Mark Irvine - Blogger, Campaigner, Organiser

I reported this street graffiti problem to Glasgow City Council and received a response to say that the flags are in the process of being taken down. I also asked about what steps the Council is taking to stop this kind of anti-social behaviour from getting worse, but Im still waiting on an answer to this point. Edinburgh has a similar problem, but seems to on toip of things if recent media reports are accurate. More street graffiti in Glasgow has popped up over the weekend with the arrival of pro-Palestinian and/or pro-Hamas on public lampposts in parts of the west end. As everyone knows, graffiti always breeds more graffiti - just like violence begets more violence. So I must get in touch with Glasgow City Council and ask what the council is doing to take these eyesore flags down.  

The NLS provided me with some notes/emails to explain the background to its decision to include and subsequently withdraw 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheehst' from the library's centenary exhibition. I have highlighted some excerpts in bold, but what's truly astonishing is the paucity of the 'case' put forward by the mysterious LGBTQI staff network who objected to the book's inclusion and whose intervention had the book thrown out. Read the information and decide for yourself, but as far as I can see this amounted to a few unsubstantiated assertions about 'exclusion' and a threat to 'notify LGBT+ partners' - whatever that's supposed to mean. How senior NLS managers took this nonsense seriously beats me, but you do have to laugh at an anonymous gang of trans activists calling the contributors to TWWWW 'exclusionary' and that their well-informed opinions would cause 'severe harm to staff'. Here's a reminder of these ...

I submitted a second FoI request to the National Library of Scotland asking for any written submissions from the NLS LGBTQI+ staff in support of their call for 'The Women Who Wouldn't Wheesht' to be excluded from the library's centenary exhibition. Turns out there is nothing - nada, zilch, diddly squat - beyond the   juvenile unsupported assertion about the book being 'exclusionary' made by anonymous trans activists.  So it seems this tiny, tinpot group who are accountable to no one, were able to persuade highly paid, senior NLS managers to ban a book with absolutely zero evidence to back their case.   Astonishing behaviour - and now I hear these same clowns are trying to get TWWWW banned again over some baloney claim about the book creating an 'unsafe environment for library staff!     Dear Mark,  Reference number: FOI 2025-2026 3001  Thank you for your request under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) received by the Library o...

Zack Polanski, leader of the Green party would have you believe that this giant man (Jammie Booker) is female and should be allowed to compete in women's sport and freely enter women's single sex spaces. Polanski is a crank.

How could the organisers not have known that this giant man was masquerading as a woman? All the women competitors knew of course and if anyone was in any doubt a quick cheek swab test would have exposed the cheater for all the world to see!

The Scottish government is shamelessly promoting a baloney 'good news' story about Scotland's NHS waiting lists - when in reality the figures are being manipulated by SNP ministers. The Daily Record reports that one third of kids are routinely kicked off waiting lists for mental health treatment, for example. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8dym2qzg9z

SNP ministers plumb new levels of stupidity and mendacity with the news Angela Constance (John Swinney's justice secretary) says she 'accurately quoted' Professor Alexis Jay despite civil servants issuing a correction to the Scottish Parliament.

The Daily Record reports that John Swinney has agreed to meet a grooming gang victim who has called for SNP ministers to set up a Scottish inquiry into the issue. But will Swinney keep his promise (he says he has a lot on his plate these days) and why are SNP ministers dragging their feet on something so straightforward? https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/lack-national-review-grooming-gangs-36301031    

Susan Dalgety in the Edinburgh Evening News shares her thoughts on For Women Scotland and the shameful behaviour of John Swinney who has been dodging his commitment to meet with the group since their historic victory at the UK Supreme Court.  "In March this year, just before the Supreme Court ruling, Swinney pledged to organise an official meeting with FWS. Nearly nine months on, and he has still not kept his promise, saying he is “too busy” to sit down with Susan, Marion and Trina." "He wasn’t too busy last Thursday night when he spent a few hours at the awards dinner. And he had plenty of time to go to Hampden last week to cheer on Scotland." I was lucky enough to be with @ForWomenScot last Thursday when this remarkable trio of women won Public Campaign of the Year - women and girls across UK owe them everything. Me ✍️ in @edinburghpaper 💚🤍💜 https://t.co/oOaWGiGzGr — Susan Dalgety (@DalgetySusan) November 24, 2025  

The Herald gives voice to Margaret Waterton who lost both her mother and her husband during the Covid pandemic - and feels let down by both Holyrood and Westminster. "The Scottish Government under Nicola Sturgeon had 'no real strategy other than monitoring the situation' in February 2020, while Professor Mark Woolhouse's attempts to raise the alarm to Chief Medical Officer Dr Catherine Calderwood were not engaged with properly and 'Covid-19 received insufficient or no attention in Scottish Cabinet meetings'." Herald link below: https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/25643385.sturgeon-johnson-criticised-response-covid-inquiry/

The boss of the Equality Network, a pro-trans charity bankrolled by SNP ministers, whines about For Women Scotland being named as 'Public Campaign Or Campaigner Of The Year' by The Herald newspaper. What a load of drivel and sour grapes! Not least because n o one is being 'excluded' by the UK Supreme Court's decision on biological sex. Instead the law has been clarified to confirm that men must stay out of women's single sex spaces - including changing areas, toilets and women's sport. I do hope For Women Scotland ask The Herald for the right of reply.  https://www.heraldscotland.com/politics/holyrood/25645284.across-public-life-animosity-towards-trans-people-becoming-overt/    

David Gowans, a self-styled 'ultra' injured an Aberdeen player, Jack MacKenzie with a broken seat which he threw on to the field of play. "Gowans - one of the ultras' leaders who liaised with Aberdeen over match tickets - has been warned he has reached the custody threshold and could be sent to jail." Just goes to show the mentality of these morons - he ought to be jailed. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/aberdeen-ultra-hit-player-broken-36286201  

I've attended more AGMs than I care to remember, but what I do know is that it's impossible to have a meaningful discussion if one group in attendance is hell bent on disruption.  All the 'ultras' have managed to do with their idiotic 'mob rule' behaviour is to deny other Celtic fans the opportunity to put their points across to the Celtic Board. https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/november/21/celtic-football-club-statement/  

Excellent news for women union members   - Sandie Peggie is suing the RCN (Royal College of Nursing) union for not supporting her in a dispute over single sex changing areas at NHS Fife. What is the point of a trade union that fails to stand up for a member who needs advice and representation?  None of course - and it's not the job of a trade union to be dancing to the tune of male trans activists who are out to invade women's single sex spaces. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g6dpn6154o  

  Jeremy Corbyn's new far-left party is meeting this weekend against a background of bitter accusations, in-fighting between rival groups and eve-of-conference resignations. So I though this would be a good time to share a post from the blog archive about the Magic Grandpa's wreath-laying activities in Tunisia back in the day. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/aug/13/jeremy-corbyn-not-involved-munich-olympics-massacre-wreath-laying Jeremy Corbyn: I was present at wreath-laying but don’t think I was involved Labour leader rows with Israeli PM over ceremony for individuals from group behind Munich massacre By  Dan Sabbagh  - The Guardian (14 August 2018) Jeremy Corbyn has said he was present but not involved at a wreath-laying for individuals behind the group that carried out the Munich Olympic massacre, a partial admission that has led to a row with Israel’s prime minister. The Labour leader had been asked if Palestinian leaders linked to the Black September terro...