Alert readers may be familiar with the market research and polling company Progress Scotland. Readers of The National certainly will be, as the semi-newspaper has run over 120 stories about it, most of them around the company’s creation in early 2019.
The company was formed by Angus Robertson, at the time an unemployed former SNP MP after he lost his Moray seat in the 2017 election, and its stated goal was to persuade those not yet fully decided.
In June of last year, I started work at Transport Scotland. It wasn’t the best job I’ve ever had. It was pretty much an entry-level post and it was only a temp gig through an agency, but after spending almost six years out of the workforce following a bout with cancer, two frozen shoulders, and chronic knee and hip pain, it was a huge relief just to be earning my keep again.
Of course, June is Pride Month, and Saltire (the Scottish Government’s intranet) was full of news and blogs about “LGBTI+” issues.
Also on the Saltire front page was a prominent invitation to two training sessions to understand the issues facing these groups: “LGBT+ Awareness 101” and “Trans 101”.
These were both run by the LGBTI+ Network, one of several “affinity networks” for civil servants belonging to different groups. With the GRR Bill on the horizon, and having heard stories about how difficult it had been for gender critical groups to get a hearing from the Government in relation to it, I was very curious to hear what this training involved, and I signed up to attend via Teams.
The first session was “LGBT+ Awareness 101”. This session was fairly inoffensive. The content regarding gay people was about what you would expect, and the T+ stuff was clearly biased, but not terrible.
However, the tone of the event suggested quite strongly that you weren’t meant to disagree with anything that was said. Towards the end, when questions were invited, I typed my question into the chat:
“How does the Scottish Government handle conflicts between TERFs and trans people?”
This is the second time Wings Over Scotland has asked Police Scotland a question through the proper official channels, only to read the response in the tabloid press before we’d heard it firsthand (which we still haven’t, incidentally, several days after the 28-day deadline expired).
But the sidebar piece in today’s Sunday Mail raises more questions than it answers.
We’ve been thinking about it since last night, and we’re not sure if Humza Yousaf now still has ANY of the policies he started the leadership election with.
But this one‘s got us extra-specially perplexed, since at the start it was pretty much the main unique selling point he was hanging his whole campaign on.
Tonight’s debate on Sky News between the three SNP leadership candidates was yet another inconclusive low-scoring draw, with each contender taking a few hits (almost all from host Beth Rigby) and also landing the odd blow on each other.
The most notable of the latter was probably when Ash Regan gave Humza Yousaf a rather uncomfortable time over his claiming credit for the Queensferry Crossing when he was Transport Secretary.
As well as frantically trying to deflect by pretending Regan had attacked the SNP’s record on the project in general, Yousaf insisted that he’d played a major role in the bridge’s delivery. So let’s just check the timeline.
twathater on Marvola The Memory Woman: “By fuck hatey McFuckwit you don’t half have a disturbed delusional mindset, your disturbed wee brain conjures up all sorts…” May 30, 03:34
David McAdam on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Murrell and Sturgeon absolutely slaughtered on HIGFY by all the guests. Reduced SNP to a Friday night laughing stock. I…” May 30, 02:57
Young Lochinvar on Marvola The Memory Woman: “BTW Meant to add; the English lost the Hundred Years’ War (as well) and were finally booted completely out of…” May 30, 01:52
Young Lochinvar on Marvola The Memory Woman: “On this day in history, 1431. Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orleans, La Pucelle, her that led the French…” May 30, 00:46
Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh on Marvola The Memory Woman: “POLICE SCOTLAND SLAMMED FOR SPENDING THOUSANDS ON PRO-TRANS ADVICE PANEL Police Scotland is under fire for spending over £7,200 on…” May 29, 22:48
Geri on Marvola The Memory Woman: “She looks like she’s a permanent resident of the kitchen these days. Especially around the fridge area. Aye, I know.…” May 29, 22:16
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““Everything that has emerged concerning the Murrell/Sturgeon affair is consistent with the explanatory framework provided by the political theory mentioned…” May 29, 22:11
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Incredible that she employs an expensive solicitor and then ignores the “no comment” advice.” May 29, 21:54
Confused on Marvola The Memory Woman: “poor little Nikki – “I don’t wanna … talk about it … ” – and yet she won’t stop talking…” May 29, 21:53
paul on Marvola The Memory Woman: “I disagree. There is a good deal of good in hounding her (her passion partner has gone) as every time…” May 29, 21:40
Jay on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Do tell us Chas, are you one of those sane, educated persons to whom you refer (in response to Alf)?…” May 29, 21:00
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““In the period leading up to the launch of the police inquiry senior people in the SNP including the former…” May 29, 20:20
bobo bunny on Marvola The Memory Woman: “if its a matrimonial home, I dont think it can be sold, until they are legally divorced” May 29, 20:06
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““Nicola Sturgeon said a coffee machine would be her luxury item when she appeared on Desert Island Discs. Scotland’s former…” May 29, 19:48
Frank Gillougley on Marvola The Memory Woman: “She said that she had been ‘deceived, misled, lied to and betrayed’ Well, whatdya know? That’s not irony bypass, thats…” May 29, 19:43
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Well I’ve just seen No Further Comment Sturgeon on BBC news, ITV news and Channel 4 news making further comments.…” May 29, 19:34
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: “It’s reasonable to assume she may have thrown the odd steam iron in his direction from time to time.” May 29, 19:06
Sue Varley on Marvola The Memory Woman: “She certainly used to go in the kitchen – remember the photo of her showing off her expensive coffee machine…” May 29, 19:04
Ex President Xiden on Marvola The Memory Woman: “I think it’s most appropriate that Nicola is currently on a tour of story telling festivals.” May 29, 18:54
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““Nicola Sturgeon has said she wishes she had not kept Peter Murrell on as SNP chief executive when she became…” May 29, 18:35
agentx on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Starmer will be PM “in the next few weeks”. If Burnham is elected at the by election nothing will happen…” May 29, 18:30
Young Lochinvar on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Duty rumour doing the rounds is that all the gear sneaky Pete “acquired” with others money will not be returned…” May 29, 18:17
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Call that news, x? I’ll tell you what would be news. If The National could accurately predict who the PM…” May 29, 18:07
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Might be “resting” somewhere. I’ve heard that does happen.” May 29, 18:01
Hatey McHateface on Marvola The Memory Woman: ““The term ‘scot-free’ has bugger aw tae dae wi the Scots” Well now. Let’s just wait until the partan-faced lady…” May 29, 17:57
GM on Marvola The Memory Woman: “Agree 100% We need all the facts out there. Court the only place it can be done. Graeme White’s comments…” May 29, 17:49
J Robertson on Marvola The Memory Woman: “He probably “bought” and wrapped his own Xmas and birthday pressies” May 29, 17:44
Stephen on Marvola The Memory Woman: “100% and Scotland would have been a much better place if he had not resigned on September 19th 2014” May 29, 17:35
Stephen on Marvola The Memory Woman: “The problem Nicola still does not recognise is that when you tell a lie you then have to tell 10…” May 29, 17:32
