Something very odd happened when the Sandie Peggie employment tribunal delivered its judgment – and it wasn’t just the made-up quotes and mangled law.
Call it institutional bias, ideological capture, or just the law doing its job, but what Employment Judge Sandy Kemp’s tribunal delivered was the most one-sided outcome since Butch and Sundance decided to come out shooting. Read the rest of this entry →
One must assume from reading the Sandie Peggie judgment that the tribunal was more concerned with discouraging further litigation than with giving full and fearless effect to the Equality Act.
At the heart of this case lies a straightforward question: does a biologically male employee have a legal right to undress in a female-only changing room? For Women Scotland answered that question at the Supreme Court: women-only spaces are for biological women.
Yet instead of applying that binding precedent, the tribunal awarded Sandie Peggie a technical win based primarily on procedural failings and delay, while simultaneously undermining the legitimacy of her core complaint. The effect is a ruling that says: “You were treated badly, but only because you reacted to a situation we pretend has no legal significance.”
The motion completely ignored both the findings of the Cass Review and the Supreme Court judgment in For Women Scotland, but not a single MSP spoke in opposition to it. (Jenni Minto, the Minister For Public Health And Women’s Health, actually broke down in tears at the end because she wasn’t managing to get children’s futures permanently destroyed with sufficient urgency, mainly because the UK Parliament took legislation out of Holyrood’s hands to protect them.)
To be honest, we’re mainly putting these here so you don’t have to keep looking at that picture of Alan Cumming.
But they also show what you can achieve, whether in football or politics, if you actually attack rather than being content to endlessly shuttle it all sideways and backwards until you get beaten without even taking a shot.
Perhaps the key graphic from last night’s by-election in Caerphilly is this one (green means Plaid Cymru in the context of Wales):
In the end, Plaid won pretty comfortably in what had been predicted to be a very tight contest between them and Reform, with a majority of almost 4,000. But Plaid aren’t going to be the next government of the UK, so what’s the real story?
Last month, when half a football team of armed police ambushed and arrested comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow Airport for a couple of tweets, we said this:
Today, even more swiftly than we thought, this happened:
We should point out right at the start that a reader donated £12 back in the summer specifically to send us to Nicola Sturgeon’s book event in Bath last night.
So on the surface level this is just flat-out hilarious.
Firstly because, as we showed you yesterday, the “significant proportion of Scotland’s population” which appears to have been won back to the SNP since John Swinney became its leader is… 1%.
We were going to write something today for the anniversary of Alex Salmond’s tragic death, but then we read Kevin McKenna’s piece in today’s Herald On Sunday and we can’t improve on it, so go and have a read of that before you do anything else.
Alex always believed in looking forward, not back, so we doubt he’d be overly fussed at the pathetic “tribute” paid to him at the SNP conference this morning. What would undoubtedly have exercised him a lot more would have been the wretched current state of the party he loved and built from almost nothing into the dominant force in Scottish politics.
And nothing typifies that wretched state better than the craven and gutless capitulation of a speech given by Tommy Sheppard yesterday, opposing the rebel amendments to John Swinney’s non-strategy on independence.
It said a lot more than he thought it did, but none of it good.
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “My comment is now in moderation…..” Dec 31, 20:53
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Thanks for that Tinto. I just love Auld Lang Syne to its original tune and we don’t get to hear…” Dec 31, 20:32
Northcode on The Fear Of The Briar: ““…I dread to think what would become of Scotland if we ever got independence under the incompetence of the SNP…”…” Dec 31, 20:15
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “For all old-timers and “Lurkers”, IMHO the best version of an old classic (forgive the SaTC references): www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZG74PSl2A May The…” Dec 31, 20:12
Tinto Chiel on Off-topic: “Dan said: “The site has been allowed to be overrun with trolls, constantly interrupting and goading folk, and it is…” Dec 31, 19:57
aLurker on Off-topic: “I only popped in to leave a New Years greeting and find myself surprised and pleased that there is still…” Dec 31, 19:33
Alf Baird on The Fear Of The Briar: “Scotland is to England and Farage what Alaska is to the USA and Trump. Similarly, both territories were ‘procured’ by…” Dec 31, 19:27
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: ““a solid 3.6% of Scots believe we will be Independent by 2031” More importantly, polls indicate at least 50%+ of…” Dec 31, 19:14
100%Yes on The Fear Of The Briar: “Yes Heather, there is a lot of people who claim to be Indy supporters promoting misinformation about the state of…” Dec 31, 19:05
aLurker on The Fear Of The Briar: “Hi Sarah Aye it would be great if ALL of the REAL independence politicos would get together and try and…” Dec 31, 18:33
ScottieDog on The Fear Of The Briar: “It’s not just the finery they’re preserving. When the edifice collapses, all the skeletons come out the cupboards. The British…” Dec 31, 18:27
Andy Ellis on The Fear Of The Briar: “I think you’re being a tad complacent: recent opinion polls seem to suggest that a sea change is coming. From…” Dec 31, 18:19
Ian Stewart on The Fear Of The Briar: “Well a pollster reported in The Times today seems to think Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish independence is a certainty…” Dec 31, 18:13
Marie Clark on Off-topic: “Hi Dan, Thanks for the news about BDTT it was kind of you to pass on our good wishes to…” Dec 31, 18:11
Scot Finlayson on The Fear Of The Briar: “Had a feeling since 2014 and after the Sturgeon`s Brexit capitulation,(i was outside Bute House expecting a call to war…” Dec 31, 18:09
agentx on The Fear Of The Briar: “Alf Baird says: “Reform are the only major party opposed to……..” ——————————————————— By no stretch of the imagination – (apart…” Dec 31, 18:00
Dan on Off-topic: “Hi Folks, Had a catch-up call earlier with BrianDtt and let him know you were asking after him and sending…” Dec 31, 16:35
James on The Curious Fringes: “Take the hint, Unionist fuckwit.” Dec 31, 16:29
James on The Curious Fringes: “Ok then; “Unionist Prick Troll”. Happy Hogmanay to all when it comes. With the obvious exceptions.” Dec 31, 16:26
Andy Ellis on The Curious Fringes: “@Hatey 3.08 pm Aye, Alf, and as the poll in the next article shows, a solid 3.6% of Scots believe…” Dec 31, 15:37
Hatey McHateface on The Fear Of The Briar: “C’moan Confused. Still 9 hours to go. Save some for the bells.” Dec 31, 15:19
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “Aye, Alf, and as the poll in the next article shows, a solid 3.6% of Scots believe we will be…” Dec 31, 15:08
Confused on The Fear Of The Briar: “reform smashing it in these northern constituencies www.youtube.com/shorts/IG7XTz8INtA Has OberGrueppenFuehrer Nigel von Farage made any statement about the Bondo-Caust? -…” Dec 31, 15:00
Hatey McHateface on The Fear Of The Briar: ““Reform are the protest vote against the incumbents” True, but far more importantly, that makes Reform the last throw of…” Dec 31, 14:59
Xaracen on The Curious Fringes: “Blethers, Hatey. It was James VI of Scotland who reset New Years’ day in Scotland from the 25th of March…” Dec 31, 14:51
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “Your memory is playing you false, James. It’s: “Feck”. “Arse”. “Drink”. “Gurls”. You see, if Father Jack had been uncontrollably…” Dec 31, 14:44
Chris Downie on The Fear Of The Briar: “Another very good article and one which is on point, but I think there is at least one more twist…” Dec 31, 14:41
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “Leaving 50% as … mince? Let’s hope so. The alternatives are even worse.” Dec 31, 14:38
Hatey McHateface on The Curious Fringes: “The “BTL” (appears 4 times) refers to Below The Line. Hopefully all is now clear.” Dec 31, 14:35
Alf Baird on The Curious Fringes: “Aye, Scots hiv come a lang wey in the lest few year tae better unnerstaund oor doun-hauden colonial condeetion. An…” Dec 31, 14:30
