Thought for the Day, Brexit: What's the f**k is going on, well we know what is going on, certain groups seek to rob the people of the UK of their democratic vote by creating chaos, the current party system is failing the people it is supposed to protect, like football, we need new teams and players on the pitch

Dear All

Today should have been Brexit day, the day we left the European Union after 40 plus years of membership. Yesterday I mentioned the importance of comedy, and how the truth is the most damaging thing to use in politics.

I found this clip on youtube and wanted to share it with you, although this is a comedy sketch, the message of the deranged reporter is biting and classic.

I would like you to take the opportunity to view and think about it on a personal level and how those words ring eerily true regarding your fellow citizens.

For far too long there has been a failure to invest in British people and their future, and Brexit in some way is payback for this situation created by politicians. If there is a message for politicians here is it that identity politics and neglect have brought us to the brink of a failing society.

There are too many have nots and a lack of political will to do anything for them.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University 

Where’s the leadership Nicola, deeply butt hurt SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon hits back after Jeremy Corbyn attack video history lesson on the SNP, SNP MPs rebel against Sturgeon on her People's Vote making her look an absolute fool, what was her trip to London all about now SNP MPs have effectively betrayed her?

Dear All

In the chaos that is Brexit, we can often find some comedy which lightens the moment. As we have seen so far the Prime Minister Theresa May despite having several attempts is unable to get a deal through the House of Commons.

What the PM should do is not continue trying to get her treaty through but have gone with WTO Brexit, otherwise known as hard Brexit. It has been an open secret that Theresa May is stepping down, what is going on within the Conservative Party is a power struggle with people jockeying for position to be leader. Two people caught my eye, both Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees Mogg have effective U-turned to say now the ‘deal’ is acceptable and that they will back it.

Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees Mogg will not be winning any future leadership contest post May, although it is expected that they will throw their hats into the ring.

Anyway back to comedy, the secret of comedy as we all know is timing, and when the barb has the truth attach to it, it can be very painful indeed. I have watched politics since I was a kid way back in the 1970’s, when bad movies, bad haircuts and bad fashion were all the rage!

It appears that a history lesson has deeply butt hurt Nicola Sturgeon, Jeremy Corbyn has sparked Sturgeon’s anger after posting a video claiming the party ushered in Margaret Thatcher's government and 18 years of Conservative government. Towards the end of the 1970’s, the government was led by Labour PM James Callaghan were union power saw strikes that done incredible damage to the country. No one who lived through that time needs a history lesson, the UK was a mess and the traditional industries were in decline.

In Westminster at that time sat 11 SNP MPs. As the weakened Callaghan's government faced a no-confidence vote, the SNP voted with the Conservatives and the rest is history. Margaret Thatcher won the general election and entered Downing Street. The modern SNP use a theme of being ‘anti Tory’, so anything which doesn’t fit that narrative is enough to anger them deeply. The truth is that the SNP ushered in 18 years of Conservative rule, during which their electoral fortunes nose dived.    

Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t want to acknowledge that the SNP helped put Margaret Thatcher in power, so when Jeremy Corbyn posted a 47-second video on Twitter looking back at the 1979 no-confidence vote in James Callaghan's government, which was won by one vote. She is freaking out because the SNP rely on traditional Labour voters to swing towards them, both Labour and the SNP fish for votes in the same pond.

What is especially funny about Corbyn sharing the video is that it contains footage of SNP MP Tommy Sheppard's comments from last year that "in retrospect, I would have done exactly the same thing".

This is the message that Nicola Sturgeon wants ordinary Scottish people to hear, hence SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon replied:

“Dear @jeremycorbyn - instead of talking about things that happened when I was eight years old, how about showing some leadership today?”

Every job in the Scottish Government given to her and held by her was steeped in failure, so it is a bit rich for her to talk about leadership, especially when the talk is of her bailing out to seek job opportunities elsewhere.

She added:

“You could start by asking yourself why the polls show you still trailing behind the most incompetent Tory government in our lifetimes.”

The ‘arrow of truth’ pierced deep into Nicola Sturgeon, the Conservative Party will have enjoyed Jeremy Corbyn’s video

Stewart McDonald, the SNP MP for Glasgow South, a little Sturgeon helper and ‘ally’ added:

“How about you get off your a*** and deal with the problems we face right now rather than indulging yourself in more fantasy bogeyman trash?”

You may remember McDonald from the Tommy Robinson video allegedly said to be hiding under a desk at Pollokshaws library and screaming for Police protection. It seems that when McDonald created a problem for himself, he had no intention of dealing with that problem then and there. I think it was a matter of lacking in personal courage commonly known as being a ‘shitbag’.

This comic moment has yet again shown the ugly side of Nicola Sturgeon and her Glasgow Southside clique as they press for a so-called People's Vote which is a non starter. It also takes the shine away from her First Minister's Questions at Holyrood, she said:

“This whole process thanks to the Tories is now such a mess that stopping Brexit altogether must now be our top priority. And moreover that is now possible. The highest number of votes cast in the House of Commons last night was for the People's Vote option.”

To be clear, all Brexit options have been rejected by MPs, this is the reality which Nicola Sturgeon doesn’t want you to look at; she wants you to accept her slanted version.

Finally, what does it say to you that SNP MPs in the Commons have failed to support an option in favour of the UK establishing a customs union with the EU, something Sturgeon's party has repeatedly argued for? Does that show a lack of leadership, does that show a lack of planning, does that show Sturgeon’s leadership is failing? It seems that when you want to do damage, you should use the truth, just look how rattled and deeply butt hurt Nicola Sturgeon is over a 47 second video by Jeremy Corbyn.

The clock for Brexit is still counting down and we should have left the EU tomorrow.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Check your privilege Kezia, former Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale says she stands by her article accusing Wings Over Scotland of 'homophobic tweets', her court case in Edinburgh looks like a loser, would ma’am want to pay by cash or cheque?

Dear All

In the eternal battle between the light and the darkness, we sometimes get side tracked by a story over words, and how they are used. One of the modern phenomenons is the use of ‘labelling’ by people involved in politics. The idea is simple, once you label someone as ‘homophobic, Islamophobic, racist or anything else, they are discredited forever and vere and ever. Cast adrift with their ‘tag’ by a self- appointed court of judge, jury and executioner.

Newspaper give politicians’ columns in newspapers to spout their views, they usually pay them a few quid per article, and the idea is that the politicians followers buy the newspaper. You could call it a marketing gimmick or you could say this is all about promoting a message.

Kezia Dugdale is a lesbian, she was also formerly the leader of Scottish Labour, although she found out that leadership of the Labour Party wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. Too many people pulling in different directions, and too much identity politics which is killing it, although that message has been given at the ballot box, it still hasn’t sunk in for some. Being the leader isn’t easy, the modern oracle of know all but in reality covering up knowing nothing exists.

Kezia Dugdale has said that she was “entitled” to accuse a pro-independence blogger of making homophobic remarks because she is a gay woman and understands prejudice.

Entitled?

Entitled means; ‘believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment”.

Do you think that LGBT politicians deserve privileges or special treatment?

Some people seem to think that equality means everyone gets the same rights but, they are special so they get more rights.

I am working class, and I know about privileges or special treatment, it is the thing which I have experienced never getting, because I am working class. Should I demand special treatment as part of the largest discriminated majority in the UK? Kezia Dugdale can if she wants stand by her article accusing Wings Over Scotland of 'homophobic tweets' that’s her business. Her getting sued for £25,000 by Stuart Campbell, who runs the website Wings Over Scotland, that’s his business. In evidence at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Ms Dugdale insisted she had labelled the tweet homophobic; and not Mr Campbell personally. Although this is an interesting comment, one wonders how the public will react, can a person make homophobic tweets and not be homophobic.

Homophobia is described as ‘dislike of or prejudice against homosexual people’. If you haven’t lived in a bubble, you will know someone or perhaps many people who are LGBT, that doesn’t mean you have to like them because of it.

You either like them as a person or you don’t.

Kezia said:

“As a gay woman, I’m entitled to view that as homophobic because I understand what homophobia is. I’m entitled to my own view of what I consider homophobia to be. I’m a gay woman – I have experienced it in a number of forms.”

In private she is, she can’t however in public, and certainly not by using a national newspaper as a platform. Her ‘views’ constitute opinion, which may or not be a fact, but to give her opinion as a fact won’t wash.

The row centres on a tweet that Kezia didn’t like. He wrote that the Scottish Secretary David Mundell’s son, the Tory MSP Oliver Mundell, was “the sort of public speaker that makes you wish his dad had embraced his homosexuality sooner".

When I read that tweet, my first reaction was that the point Campbell was making was that Oliver Mundell was a poor speaker.

Do I find that tweet to be homophobic, the answer is no!

I am surprised that Kezia didn’t just pay the money earlier and walk away, having entered a minefield; she is treading very carefully now in an attempt to get out of it. As to her revelation that what she said is her honestly held view, that maybe but it could be a view that costs her plenty, £25,000 and costs to Campbell.

Kezia said:

“It considered, in my view, gay people to be lesser because they don’t have or can’t have children. So it was putting gay people in a negative light.”

She added she felt a responsibility to call out homophobia as a gay politician.

Asked by Craig Sandison QC, who is acting for Mr Campbell, whether she believed his client was homophobic, she said:

“No, I believe what he said in his tweet to be homophobic.”

Sandison said a “recurrent theme” on the Wings Over Scotland blog was that Ms Dugdale was a liar, and suggested this had given her a negative view of him.

One thing which didn’t go down too well for Kezia was Sandison saying Kezia’s legal team had previously claimed she did not know Mr Campbell was behind Wings Over Scotland at the time, or that it was pro-independence – something she confirmed was not true.

She said that was a legal misunderstanding!

Colin Macfarlane, the director of LGBT campaigning organisation Stonewall Scotland, also gave evidence stating the tweet was homophobic.

Appearing as a witness, he said:

“It was an unnecessary reference, or drawing attention to David Mundell’s sexual orientation as a way to have a go at Oliver Mundell, but at the same time using David Mundell’s sexual orientation as a punchline.”

LGBT pro-independence blogger Paul Kavanagh, who writes under the name “Wee Ginger Dug”, defended Campbell says the tweet was deliberately crass, tasteless and insulting, but not homophobic.

Although this case is a molehill in the grand scheme of things, Kezia who has made many wrong decisions doesn’t look to me to be on very firm ground for a win. What she needs isn’t her honestly held view, nor her sense of entitlement to privilege or special treatment, but evidence.

Finally, I have had the homophobic tag thrown at me in the past by a guy who I took to criminal court and got convicted. Law is a minefield but it is also interesting, in this case if I was betting, I think a tenner on Campbell would be the smart money unless Kezia can pull something out of the bag. To me, this case looks and smells like it is a loser because despite Kezia’s attempts to make opinion look like evidence, it clearly isn’t. Mind you getting in Stonewall Scotland was a nice touch of padding out her defence, but that is window dressing, MacFarlane’s opinion isn’t evidence either.

Yours Sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University   

Forgetting Your Job, Forgetting Your Role, Former BBC Chief Tony Hall’s House of Lords speech laments the growing distrust in “the establishment” as an “assault on freedom of expression”, the role of the BBC is to offer up the whole truth, not engage in exercises of “managed opinion” on the public, if they want trust back, they have to earn it

Dear All

If there is one universal truth is that we all don’t like getting lied too. And we especially don’t like getting lied to when it is an institution that previously held the nation’s trust. One term has surfaced in recent years is that of ‘fake news’. The term was popularized by President Donald Trump to describe some reporters and American news outlets. The term however is not just an American phenomenon; it has found its way to the UK. When we expect the truth, we expect the whole truth and nothing but the truth from our media.

Anything less is unacceptable.

Two recent examples of fake news stick out for people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNd2bvLvyk4&t=3074s

The Tommy Robinson farce which didn’t cover the BBC in glory.

And of course, the Trump farce in America, a concentrated effort to remove a President by any means by the Democrats.

https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/03/24/report-mueller-probe-concludes-trump-didnt-commit-crime/

We live in an aged where ‘managed opinion’ is dressed up as news by reporters who work to their own agenda. Is it any surprise that the public have turned away from what is termed ‘mainstream media’? Of course not; it is ‘no surprise’, to learn the truth; you have to look at different sources and information. When I was younger, there was a golden age of reporting and investigative reporting. We had shows like World in Action, Weekend World and Panorama.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgfjUh2j2Mo

This is an episode of what is missing in our current media.

Panorama, used to be a flagship programme, but after the Tommy Robinson farce, it is tainted, Panorama owes the British people an apology, and whether you like it or not, Tommy Robinson is owed an apology. The criteria for investigation is, one standard for all. You could try and pass the buck for what happened solely for what happened onto John Sweeney, the reporter, but that would be a mistake.

Former BBC Chief Tony Hall says the use of term ‘Mainstream Media’ Is ‘Assault on Freedom’, the question that follows from this is, what type of freedom is he talking about? Clearly the mainstream media uses more than one definition. In describing the erosion of press freedom, he cites growing distrust in “the establishment”.

So, question, who are the establishment who operate in the shadows?

Hall also mentions that the effects of globalisation have fuelled a “progressive erosion of trust in … all those perceived as expert or elite”. How many times has someone been held presented as an independent expert only to be found to be biased? How many times has one of the elite been shield and then finally exposed as corrupt? Is journalism under attack from “a crisis of faith in our traditional institutions”?

The crisis is inside, the problem is inside; the gatekeepers who are supposed to protect our national broadcaster the BBC have been asleep at the wheel or worse guilty of neglect on an industrial scale.

Trust has to be earned, and the coinage is truth, whole truth and nothing but the truth, not clipped, no added too, not enhanced.  In a speech in the House of Lords, the peer said, he could remember a time when journalists could command attention and respect of a whole country with the quality of their craft.

Yes, the golden age as I mentioned before, we aren’t living in a golden age of journalism.

We live in an age of people in institutions attempting to force an agenda onto us, just today as I write this article, a friend said to me, why did the mainstream media cover the murders in New Zealand of Mulsim worshippers but there is next to nothing about the murder of Christians in Nigeria.

https://www1.cbn.com/cbnnews/cwn/2019/march/radical-muslims-murder-32-nigerian-christians-torch-church-in-brutal-attack

One of the problems is that the press, academia, the establishment and politicians are all in bed together, all promoting the same agenda.

John Sweeney did a quote about the Labour Party not doing its job properly, hence the rise of Tommy Robinson as a public figure. I would have liked to hear more on that statement, are people in social classes supposed to be “managed” by certain parties?

And for whose benefit?

Finally, it would be wrong to tar everyone with the same brush, but the media brought a lot of what has happened on themselves, deliberately, not by accident, not by mistake, not by being duped. We hold politicians to account; we should also expect and demand the same high standard from our press. Trust in the press is broken, can it ever be fixed; well there is a question for Lord Hall. Reporters must be brave, fearless in their search for the truth; I look at John Sweeney of the BBC in the pub getting blitzed on our taxpayer cash and feel sorry for him.

Because there is a man who lost his credibility and unlike the wine, that can be refilled by a barmaid!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

White women can’t jump; Nicola Sturgeon delusion runs to setting her sights on bigger role in ‘global issues’, talentless and inept SNP leader revels in her own delusions after creating her own US job centre, someone get Nicola a basketball and send her to Harlem, maybe they will take her on as a globetrotter?

Dear All

Deary, deary, deary me, followed by oh my God what is she all about!

Yes, it seems that the SNP globetrottering leader Nicola Sturgeon is looking for a life post SNP, the joke is that the ‘little woman from Dreghorn’ thinks her view is needed on ‘global issues’. The news will prompt much laughter in the Scottish political scene as Sturgeon’s record is firmly rooted in failure, both as a politician and a human being.

Whatever the big argument is, Nicola Sturgeon’s track record is always on the wrong side, her declaration that she is planning to take “a more direct role in global issues”. No one, but no one gives a toss what Sturgeon’s thinks outside her wee SNP cult, and when she ‘moves’ on or is pushed out the door, she won’t even have that!

If you look at the track record of former SNP leaders, they all went on to nowhere, no one wanted them, no big fortune 500 beat a path to their door. If you look at Alex Salmond’s ‘career’ post FM, it isn’t exactly one of major success, no courting by world leaders, no big public appointments, not even a decent public broadcaster to take him on. Salmond’s career had one way to go post leadership, downwards, how can a less able person like Sturgeon do better?

In the words of Alex Salmond, the quote:

“Behave yourself woman” is very apt.

The news that Sturgeon is looking for a way out of Scottish politics is nothing knew, the signs were there long ago. If you think back to her Trump farce, and now look at her government registering with the US authorities as a foreign power, you get a sense she is losing the plot. Anyone mental enough to think after her carry on that her or the SNP will be able to influence affairs on the other side of the Atlantic?

Although this new venture is called the “Government of Scotland in North America”, and has engaged a public relation agency in Washington DC to help it become “more vocal and present internationally”, who can think anything else but this is all about Nicola Sturgeon’s own private job centre!

The Conservatives are right to say that that Sturgeon is taking the Scottish Government into inappropriate territory. If you pop your head into US/UK relations, you see that Scottish business quangos in the US have been registered in the same way for years. The SNP however are all about being self-serving and are overtly political. A side issue for Sturgeon is her attempt to undermine the UK Government, causing trouble for the sake of causing trouble.

The Americans will be wise to her!

In paperwork filed with the US Department of Justice, it contrasts its own “progressive voice” with the Trump presidency, Brexit and “a conflicted Congress”. In trying to be clever, Nicola Sturgeon finds herself on the wrong side of Trump, the wrong side of Brexit and the wrong side of Congress.

Nicola Sturgeon will never be a’ member of the global elite’ not even a global minion, in order to serve you must have value, you must bring something to the table, you must have ‘star potential’, there isn’t any there. Last month saw Sturgeon taking the failed politician route of foreign trips, this one to the US and Canada.

No meeting with President Donald Trump!

In fact no meeting with anyone who is a power player, although she got recognised by the United Nations for her work in advancing gender equality during the trip, that is a pile of steaming crap. The only thing of real meaning to Scots is that Sturgeon blew £44,000 of taxpayer’s money down the drain, and achieved nothing.

Apparently it said that Sturgeon’s activities have caused speculation in the SNP, as some have woken up to Sturgeon putting out feelers for any future globe-trotting role. The Cult must now realise that she is on the way out and will drop them in the crapper like a shot. If you think of Nicola Sturgeon’s dream to be a globe trotter, the only chance she has to take up basketball and immigrate to Harlem, New York.

White women can’t jump!

But also Nicola Sturgeon is too old, too short, and not too bright, and oh how the world’s elite must know it via the internet.   

Finally, one thing that women continually ask in life is where are they going, in jobs, in family relationships and with friends, Nicola Sturgeon is going nowhere but downwards. In her lust for advancement, she is going to find out that having a ‘big gob’ used loudly can carry you only so far. No one wants to hang around with a ‘cold and unattractive’ character as David Laws famously said, especially on the wrong side of 40!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University  

The Last Hurrah Before Brexit; Commons Speaker John Bercow accused of attempt to 'sabotage' Theresa May's Brexit plan, ‘Remainers’ keen to deny the people of the UK the fruits of their democratic vote, enough is enough, it is time to leave the EU

Dear All

The year is 2010, there is a change of government after the Westminster general election and in comes David Cameron. As a parting gift by the Labour Party, they vote in Conservative MP John Bercow after the end of Michael Martin’s departure as Speaker. The appointment and backing by Labour was done out of one thing, to annoy the Conservatives.

And it did!

There then followed over the years what could be described as a ‘running feud’ between certain Conservatives and Bercow. To show you how far back I commented on this situation, you can read my post of 2011.

http://glasgowunihumanrights.blogspot.com/2011/02/government-ministers-pave-way-for.html

Basically I said that the then Prime Minister David Cameron needed to stamp this out because it was toxic and unhealthy for parliament.

He didn’t.

David Cameron and a few friends ended up doing an attempted coup.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3011690/Plot-oust-Bercow-William-Hague-use-day-MP-change-rules-make-easier-oust-Speaker-election.html

The so called ‘payback plot’.

8 years later, we get Commons Speaker John Bercow using an old rule to 'sabotage' Theresa May's Brexit plan. Bercow who is a 'remainer' is playing by the rules, but not acting in the interests of the country and respecting the vote by the people.

What goes around comes around.

Using the rules, Bercow has made a ruling that Theresa May’s Brexit plan can only come back to the House of Commons if she made substantial changes. The deal doesn’t have a lot if any room for improvement, so with 10 days to go, this intervention is not what the government needed at this time.

Robert Buckland, the Solicitor General, claimed John Bercow has plunged Parliament into a “major constitutional crisis” and suggested the only way out might be to suspend Parliament. Once parliament resumes, the government could then seek a fresh vote in a completely new session.

In case you missed the update info on the Bercow feud, here is something to get the wheels turning.

https://www.politicshome.com/news/uk/politics/news/101184/speaker-john-bercow-be-denied-peerage-following-brexit-feud-ministers

If you thought that Brexit would pass without incident, you know better know, in a statement EU Chief Donald Tusk said he is open to Brexit being delayed his price, a second EU referendum.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1100977/Brexit-news-UK-EU-Donald-Tusk-Theresa-May-deal-delay-vote-latest

The UK should not hold a second Brexit referendum, this would be bad for our democracy, neither should we extend the deadline, we must and should leave on 29 March. Jacob Rees Mogg said a bad deal is better than no deal. No deal is better than a bad deal which was the Prime Minister’s words, and she should recognise that statement’s worth.

Democracy in the UK will suffer greatly if the people’s vote isn’t honoured in full.

In an attempt to be meaningful, the SNP in the shape of Ian Blackford will today meet Jeremy Corbyn to urge him to swing fully behind a People’s Vote, he said:

“We are in a crisis…We need to put this back to the people”.

If anything has to go back to the people, it must be a general election, not a referendum,

Blackford added:

“Theresa May’s deal is dead and the Speaker has announced it. He is quite right because…Erskine May [the parliamentary rulebook] is quite specific that you can’t bring the same motion forward in the same session.”

Finally, as we have seen many times before, if you bide your time and patiently wait, the opportunity can arise when you can get payback, I am sure John Bercow will enjoy his moment throwing the cat among the pigeons. That being said, his chances of a peerage, bad before just got worse, personally, I am still hopeful of hard brexit, whether it is smooth or a car crash, we can always rebuild once out.

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Change the Rules on Rank Stupidity; SNP MSP Humza Yousaf says criminal suspects should be able to 'self-identify' their gender, how long before men wangle their way into women’s prisons, will there be a boom in miracle prison babies?

Dear All

In the midst of Brexit chaos at Westminster, we mustn’t forget that Scotland’s has its own parliament and a government where stupidity reigns supreme.

In what must seem like being trendy PC and right on, SNP Plank Humza Yousaf has said that criminal suspects can self-identify their gender without providing evidence of their birth sex to the police.

The only catch for criminals is that unless it is “pertinent” to a criminal investigation, people are required to submit no evidence of gender other than a person’s self declaration.  So, if someone ids as a woman born a man, they could in theory serve their sentence in a women’s prison down the line.

Plenty of opportunity for lonely hearts to meet, perhaps share a cell together, and who knows, red hot sexual action……. even for fat birds with tattoos and no teeth! We are treated to this gem from Humza Yousaf because SNP MSP Joan McAlpine asked a question on the issue at Holyrood. 

She said the justice secretary’s answer would leave many people “shocked”.

And of course this could lead to concerns over the accuracy of recorded crime statistics as males id as women to get better prison digs and benefits, the floodgates appear to be opening for co-ed prisons.

Asked whether Police Scotland and the courts record incidents based on a suspect’s birth sex or by self-declaration, Yousaf said:

“With regard to victims, witnesses and suspects, Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service record incidents according to a person’s self-identified gender.

He (or she) added:

“Police Scotland require no evidence or certification as proof of gender identity other than a person’s self declaration. Unless - and I think it’s important to emphasise this - it’s pertinent to any criminal investigation with which they are linked and it is evidentially critical that Police Scotland legally require this proof.”

McAlpine responded:

“I thank the Cabinet Secretary for that answer, but I think many people will be shocked to hear it.”

Making Humza Yousaf the justice sec was done by Nicola Sturgeon, it was of course to replace the previous dud who was out of his depth, but with Yousaf in the role, Matheson looks positively like a ‘rising star’ and future leader.

McAlpine said:

"The Cabinet Secretary will be aware that offending rates vary significantly according to biological sex, with males accounting for 84 per cent of violent crime and more than 95 per cent of sexual crime. Longitudinal studies (carried out) elsewhere suggest male-pattern offending remains the same even if men self-declare themselves to be women. So does the Cabinet Secretary agree with criminologists that it is misleading if data shows a rise in female sex offending, for example, including rape, when these crimes are actually committed by men?”

Richard Garside, director of the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, said:

“I’m glad the justice secretary is open to learning more. It’s really important that crime statistics are based on objective criteria, independent of the persons subjective views and feelings. Classifying according to birth sex, rather than subjective feelings about the self, should therefore be the norm.”

I would say, not a thumbs up for Humza Yousaf, who as I understand was a former call centre worker, his actions are more call centre worker than justice sec in my opinion.

Lisa Mackenzie, of analysis group Murray Blackburn Mackenzie, added:

"It is very rare for women to commit certain offences, such as sexual and serious violent crimes. Recording based on self-declared gender identity in such cases risks skewing official statistics, damaging our ability to properly document, analyse and understand such behaviours. The introduction of unregulated self-identification principles into the criminal justice system deserves proper democratic debate and oversight, and the Scottish Government should share any analysis on which it is basing its view that the impact of this change will not be significant."

If Lisa wants proper democratic debate and oversight, she is in for an uphill struggle with the SNP as the government.

To return to the red hot sex issue, how long will it be before two ‘women’ in prison give birth to a prison baby? If the gates of the prison are to be thrown open, it is only natural that legs must also be. If this follows, we will need bigger prisons, easier and cheaper to just build a big wall round a housing estate. 

Finally, Humza Yousaf apparently ids as a man. 

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

R2D2 going down a corridor - A George Laird Production

Dear All

Just a quick little scene to get rocking back on making clips.

Hope you like the effort.

Best viewed full screen.

George

The rout of Nicola Sturgeon’s indy dream; SNP leader sees a new poll showing strong public opposition to her plans for a second Scottish independence referendum, the stage is set for the biggest battle in Scottish political history, is this the return of a pro UK majority at Holyrood, a hung parliament and the end of Sturgeon’s career?

Dear All

As if you need any confirmation, a new poll shows that Nicola Sturgeon is facing strong public opposition to a second Scottish independence referendum.

So, what is the problem?

Her!

The problem is Nicola Sturgeon.

For years, Scottish politics has been bogged down by the SNP and talk of independence to such an extent, that the public has grown sick of it. Just as the media agenda must move on, so must the political agenda.Where has been the political movement in Scotland that translated into better devolved services?

We have seen plenty of incompetence as the SNP Ministers abandoned their desks of the ‘day job’, or proved to be completely out of their depth mentally. If you throw in a lack of a vision, the non-existence of a complying narrative, and a rehash of old failed tactics, you see the SNP has run out of steam.

A Survation survey for the Scottish Daily Mail found three-fifths of Scots were opposed to a re-run of the 2014 vote for at least five years, and with a pro UK majority expected in Holyrood for 2021, you can literally treble that figure. As I said many years ago, Scottish independence as an issue is gone, it died in 2014, but those of us who watch and interact in politics know, the bid was lost completely as far back in 2012.

What made 2012 so special?

Abandonment of ministerial responsibility for Scottish Government departments by the SNP, they went campaigning, paying lip service to their jobs, but they still took the money. The history of that period, ‘the abandonment’ in my mind has never been properly analysed, as the big three departments of devolved government all suffered.

Health, education and Law, all suffered.

The fact that three-fifths of Scots opposed Nic ola Sturgeon’s plans, shows that the wheels are coming off the SNP, they are becoming a minority party again. The great experiment of change failed to materialise, in fact, Scotland as a country went backwards in real terms of marking progress.

One anomaly is the relatively strong support for the SNP at Holyrood; in part this is down to a failure of the opposition to capitalise on the mistakes of the SNP. The opposition is seen as ‘weak’ because they haven’t carved out a narrative of change. It simply isn’t enough to stand and say, ‘we’re not the SNP’. 

What the people need is a reason to go and vote FOR someone, not just against. 

The race for Holyrood according to this poll, shows that  the SNP and Greens could hold on to their pro-independence majority at the 2021 election. But I don’t think that is the case, Holyrood is still open to be a three horse race, what the Conservatives and Labour need to do is not get in each other’s way.

How activists are used and where could be the key to defeating the SNP in marginal seats.

    

One reason why I think that there will be a pro UK majority 2021, is that the Scottish Greens are a party going nowhere. More Green MSPs have failed to materialise in Scotland and if you look at the quality of these people, no surprise there. Sturgeon’s call for a second referendum in March 2016 was after the SNP peaked in the 2015 election, but in two short years, things fell apart in 2017 Westminster election. The SNP lost a third of its MPs and half a million votes in that general election and they have more to lose in terms of votes and seats, especially at Westminster.

Prime Minister Theresa May is going to eject any request for a Section 30 order transferring such powers in this term of Holyrood. Sturgeon knows this and is banking on using the refusal as a campaign tool in the next election. This is to attempt to repeat an old tactic which saw emotion take people to the ballot box in 2015.

And what a lot of dross from the SNP ended up in Westminster.

The latest poll gave the SNP a healthy lead over its rivals at Holyrood, putting them 19 points ahead of the Tories in constituencies and 10 points ahead of them on the list. The Conservatives will need a major push to overcome this as they see themselves in with a shout. There is even talk that Scottish Conservatives could win the Cathcart seat which is currently held by James Dornan.

Scottish Tory MSP Maurice Golden said:

“This shows a clear majority do not want another referendum any time soon. Scots are sick and tired of Nicola Sturgeon’s obsession with a referendum. They deserve a Scottish Government focused on their priorities of health and education.”

Finally, the election of 2021 is probably the most significant election in the history of Holyrood, the goal of government is now seen as a three horse race, the secondary prize is perhaps more important in terms of Scotland’s future. This is ensuring a pro UK majority in Holyrood. 

The work required by pro UK parties is considerable indeed, the SNP have pole position for leading a minority government at the moment but with two years to go; that may change. Rather than waiting for the SNP to fail even more in the eyes of the voters, what is needed is a clear program for government with meat on it. Before anyone forgets, the expenses scandal ushered in the SNP in 2007, not policy, perhaps external factors could also usher them and Nicola Sturgeon out the door?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

Out Played Yet Again; SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon gets her Westminster leader Ian Blackford to push for power to hold second independence referendum, the answer is No, Sturgeon is leading the SNP downhill, all plans and schemes amount to nothing, how long can an ineffective leader continue?

Dear All

As futile gestures go, this is a corker, the SNP are going to ask for the power to hold a second independence referendum if Brexit goes ahead. You can already write the reply from Prime Minister Theresa May.

No!

There is no chance whatsoever of the PM granting this request by the SNP, for several reasons, firstly, the previous vote in 2014, secondly, the SNP will be sitting in a pro UK Holyrood in 2021  

And last but not least, Scottish Conservatives will push for being the government of Scotland in 2021; this is the prime reason for rejection. The Conservatives don’t plan to give the SNP an extended campaign platform for them to build up grievance thus generating support. The SNP benefit from a backlash in 2015 as we all saw, that the tide turned in two short years. The SNP plan of a running neverendum campaign as a political tool for winning Holyrood and Westminster seats has run its course.

Leading the charge is Westminster leader Ian Blackford, he will say the people of Scotland should be able to "determine their own destiny" if the UK leaves the EU. They already did in 2016; this was a UK wide vote. The futile attempt is in part about play acting, saving the face of Nicola Sturgeon. After a rejection, Sturgeon will ‘rally the troops’ and vent, but she has no interest in a second referendum unless she can have an open ended Section 30 order from Westminster.

That ain’t happening!

Blackford will table an amendment in the Commons calling for the power to hold another legally-binding vote but he is a bit player of no consequence in Brexit. The real story of Westminster centres around Theresa May facing a series of crunch votes over her Brexit deal and a possible extension of the March 29 deadline. If things work out right, then we should be looking at hard Brexit or no deal, and if the wind is blowing in the right direction, no extension after 29 March.

Roll on Brexit.

What we are seeing is Nicola Sturgeon trying to build a coalition of the damned, to that end she has roped in the Scottish Parliament and in the Welsh Assembly. They will not be having any success in stopping Brexit either.

Blackford said:

“We will be putting down an amendment this week. It will be reflecting on what happened in the Scottish Parliament and in the Welsh Assembly this week simultaneously. There was a motion that came in front of both Parliaments that recognised that Theresa May’s deal and no-deal are not good for Scotland. What we’re going to do is put down an amendment asking for the Government to recognise that Scotland voted to Remain. We’re also putting down, as part of that amendment; a recognition that if the UK does leave the European Union, the people of Scotland should be able to determine their own destiny”.

Blackford added:

“And in particular they should have the power to have an independence referendum if we so choose and we’re making reference in that to the Claim of Right in the debate we had in Parliament in July 2018 when Parliament accepted the motion that sovereignty rests with the Scottish people. So we will do what we can to work with other parties to stop Brexit, we have no desire to see Scotland dragged out against its will, but we need to recognise that if that does happen then the people of Scotland have got to determine their own future."

He added: "There is no such thing as a good Brexit, we know that it's going to cost jobs, we know that it's going to impact living standards, we know of course that no deal is absolutely disastrous for the people of Scotland."

Despite being told last week by Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt  that the Prime Minister would “of course” refuse the Scottish Government permission to hold another legally-binding referendum, we are getting this farce. And with Nicola Sturgeon already ruling out holding a so-called “wildcat” vote without Westminster’s go-ahead, the SNP’s teeth have been pulled.

MPs will vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal on Tuesday. If it is defeated again, they will get the chance to vote against leaving the EU without a deal and in favour of extending the Brexit deadline.

This is the real interesting part to watch closely, in truth it is better the country leaves with no deal as I have always said rather than being ripped off.

Blackford saying the SNP will vote to rule out a no-deal Brexit and extend the Article 50 process is nonsense, he will be defeated, as Scottish Conservative MP David Duguid said it’s "another desperate stunt” and insisted it was further evidence the SNP’s only priority is independence

He added "It proves once again that the main goal for the SNP throughout the entire Brexit process has been to try to agitate for a second independence referendum. Their motives are completely transparent, and rather than putting the interests of Scotland first, they're only promoting their narrow-minded agenda. Scots decisively voted No in 2014 and the answer is still the same - it's time the SNP recognised that."

The SNP use the politics of the student union which is why they always end up with egg on their face at Westminster.

Ex Labour MP Pamela Nash, the chief executive of Scotland in Union, said the SNP is “simply using Brexit as a political tool for its latest attempt to break up the United Kingdom”.

Nash added:

“The Nationalists are only interested in dividing the country and holding an unwanted second independence referendum. Ian Blackford and his MPs should listen to the people of Scotland who know we are stronger as part of the UK, and want the SNP to ditch the threat of a second independence referendum.”

Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said:

“The SNP seem to have learned nothing from Brexit. Constitutional upheaval brings chaos and economic damage. We shouldn’t compound the damage of leaving the EU by splitting from the U.K. which is responsible for four times more trade with Scotland. Even Theresa May has admitted that no Brexit is still a serious possibility. The SNP should be campaigning to keep the whole of the UK in the EU, not another divisive and unwanted independence referendum.”

A UK Government spokesman said: "Scotland had an independence referendum in 2014 and voted decisively to remain in the UK. The Scottish Government needs to stop using Brexit as an excuse to pursue their unwanted independence agenda. Rather than constantly seeking division and constitutional upheaval, the Scottish Government needs to work with the UK Government to avoid a damaging no deal. That is what people and business in Scotland expect."

Finally, there is no nobleness in constant defeat, the problem the SNP have is that they have run out of steam, hence the same record is played over and over again. Nicola Sturgeon needs time, not for a second Scottish independence referendum, but time to get out of the SNP with enough ‘Scottish roubles’ to get by on. In the not too distant, an angry Yes Mob will be calling for her blood, as will her own members, Brexit failures are securing Sturgeon’s exit as a worse failure than Alex Salmond, he at least led the SNP up the hill, Sturgeon on the other hand isn’t getting to set foot on a mild slope!

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University

The Crude Undermining Labour in Scotland; SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon says she would be open to coalition government with Labour to stop Brexit, translation, trying to hang onto SNP seats; Sturgeon is lost in the world of Geo politics, and her ‘cut and paste’ retread ideas shows why Scotland is waiting for the implosion of her leadership and the SNP

Dear All

Think back to the Labour leadership of Ed Miliband.

The SNP ran an undermining campaign against the Labour Party, which was quite successful. The gist was that Ed Miliband was a total dud, he wouldn’t win a majority and therefore the SNP would ‘back’ Labour in return for concessions, basically bleed them dry for powers and a referendum.

Do you remember that ploy?

To show that the SNP is the party of ‘cut and paste’ and retread ideas, we have in now 2019, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon saying she has left open the possibility of forming a coalition government with Labour if there is a snap general election.

But the reality is even although Brexit is nearly upon us, there isn’t the will in Westminster for a snap election. Given we had an early election in 2017; the public wouldn’t be very forgiving especially if Brexit was delayed or stopped and to add to it they would be asked to go to the polls.

It is also not in the interest of the Conservatives; nor the country to have an election while Brexit hasn’t been attended too. The fact of the matter is, if there is to be a revival in the fortunes of Scottish Labour, the party has to rule out any deals with the SNP. Unsurprisingly a spokesman for Scottish Labour said there would be "no deal, no pacts and no coalition with the SNP". What this says about Nicola Sturgeon is that she is “prepared” to form a Labour-SNP coalition if an election is triggered, this is an election gimmick.

This is an election gimmick.

This is all about undermining the Scottish Labour Party which on paper stands to take back seats in Scotland from SNP control, especially in the central belt. Obviously there are no guarantees but when you look at previous results, there are plenty of seats which are basically seen as a two horse race. Sturgeon’s call for coalition isn’t just simply about winning seats or holding onto them, she is also angling for a position which gives her a second Scottish independence referendum. Like a kid in a sweet shop, she wants too many things at once, which shows she is just politically rambling.

The reality is Sturgeon is scared of an early general election.

Speaking to the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, she said:

“We will be ready to contest any general election if one is called, and we would also be ready to work with other parties to oppose the Conservatives' hugely damaging Brexit proposals.”

  

Having failed to campaign for remain in any real way both on the ground and finically, the SNP now want a second Brexit referendum. If you don’t know why, having botched campaigning in the first, they still cling to the idea of bypassing EU membership rules to become an EU member if they ever won their version of “fake independence”. Scotland would end up a financial basket case ruled by Brussels, sold out by the SNP whose leadership would be eyeing up EU jobs.

  

Down at Westminster, the Prime Minister's announcement of a vote on delaying the Brexit date until after March 29 won’t be doing down well, but it will not build the case for a second Brexit referendum. To have another vote would only show that democracy is dead, and would be politically damaging to the Conservative Party. So, if we assume they grasp that bunny fully, there will be no second Brexit referendum. If you will not honour the first vote, why should anyone believe you will honour the second?

This is why Theresa May as PM wouldn’t go that route.

One of the myths that Nicola Sturgeon is peddling is that people did not have nearly enough information when they voted in 2016, people knew what they were voting for. I like everyone else who voted to leave the European Union, knew what we wanted and that was to get back control from, a corrupt body which is a poison at the heart of Europe.

Nothing has changed in the EU since 2016.

We voted for return of sovereignty.

One theme which Sturgeon wangled into her spiel to the Greeks was that “Scotland's interests are not being served by a Westminster system that too often treats Scotland as an afterthought rather than an equal partner in the union”. This grievance is nothing new, like Sturgeon’s other strategy it is simply a retread of failed ideas.

  

A Scottish Labour spokesman said:

“We will be campaigning to win a majority at the next general election with policies to end austerity and invest in Scotland and the UK, and there will be no deals, no pacts and no coalition with the SNP. Labour has a credible plan to prevent a damaging Tory Brexit, and protect jobs and industries, so it was disappointing that the SNP abstained when we put it to a vote in the Commons in the week.”

Finally, you will have noticed that when Nicola Sturgeon speaks to the foreign press, she keeps attempting to up her position, to me this looks increasingly like Sturgeon is job hunting post SNP leader. The reality of her job prospects are bleak, as Cabinet Minister David Laws wrote in his diary, Sturgeon is a ‘cold and unattractive character’. If you look at the employment of former SNP leaders, the pattern is firmly downwards, big business doesn’t come a calling.

Nicola Sturgeon has nothing to offer, nothing to sell, and nothing to bargain with, Scotland is waiting for the implosion of the SNP; do you think she gets it?

Yours sincerely

George Laird

The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University