explains how the leadership of Rape Crisis Scotland became a cheerleader for self-ID and the removal of women’s sex-based rights. "When I was an MSP, I was approached by several women who needed to access rape crisis support, but wanted the assurance of a female-only service.  "They were concerned about statements by Mridul Wadhwa, a trans-identified male, who then ran Forth Valley Rape Crisis and had a senior role training volunteers in the service across Scotland.  "Wadhwa publicly criticised the part of the Equality Act that allowed jobs in the violence against women sector to be reserved for females. The Forth Valley Rape Crisis Twitter page was illustrated with a photograph of protestors brandishing a pink and blue trans-rights flag."     

A survivor of male sexual violence asked for women-only group therapy support, but was turned away by Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre - a publicly funded service run by a man who self-identifies as a woman. Mridul Wadhwa is a former SNP activist and friend of the former First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon.

  Magdalen Berns didn't pull her punches with this hilarious, no nonsense video about men pretending to be lesbians - and refusing to respect women's rights to single sex spaces.  "What do you think you're contributing to womanhood by widening the bandwidth?" "Why aren't you widening the bandwidth being male?" I'm sure Magdalen would have given this 'bloke in a wig' (aka Melissa Poulton) equally short shrift.

My most successful tweet ever. It is always nice to rerelease this, when Sturgeon is in the spotlight. It will always show her and her SNP colleagues in their true light…. Scumbags, am I allowed to say scumbags…Palladian wankers 🤣 pic.twitter.com/MxfGdt0cH2 — Ally (@allymurray7) September 13, 2024 A funny and very timely tweet from Ally Murray - how far Scotland has fallen under the SNP and its trans baloney!

Cyndi Lauper, Annie Lennox, Angélique Kidjo, Brandi Carlile pay tribute to the great Joni Mitchell with their spectacular rendition of Big Yellow Taxi. 

Trans crooks? Not my issue, not my problem, John Swinney says | ✍️ Alex Massie https://t.co/bR3bYgtc3v — The Times and The Sunday Times Scotland (@timesscotland) September 13, 2024 John Swinney plumbed new depths of hypocrisy at FMQs yesterday when he argued that Police Scotland operating a policy of self-ID for rapists has nothing to do with the First Minister or the Scottish Government. "It was one of those Holyrood days when you questioned the point of devolution. For, according to no less an authority than John Swinney, it turns out the office of first minister is worth no more than a bucket of warm spit. Why, the poor man cannot even take a view on matters of public significance." Alex Massie has the measure of the man.

Stop talking about "safe zones" in Gaza. There are only killing zones. Gaza has been turned into hell on earth. Israel is now killing, quite literally, with impunity. How many more massacres do we need to witness until those responsible are put on trial for war crimes? pic.twitter.com/jORFEc1VRe — Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) September 12, 2024 Humza Yousaf, as usual, has more to say about Gaza than he does about what's going on in Glasgow. Seems to me Palestinian extremists and their supporters favour war over peace - why else would Hamas cynically execute six completely innocent Israeli hostages? The only path to peace lies in Hamas freeing all of the hostages, ending its terrorist attacks on Israel and agreeing to a permanent cessation of violence - on both sides.