The world's most-read Scottish politics website

Wings Over Scotland


One simple question

Posted on February 20, 2025 by

We actually agree with John Swinney here.

The law – more specifically the Workplace (Health, Safety, and Welfare) Regulations 1992 –  is indeed “crystal clear”. It states, wholly unambiguously, that men and women must be provided with separate single-sex changing facilities, which could under NO lawful conditions include Dr “Beth” Upton and nurse Sandie Peggie at the same time.

The difficulty is that any minute now, someone is going to ask the beleaguered First Minister the staggeringly obvious question that arises from the fact, namely:

Why didn’t NHS Fife know that?

Because while the responsibility for NHS boards knowing the law is essentially theirs, they’re also entitled to expect reliable guidance from the Scottish Government on how the law should be interpreted, and any public body that had been following the actions of the Scottish Government for the last decade or so would be forgiven for drawing the conclusion that the stance they were expected to take was “do whatever transgender people say and give them whatever they want under all circumstances”.

But that isn’t the law, and – in so far as anyone in Scotland is actually held accountable for anything any more – someone will have to carry the can for the political car crash and significant waste of public money that has ensued from NHS Fife so manifestly not knowing it. If someone doesn’t find themselves thrown under a bus for it pretty soon, Swinney himself risks being the third SNP First Minister brought down by the madness of the gender cult and having to wave Bute House goodbye.

We look forward to someone asking the question in the coming days.

0 to “One simple question”

  1. sarah says:

    But, Rev, if Swinney et al say that a transvestite is a woman, then the law, as they see it, is being applied.

    But we can hope that this issue will bring Swinney down.

    Reply
    • Rev. Stuart Campbell says:

      Lady Dorrian’s ruling in the FWS case was very clear on this point – as far as the law is concerned, a man without a GRC is a man no matter how many ladyfeels he has.

      Reply
  2. Ian Brotherhood says:

    Poll:

    ‘Inability to provide straight answers to questions about ‘Isla Bryson’/Adam Graham effectively ended Nicola Sturgeon’s tenure as First Minister.

    Do you feel that John Swinney’s handling of the Sandy Peggie/NHS Fife affair will produce a similar outcome?’

    Yes 87.8%

    No 12.2%

    82 votes

    2 days left

    3:10 PM · Feb 20, 2025

    x.com/ianbhood/status/1892592572775665920

    Reply
  3. Ian McCubbin says:

    Could have told him and Fife council this as a former union official.
    Also employment law backs the nurse as she was harassed by presence and interaction of the other individual.
    Gray and Fife nurse manager totally in the wrong.
    I wish the nurse well at tribunal or in getting an out if tribunal settlement.
    Councils are good at this when backed to the wall.
    I know worked for me against a bullying couple of managers in Petth and Kinross Council.

    Reply
    • John Whyte says:

      Of course, in this case, it is not Fife Council in the dock, but NHS Fife. Same rules apply.

      Reply
    • sam says:

      Ian

      I too am former TU person.

      I think NHS Fife offered to settle but Sandie Peggie wanted her day which I think was courageous and very useful in getting this stuff more public.

      Another reason perhaps was the failure of the nursing TU, RCN, to provide her with representation.

      Instead, Ms Peggie had the representation of barrister Naomi Cunningham, who has done many tribunals of this kind and blogs under Legal Feminist.

      It is likely/probable that Fife NHS will be paying Ms Peggie’s costs. these costs would have gone up considerably had NHS Fife continued with a disciplinary hearing against Ms Peggie scheduled for today.

      MBM Policy has a piece up about how RCN has behaved in the past. Here is the end of the piece.

      “Conclusion
      A consistent theme emerges from the advice that the RCN gives to its members regarding the way in which they should deal with trans-identified colleagues and patients. Like many other institutions, the RCN promotes gender self-identification principles, with little to no apparent consideration of their impact on female members, patients, or their colleagues at work.

      Declaration of interest
      MBM co-founder Lisa Mackenzie was an employee of the RCN from 2017-19. She was investigated by her managers in the summer of 2019 for her co-authorship of an article in peer-reviewed journal Scottish Affairs regarding the uncritical adoption of gender self-identification principles by two Scottish public bodies, to the detriment of women’s sex-based rights. Lisa eventually resigned from the RCN in September 2019.”

      link to murrayblackburnmackenzie.org

      Reply
      • twathater says:

        Sam apart from the stress and severe anxiety that Sandie Peggie has been subjected to by the ongoing actions of Fife SNHS management and their legal representatives who appear NOT to have properly investigated the legal regulations surrounding these contentious issues, her broader friends and family must also have experienced similar trauma observing the impact of a possibly ruinous financial and career ending outcome from something that SHOULD NOT have happened

        I get extremely outraged at the current administration’s eagerness to constantly engage the hugely expensive legal services of lawyers and KC’S in attempts to silence or force policies and regulations which are reviled on to the general population
        It is outrageous insanity that we the taxpayers are having to pay to defend these unwanted and hated policies being forced on us and at the same time we are having to crowd fund any legal opposition to the stupidity being introduced
        If these so called progressive woke proponents were forced to pay their own legal costs to introduce this lunacy there would be far less legal challenges

      • John McGregor says:

        Why is everybody in power scared to say IF you have male genitals you do the toilet in a MENS toilet n if you need to change at work the same rules apply change in MENS changing rooms

  4. Robert says:

    If only. After having stitched up the succession to prevent any possibility of being unseated, I’d be astonished if Swinney resigns over anything.

    Reply
  5. Willie says:

    Joke parliament, joke government, and Swinney just reinforces it.

    But it’s not a joke. Allowing chick’s with kicks to share female toilets is a breach of women’s basic rights and as the First Minister says the Health Board should know the law.

    But Swinney’s government have aided, abetted and the breaking of the law. They have also stood idly by whilst the Health Board spend tens and tens of thousands on a tribunal case.

    Why then is Swinney’s government not taking action against the law breakers in our public service. Or is the reality that Swinney and his team are complicit.

    Swinney must go and so must individuals in the health Board.

    You cannot be a law maker and a law breaker.

    Reply
  6. Mark Beggan says:

    Full on John is full on trapped.

    Reply
  7. Mark Beggan says:

    Career finished by a cock in a frock. What a fitting end to a pathetic little man

    Reply
  8. duncanio says:

    Swinney is trying to keep his options open on the definition of a woman (For Woman Scotland @ UK Supreme Court Appeal) and the rights to single sex spaces (Sandie Peggie @ NHS Fife Tribunal).

    Not so much Full On John as Fool On John.

    Reply
  9. Cath says:

    “do whatever transgender people say and give them whatever they want under all circumstances”.

    It’s actually worse than that, as there’s no definition of “trans” or “transgender”. So it’s “do whatever anyone who uses a magic word” says. It’s getting towards the time we should just all identify as “trans” and all go into massive tantrum mode if we don’t get our own way.

    Reply
    • Lorn says:

      Cath: this is precisely the point I have been making for some time. There is no definition of ‘trans’, and this is why we have reached the point where transvestites and autogynephiles feel free to ‘peacock’ in the ladies. Yesterday, everyone knew that these men were driven by sexual feelz. Internationally, ‘gender dysphoria’, a wholly new concept, and, hitherto, a species of body dysMorphia, was allowed to enter the fray and it is this concept that has bought the about the opening of all doors to men who are both exhibitionists and voyeurs par excellence.

      People talk of those who went before and made efforts to blend in, but did that make them any less travesties or autogynephiles using female facilities with impunity. No one asked female people if they were happy with men using the facilities, because sexologists and psychologists told them to just go ahead and live ‘like women’. That is the root of what has brought this down upon our society. These early female impersonators were the vanguard for the main army that we see now.

      The adult men must be differentiated and distinguished from the women and children who are not a physical threat to anyone, albeit they have been the human shield that has allowed this to spread and diffuse throughout society. Many women have been to blame, too, for supporting these men who are, not to put too fine a point on it, using them and abusing them in equal measure, cynically and with a total lack of empathy.

      You can’t have anyone born in the wrong body if you don’t have children born in the wrong body, and the chances that only men would be ‘trans’ is highly unlikely, so females had to be roped in, too, in order to cover the transvestites and autogynephiles. We need to out exactly what this is and stop pretending that it is anything to do with anything other than sexual feelings of a performative nature imposed on others.

      Reply
  10. jock mctavish says:

    Hello John,

    Need a new Voter..?

    Reply
  11. Peter McAvoy says:

    I hope the nurse wins her case and the outcome will help get rid of this nonsense.
    When attending the tribunal was this man told to use the men’s toilets if needed or were other women out at risk?

    Reply
  12. Peter McAvoy says:

    I hope the nurse wins her case and the outcome will help get rid of this nonsense.
    When attending the tribunal was this man told to use the men’s toilets if needed or were other women out at risk?

    Reply
  13. Grouser says:

    I watched FMQs live and was screaming “Don’t you know the law?” at the FM. A lot of good that does, too. Have Headteachers, Managers, etc all been hypnotised so that when they hear “Trans” anything they all fall into a trance and mouth the lies they have been indoctrinated with?
    I do agree with the slogan End Conversion Practices. Stonewall and its offshoots should be made to stop confusing children by feeding them lies about perfectly normal feelings children have when growing up. They are the ones trying to ‘convert’ perfectly normal children to their questionable point of view.
    There are people who have problems with who and what they are. They are, however, in a very small minority. The amount of time, money and effort being spent on them is out of all proportion to their actual numbers.
    One more for Sturgeon.

    Reply
  14. Anthem says:

    All those involved in installing this fictitious mantra across public services should be held to account for, with full knowledge of, intensionally breaking the law. And that includes the likes of Jenny Gilruth.

    Reply
  15. George Ferguson says:

    So what was the SNP strategy regarding this policy? Could it have been something like this? The infamous GRR leglisation was blocked by the Conservative UK Government. Leave it hanging like Damocles sword until a more amenable UK Government are in place. Labour win, nah you are alright. No change from us. OK let’s muddy the waters and let the Local Authorities try to get the policy in by over zealous interpretation and lack of SG guidance. The public won’t notice. Sandy Peggie comes along and the public is supporting her case. GRR back on the public radar. What to do Mr Swinney? Immediately repeal the original GRR leglisation and take it from the statute books for evermore. Use SG legal resource to instruct the SNHS and public bodies to interpret the law correctly. It will be interesting to see forthcoming opinion polls to assess the damage to the SNP. Not such a safe pair of hands Mr Swinney.

    Reply
  16. Liz says:

    Personally I’d like to see the GRA demolished, not just the GRR bill, or at least substantially amended so that you get a GRC and legally become the opposite gender only on complete surgical ‘transformation’.

    Reply
    • sarah says:

      Have you signed the Westminster petition – “Fully Repeal the Gender Recognition Act”? It was started recently and Scotland is responding strongest.

      Reply
    • Lorn says:

      Even if they do get a GRC, Liz, the data on their birth sex, etc. should still be kept. Women and girls are brutalized with bottles, sticks and other objects every year. The possession of a penis is not essential. All studies to date show that male pattern criminality remains, despite hormones and other refinements – because DNA remains the same. Validity implies consent. Women and girls have never consented to any of this. Please don’t consent on anyone else’s behalf. That is what caused most of this infiltration in the first place.

      Reply
  17. Ma Broon says:

    What the feck are they putting in the water up there?

    Reply
  18. twathater says:

    This “BE KIND” mantra will always “BE ABUSED” by those who want everything their way, 10 years of this lunacy has cost Scots and Scotland dearly , I spoke out when the poison dwarf was seeking the opinion on the consultation from anyone from anywhere in the world , she was hoping that the people with self interest would overwhelm the consultation but was disappointed at the outcome YET she still persisted and we are in the shite state we are in because people want to “BE KIND”

    Reply
  19. George Ferguson says:

    So I am getting malware on the newest but not this thread. A sure sign this thread is clean. Give more money to Stu. His security is deficient. Same attack red signal warning download this on your PC. Men with small penises are too blame apparently. It’s a State attack. Too sophisticated.

    Reply
  20. V Hartley says:

    Thankyou for the coverage of this. Have been reading whilst listening to The Kinks ‘Lola’. What an utter mess.

    Reply
  21. The Flying Iron of Doom says:

    Testing, testing, one two three…is the server still being attacked?

    Reply


Comment - please read this page for comment rules. HTML tags like <i> and <b> are permitted. Use paragraph breaks in long comments. DO NOT SIGN YOUR COMMENTS, either with a name or a slogan. If your comment does not appear immediately, DO NOT REPOST IT. Ignore these rules and I WILL KILL YOU WITH HAMMERS.


  • About

    Wings Over Scotland is a (mainly) Scottish political media digest and monitor, which also offers its own commentary. (More)

    Stats: 6,747 Posts, 1,216,853 Comments

  • Recent Posts

  • Archives

  • Categories

  • Tags

  • Recent Comments

    • Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: “Careful, Southernbystander, Barbie has been spotted heading for the mobile gas chamber, jump leads in hand. Alert readers will spot…Apr 30, 10:39
    • David on The Takeover: “Whose side are the government and media on as well… not the pro life side. Killing your children is the…Apr 30, 10:19
    • factfinder on The Takeover: “But surely the Sovereign people of Scotland asked for the devolved parliament to be created. And that wish is sovereign…Apr 30, 10:04
    • Geri on The Takeover: “Aidan That’s funny. What are the UN & the courts doing at the moment via Palestine? Or the Chagos Islands?…Apr 30, 10:03
    • James Cheyne on The Takeover: “Personal attacks when yo cannot deal with facts. Oh dear. History does not change to suit those whom are mentally…Apr 30, 09:37
    • Geri on The Takeover: “Southerwanker You know what to then eh? Go for English independence & stop being a leeching parasite to Scotland, the…Apr 30, 09:16
    • Chas on The Takeover: “Geri Is that drivel supposed to make any sense? All written in a style which befits someone of limited intelligence…Apr 30, 09:08
    • Aidan on The Takeover: “@Chas – completely, it’s a total dead end strategy. No court, or the UN, is going to decide that we…Apr 30, 08:19
    • Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: “Ouch, Southernbystander, that must sting! YL Sah! has just let you have a brace of his signature “double taps”. I…Apr 30, 08:13
    • Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: ““I’d bet a pound to a pile of shite” Nah, Barbie, ye widnae. You’ve a track record of being wrong…Apr 30, 08:02
    • Captain Caveman on The Takeover: “Honestly, Wings BTL is a must-read for me, daily. Particularly good and especially deliciously unhinged of late! Please, please… keep…Apr 30, 06:21
    • Yoon Scum on The Takeover: “Geri You need to address a MAJOR issue with leaving the union us English filth live in Scotland How are…Apr 30, 06:00
    • Young Lochinvar on The Takeover: “Wow! Something got shook loose there!! Fat? Seen many Anglos recently? Clearly not! Go to Benidorm and view the Engerlund…Apr 30, 01:15
    • Young Lochinvar on The Takeover: “Andrew Sorry, I disagree. Good points are being made and “BTL” post protocols aside it gets asinine with folk “wanging…Apr 30, 00:49
    • Geri on The Takeover: “I’d bet a pound to a pile of shite there is an Englishman there in the thick of it all.…Apr 30, 00:17
    • James on The Takeover: “AH! A “Carol”. Where did you appear from, poppet? Diversity! The 77th now have a laydee poster. Or is wee…Apr 30, 00:11
    • James on The Takeover: ““Chas” (lol) “How come so many nutters contribute to the ‘comments section’ on Wings?” Go on “Chas”, Look in a…Apr 30, 00:03
    • Geri on The Takeover: “GM They’re making a big deal of it because colonialism thrives on division & conflict & sectarianism is their favourite…Apr 29, 23:49
    • Geri on The Takeover: “James Cheyne I’m so sorry for your loss. I hope you are okay. Sending you hugs at this difficult time…Apr 29, 23:31
    • GM on The Takeover: “Hatey McHateface says: 29 April, 2025 at 9:16 pm You are being taken for a fool.. Could be! Political Islam…Apr 29, 22:51
    • Yoon Scum on The Takeover: “Chas Are you saying that we can’t cast a magic spell while wearing the holy tartan cap and holding up…Apr 29, 21:17
    • Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: ““The Muslims from Scotland that I know are Scottish. No question” Yet only a few posts above, we have Alf…Apr 29, 21:16
    • GM on The Takeover: “Aye, f all to do with being muslim. I am slightly puzzled why they are making a big deal out…Apr 29, 20:59
    • Chas on The Takeover: “Sadly Cheyne is not alone in posting repetitive pish. There are too many living in the past banging on about…Apr 29, 20:48
    • Bilbo on The Takeover: “Who controls the past, controls the future.Apr 29, 20:27
    • GM on The Takeover: “NO.Definitely not Bilbo. Hopefully copying the USA is at the start of being on its way ootApr 29, 20:27
    • GM on The Takeover: “The Muslims from Scotland that I know are Scottish. No question and the ones I know from abroad don’t exhibit…Apr 29, 20:11
    • Hatey McHateface on The Takeover: “You’re wasting your time on the right side of history, Marie. The left side of history is where all the…Apr 29, 19:59
    • carol Neill on The Takeover: “Much as I am sympathetic with James cheynes recent loss I am not missing their posts Same shit all day…Apr 29, 19:52
    • Bilbo on The Takeover: “Never heard of the band until recently. They sound like the Northern Irish version of the Bearsden and Milngavie scheme…Apr 29, 19:43
  • A tall tale



↑ Top