23rd January 2023: A Week in Parliament

GRR Bill

Last week was dominated by the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. Regardless, of your stance on the Bill, the latest actions from Westminster are nothing but an attack on our democracy and devolution. My colleague, Joanna Cherry KC, who is against the Bill has even said that this is a decision to be made by the Scottish Government and it is not Westminster’s place to intervene. I believe some of the narrative has been skewed so I hope to clarify a few points. I can understand some of the scepticism towards the age of changing your gender, from 18 down to 16. However, this still has to have an adult’s consent and therefore it is not the case that teenagers have ‘free reign’ to make such a big decision with zero supervision. I also have to stress that you are entitled, in Scotland, to vote at 16, join the army (with parental consent), work and move out of your home/get a mortgage.

Also, this Bill was passed by 2/3s of the Scottish Parliament. Members from all mainstream political parties voted for it, even the Tories. This shows that this is not an SNP-agenda-driven campaign. All Members from the Greens and Lib and Dims voted for it, 18 Labour and two Conservative MSPs voted for it (their Justice and Health Spokespersons), and nine SNP voted against it. This shows that representatives from all across the political landscape came together to vote in favour of this Bill, and Westminster’s latest actions show nothing but contempt for devolution and Scottish democracy.

Finally, regarding the Bill itself, the WHO; Scottish Women's Convention; Scottish Women's Rights Centre; Scottish Women's Aid; Human Rights Consortium; One Parent Families Scotland; STUC; Scottish Refugee Council; Zero Tolerance; Close the Gap; Engender and JustRightScotland all support the Bill.

More Tory Corruption

Now we know the then-prospective chair of the BBC helped Boris Johnson get a guarantor for an £800k loan. Yet another conflict of interest and why would a prime Minister need a loan for £800k? The next scandal was the former chancellor, Nadim Zahawi having to pay millions of tax avoidance money back to HMRC. It all stinks to high heaven.

Burns Federation

Ahead of Burns Night, I was delighted to pop into the Robert Burns World Federation. It was great of Margaret-Ann, Business Manager, to take time out of her day and show me around the premise. I am ashamed to say that this is the first time I have been able to visit – although my Office did take part in their Burns Festival back in July! The Burns memorabilia they have on show is pretty remarkable and I would urge anyone to pop in and see what they have on offer. Additionally, the Learning Centre/Education Suite looks fantastic and is a great place for people to go and learn more about the history of Scotland’s national bard. I couldn’t leave without becoming a signed-up member of the Federation - I also treated myself to a new mug and a jigsaw for some mental downtime for when I am in down in London.