Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

Today on the International Transgender Day of Visibility we celebrate and recognise trans and gender diverse experiences and achievements 🏳️‍⚧️ #TransDayofVisibility Free download guide to Trans workers rights https://t.co/QY2YQBxY2L How to be a good trans ally… pic.twitter.com/gnbLV23LyE — UNISON - UK's largest union (@unisontheunion) March 31, 2025 Unison members are largely of women - in excess of 70 per cent - many of whom are mothers, but all of whom either have, or had, a mother who gave them life and brought them into this world. Now I didn't notice a nice message from Unison on Mother's Day although union bosses have found the time to share a message on TDOV (Trans Day of Visibility) - henceforth to be known as Teed Off.  

McCabe wanted everyone to respect the pretend pronouns of rapist 'isla bryson'. It's true to say the rapist is some mother's son, but his mother doesn't respect him or his pretend pronouns either. The most worrying thing is some people applauded 🥶 https://t.co/mTONCtLXKd pic.twitter.com/nhhK5oVoyR — Biology Rules Ok (@OkayBiology) March 26, 2024 Susie McCabe must surely regret her sycophantic comments on BBC Debate Night in which she defended Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government's handling of the 'trans rapist' affair . Still it's good to know the clip has been saved for posterity - it's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time !  

Professor James Mitchell wrote a thoughtful piece on Nicola Sturgeon's political legacy which I would summarise as - 'all fur coat and no knickers'. "It became obvious that Sturgeon had an unbalanced skillset. She was a brilliant communicator and a great debater, but eloquence alone does not translate into improved outcomes for citizens. It did not help that she surrounded herself with fans and refused to listen to challenging voices. Something important was missing. "There is always a tension between campaigning and governing. There was an added dimension for the SNP as it not only sought to govern but sought Scottish independence. There had always been a concern that the party would simply use government as a tool in its campaign." https://www.thetimes.com/uk/scotland/article/sturgeon-leaves-a-divided-snp-unfit-to-fight-another-referendum-dvpbd60vt Sturgeon leaves a divided SNP unfit to fight another referendum She became first minister riding a wave of opt...

Nicola Sturgeon said North Sea oil and gas should be left in the ground and her adoring fans in the SNP were too timid to tell her she was wrong. But now maximising oil and gas production is a 'no brainer'

SNP ministers playing fast and loose with public money makes the front page of The Herald. John Swinney & Co have paid millions to lobby groups and Scottish government funded quangos - Stonewall, Engender, Equality Network, LGTB Youth - to campaign in support of self-ID and transgender ideology.

'Another Sauchiehall Street', cry Glasgow locals over state of city centre works https://t.co/HXfNmG6llQ — The Scottish Sun (@ScottishSun) March 29, 2025 Glaswegians are rightly concerned that George Square, the focal point of the city, is going to turn out to be an awful mess - similar to the horror show on Sauchiehall Street.   

Millions have been handed to LGBT groups to “trans” our schools and public sector bureaucracies. To bastardise medical language, issue pronoun diktats and lure confused young people onto a pathway leading to chemical and surgical self harm. https://t.co/qDp5J6g4Ib — Iain Macwhirter (@iainmacwhirter) March 31, 2025 SNP ministers have been throwing public money at lobby groups and quangos to promote their support for the policy of self-ID and men magically declaring their have 'become women'. "Stonewall Scotland’s campaigning has been astonishingly influential, not surprisingly since it has had access to large sums of public money. It was the driving force behind Nicola Sturgeon’s attempt to allow natal men to  change gender by self-ID  and enter women’s single-sex spaces. That led to the scandal of a rapist, Isla Bryson, being placed on remand in a women’s prison."   Stonewall was paid £200,000 for advice which led to John Swinney and Nicola Sturgeon agreeing to drop t...

Toddler is kicked out of nursery 'for being transphobic' - as families blast schools' 'insanity' | Daily Mail Online https://t.co/jJn61AGPNO — Patrick🕸 (@STILLTish) March 31, 2025 I'm afraid there is no such thing as a trans toddler - never mind a transphobic toddler!  And the trans zealots who kicked a young child out of their nursery should be held to account.

Are the Greens the new fascists? pic.twitter.com/dWXv6vK7TB — Women Speak Tasmania (@WomenSpeakTas) March 31, 2025 The Greens are a party of infantile leftists these days - evidenced by this bonkers policy motion from the Green meanies in Tasmania which "denounces feminism and its tenets, and calls for state-funded programs to persecute feminists" 

In one of his final acts as First Minister Humza Yousaf confirmed the two ministerial positions vacated by Lorna Slater and Patrick Harvie will 'be absorbed' by other ministers who will pick up their duties and responsibilities. Thus confirming they were 'non-jobs' in the first place - and a terrible waste of public money. See posts below from the blog archive. Grubby Deals and Cosy Politics ( June 28, 2022 ) As everyone knows, the Scottish Greens are vehemently against irresponsible and unnecessary growth. Except of course when it comes to not one but two extra, uncalled-for jobs especially created by the SNP to bring two Green ministers into the Scottish Government - at considerable public expense.    Job Creation and Green Ministers ( June 14, 2022 ) While 40,000 job losses are expected in the public sector over the next four years it's a veritable boom time for Green jobs in the Scottish Government. Nicola Sturgeon deliberately created two new ministerial roles ...

If government worked well, crafting thoughtful policies and laws, then this would be okay. As it is 🤷🏼‍♀️ (Share token) Bloated’ Scottish civil service expands by 70% in 12 years https://t.co/nK0VELvXM1 — Susan Dalgety (@DalgetySusan) March 31, 2025 SNP ministers are under fire for overseeing a huge 70% increase in civil service jobs over the past 10 years. Over the same period the number of jobs in police and fire services has actually fallen by 6% - while workers in the college and FE sector are down by 10%. Like me, I'll bet no one has noticed an improvement in the way the Scottish Government is now run.

Here's a photo of my Mum - Sheila Irvine (née Fitzgibbon) holding her favourite son - me! Only joking of course because my Mum didn't have favourites - she had to leave school at 14 like most young women of her generation and worked her whole life while raising 5 children, all boys. So thanks Mum - you did us all proud.   

I've been very critical of the UCU (University and College Union) on the blog recently and here's more evidence that it's a Mickey Mouse organisation. The union's general secretary (Jo Grady) has agreed to pay Paul Embery substantial damages and costs after making a fool of herself on social media. The UCU is the union which failed to support one of its own members (Kathleen Stock) who was bullied and harassed by trans activists at Sussex University - in fact the union sided with the bullies and trans crazies. Paul Embery (a former firefighter) is a trade unionist, writer and broadcaster - and is donating every penny of his damages to groups campaigning to protect women's sex-based rights and the integrity of women's sport.    Bravo, sir - well done! UCU - A 'Mickey Mouse' Trade Union? ( May 03, 2023 ) If I remember correctly, the UCU union called for Edinburgh University to ban both planned screenings of Adult Human Female - a documentary film about wom...