Please remember as you read this I am not supposed to have these documents and you are not supposed to know this content. My thanks to the brave SNP members who supplied this information to me.
The final moves to remove all power from the ordinary membership of the SNP are now about to be played. Just like the Conference in 2018 when a poorly attended internal session allowed ANGUS ROBERTSON to quietly execute his plan to eradicate National Council and reconstruct the NEC through the introduction of numerous minority appointed posts, while reducing the number of NEC members directly elected by the membership. An even quieter plan is now in process where the innocent sounding SNP GOVERNANCE REVIEW has a series of further changes that will hand complete control of the entire Party to the Woke cabal and their allies at the expense of the rest of the Party.
Bad enough the already revealed plan to reduce the size of the NEC from 42 to 32 by removing 50% of the elected Regional representatives, while creating more appointed places, rather than elected members, but that is just one small part of the entire process.
Now this article could easily have been the longest article ever published on this site as I could have reproduced the SEVEN PAGES in the 40 page report that outlined, in detail more phobias than you could shake a stick at.( probably a hanging offence in itself) This was supposed to be a report detailing the entire operation of the Party, covering its organisation, campaigning, structure, finances, candidate selection, Local Government organisation, seat targeting procedures, complaint reorganization. Who would have believed the outlining in detail of all the various phobias members could be disciplined for in future would form the most dominant part of the report?
While it is fair to say these phobias are unpleasant the problem is they are not in this report for that reason. They are a CONTROL mechanism that allows the various appointed minorities and their allies to control the entire Party. Determining the future structure of the Party, ensuring all candidates and office bearers adopt THEIR MESSAGE and owe any status they enjoy in the Party to the cult’s goodwill. Far fetched? Let’s look at the evidence, all quotes in bold are taken directly from the Report and published without alteration.
FINANCE
Members of the Governance Review Group are aware of the recent controversies concerning the party’s finances, and note the resignation of the National Treasurer, as well as several members of the Finance and Audit Committee earlier this year. These circumstances inevitably raise questions about the SNP’s financial governance, and highlight the need to restore confidence in our procedures.
As a democratic party, the annual election of office bearers is a key accountability mechanism for the wider membership. For our constitutional model to work smoothly there requires to be a degree of mutual trust and goodwill between elected office bearers and the staff charged with day-to-day executive functions. While office bearers can change relatively frequently, and those elected to positions of internal leadership often combine their positions with the demands of elected public office, the professional staff employed by the SNP are focused on the party’s day-to-day operations, and tend to be in post over a longer period; they therefore often acquire a stronger grasp of the party’s internal dynamics and ‘institutional memory’ than elected office bearers, developing considerable expertise, and providing stability and continuity.
One of the more general challenges highlighted in our consultation is respect for the confidentiality of the party’s internal processes. This has implications for financial governance in that some financial information is sensitive (including information that falls under data protection legislation). Not every detail about the party’s finances has to be in the public domain to meet thresholds of good governance and transparency; sensitive information must be held securely
So what is significant about the above? Well firstly there is a recognition that it wasn’t good that the National Treasurer and three members of the Audit Committee resigned. So far so good!
We now come to the changes to make sure it doesn’t happen again. The solution? Well read about the professional staff having a “stronger grasp” than elected members. So while the National Treasurer and Audit members objected to not being given access to the books to carry out their responsibilities, their way being blocked by the professional staff, the “solution” is to give Peter Murrell and his employees more powers and they are not finished there. He certainly had a “strong grasp” of the books and the audit team were not getting a hold of them under any circumstances!
Whereas before, because of the specialised nature of the task the Finance and Audit Committee were appointed by the National Treasurer. There was no requirement that the majority of members on it were also members of the NEC.
NO more, the new proposal is that the National Treasurer must seek approval from the NEC as to the committee’s membership and a MAJORITY of members of the committee must come from the NEC. This is the NEC TAKING CONTROL. Looking at the current NEC then perhaps that expertise may be available however remove the 50% of the elected regional representatives and it is likely it won’t be. The cult will now dominate the finances of the Party, imagine who the NEC will appoint to this committee?
COMPLAINTS
Again it starts off well with a recognition that the current situation is unacceptable.
The Governance Review Group was presented with clear evidence that current complaints-handling procedures have themselves resulted in a real dissatisfaction, lack of trust, increased frustration, including, leading to an injustice or increased harm for some.
They quickly identify it is branches and ordinary members fault that there are so many complaints and plan steps to resolve this.
In order to minimise the number of complaints being generated in the first place, we need to invest in the skills of members at local level and within council groups to resolve potential issues before they become a problem. Training for dealing with disputes should be provided to people in key roles like Conveners, council group leaders and business managers.
Just wait to I tell you who is going to do that retraining? Here comes the invitation to introduce the Woke and cult in to your branch/your constituency
When handling complaints, the Governance Review Group notes that the expertise of other National Office Bearer’s could be better utilised. The National Secretary may wish to seek counsel from the Women’s Convener on allegations of misogyny or the BAME Convener on allegations of racism, for example. In every circumstance, however, the privacy and wishes of the complainant must be considered. ( so it’s allegations/ complaints made by sources that must remain anonymous) Where have I come across that before in recent times?
● Recommendation: Update Code of Conduct, including but not limited to adding the missing protected characteristics as set out in the Equality Act. Procedures must also consider the cumulative impact and context of complaints, and not just particular incidents in isolation. Complaints must also be fed into the candidate assessment process.
Recommendation: In addition to the definition of Transphobia1 that was adopted on 20 February, the Governance Review Group recommends the party agrees to adopt the initial group of working definitions of other forms of discrimination which were produced by the Equalities Forum and representatives from the SNP’s affiliate organisations as set out in Appendix C. The proposed Culture, Equalities, Organisation and Training Committee may seek to add to or revisit these definitions on a regular basis.
Yes folks that is the first reference to the new CULTURE, EQUALITIES, ORGANISATION AND TRAINING COMMITTEE or as I call it the Thought Police Committee. It is being given huge powers. Who will be on it? Well surprise surprise a majority of members must come from the Woke and Cult dominated NEC so guess who amongst their number are going to be appointed. You will note one of its first jobs is to expand on the rules governing Transphobia to encompass the SEVEN PAGES of other phobias outlined in Appendix C. Please also note the direct reference to the “candidate assessment process”. This will be the mechanism to promote favourites while eliminating rivals. In preparation for this several staff have to be reallocated to dealing with the complaints handling and big efforts are going into “retraining”. Nobody can say the SNP are not going to be ready for the introduction of the Hate Crime and GRA LEGISLATION. At least as it applies to disciplining their own membership!
THE NEW COMMITTEE
Culture, Equalities, Organisation and Training Committee
In addition to the above, we also think it would be useful to establish a committee to keep under review areas of organisational culture, not from the standpoint of cutting across the functions of conduct and disciplinary committees, but much more generally in terms of systemic issues related to important cultural matters, such as internal communications, training of committee members, transparency, member consultations, relationships amongst the various bodies in the party, decision making, building trust and respect, and so forth.
Including Equalities as part of this committee helps to ensure issues affecting under-represented groups in the party remains at the heart of decision making and demonstrates the pursuit of equality is a shared endeavor by all rather than a task assigned only to representatives from underrepresented groups.
Consequently, there is the opportunity to develop the work of the National Equalities Forum, and open it out to all appropriate members in a similar way to how the Women’s Forum is structured. This committee should take responsibility for ensuring the development of the Women’s Forum and National Equalities Forum.
This committee would also take responsibility for ongoing reviews of governance, building on the work of the Governance Review Group.
NOW READ THAT AGAIN. What you are witnessing here is those “ under represented groups”, you know the ones you don’t elect, grabbing total control of the Party going forward. They are going to be the body responsible for the “ongoing reviews of Governance”. They are being given Carte Blanche to interfere in any area of Party activity at will. This is simply outrageous but given the apathy and disinterest in these matters that have allowed this outrage to develop this far who is to say they won’t get away with it? I have yet to see a member’s whimper never mind a revolt.
This Thought Police Committee is completely new to the SNP PARTY STRUCTURE. THIS IS ADMITTED.
This is a non-standard type of committee and therefore experimental in nature. It is intended as a positive and constructive avenue for the development of good practice. It should comprise a minimum of 5 members, one of whom shall be a senior office bearer who will also act as chair. Members of the committee should be selected by the NEC. The NEC must ensure the committee has the necessary skills to discharge its responsibilities. A majority of members should come from within the membership of the NEC. All members of the committee must be members of the SNP and of good standing.
The terms of reference for the committee should be:
● To review training and capacity building requirements for all NEC committees, and other committees elected at conference. ( this gives them a status above those committees elected by Conference. For certain the NEC will select the “appointed”.)
● To review party practices in light of the need to build respect, transparency and engagement. ( this is the Carte Blanche clause)
● To conduct reviews of the working of committees and support their development.( another Carte Blanche clause)
● To review all standing orders and ensure they are kept up to date, relevant and baised on the encouragement of good practice. ( control of the Party rule book)
● To ensure the party captures the skills and talents of party members and May recommendations to the NEC on how to build opportunities for their effective deployment. ( sop to keep you on board).
So it’s an experiment but it is being handed huge powers, including reviewing the future governance of the Party. One question? Have you ever heard of such a committee, with such widespread powers, voting itself out of existence ? It’s experimental alright, they are experimenting to discover whether there are still sufficient suckers to fall for it!
TWO TYPES OF MEMBERS, ELECTED, NO POWERS, APPOINTED, IN FULL CONTROL.
The Governance Review Group is firmly of the view that it is vital that the equalities groups are able to elect their own representatives to NEC, to ensure those individuals area genuine representative voice for these under-represented groups in politics. This is key to the empowerment and representation of our equalities groups, and should be the foundation for any future proposals to develop and refine the role of the equalities representatives.
There wasn’t a significant demand to reintroduce National Council, but we would recommend that our proposed Culture, Equalities, Organisation and Training Committee explore options to facilitate an event that allowed that access, while bringing together different component parts of the party. ( I am aware of a widespread desire to see the return of National Council, the only body that would allow proper accountability in the Party. Wonder how they missed that?)
We would envisage most of this ongoing work to improve our structures and processes being undertaken by our proposed new Culture, Equalities, Organisation and Training Committee. ( there you are, that is indeed the plan, clearly stated)
I write that because nobody knows how many members each of those minority groups have as members. There is no requirement to supply membership lists. The new proposals, if you believe current SNP claims of live membership, means each of the eight surviving regional representatives must represent 15,000 members each. How many BAME members are they? They get two places on the NEC, 100, 200, 500? I have mentioned BAME but it could be any of them. They should never be there, the Equalities Committee should be a sub committee with only the Chairperson of that group being on the NEC. I know, because NEC members have told me, every meeting is dominated by these minority groups agendas. That is why there is no time for Independence. Why Hate Crime and GRA, HUGE VOTE LOSING BILLS THAT WILL SERIOUSLY DAMAGE THE INDEPENDENCE CAUSE, DOMINATE SNP POLITICS.
If members want to stop this madness they must organise and fight back. Too busy, can’t be bothered, leave it to others then frankly you deserve all the agony and disappointment that lies before you.
Why do I bother? I am not even a member these days. I will tell you. I loved the SNP for a great many years. I have devoted the majority of my life to securing Independence and alongside thousands of others thought we were closing in on that goal, even after the disappointment in 2014.
I am distraught and angry that nothing positive has has happened since that date, instead we are being led up a path to nowhere. Independence is being put to sleep by the Sturgeon Murrell cult. What eventually follows will be a nightmare. I recognise I have been betrayed, more importantly, do you?
Please share widely, the more SNP members who know about this the better.
I am, as always
Yours for Scotland.
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YOURS FOR SCOTLAND 
Thank you Ian. This is indeed terrifying. There is now no doubt that Nikolai and Piotr have to go, and go they must.
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what get’s me is how complicated they make things to hide their real intentions.
The ordinary (wo)man in the street, whether SNP member or voter, hasn’t the patience to pick their way through implications and opaque language in an attempt to understand what’s going on in their party.
Let’s hope Alba embraces “plain English” and “transparency” for all party business and communications so that members and voters don’t need to “strain every sinew” to discern what the party is doing!
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Yes it’s a language intended to confuse. Also to intimidate people and make them uncomfortable discussing the issues using normal conversation.
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Hi Ben, exactly what crossed my mind. Thick with bureaucratic language straight out of 1984, or Yes, Minister even? But who among these young cultists would be capable of producing such gobbledegook? I mean there’s not one emoji in sight.LOL!
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Iain,
I am a former member of the SNP of 38 years continuous membership.
Does anyone know the names of those who have produced the report and proposals, and who appointed/elected them?
I find the following quote extraordinary:
“While office bearers can change relatively frequently, and those elected to positions of internal leadership often combine their positions with the demands of elected public office, the professional staff employed by the SNP are focused on the party’s day-to-day operations, and tend to be in post over a longer period; they therefore often acquire a stronger grasp of the party’s internal dynamics and ‘institutional memory’ than elected office bearers, developing considerable expertise, and providing stability and continuity.”
This is so arrogant and a recipe for dictatorship from the centre. Office internal staff must ALWAYS be monitored by people with wider worldly experience. Otherwise, internal “power tends to corrupt, absolute power corrupts absolutely”, as someone once said.
Well done, Iain, for exposing this clear planned power grab. It’s certainly not the Party I joined in the 1970s.
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The reports Convener was Keith Brown who appointed the review group.
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Oh aye Iain. I surely do recognise that I have been betrayed, not just me though, all of Scotland is being betrayed. I can’t for the life of me understand why ordinary SNP members do not recognise this fact for themselves? What is it going to take to make the ostriches remove their heids frae the sand? I despair, I really do, at what is going on here.
The sheep that sit at Holyrood, aye you, the SNP MSP’s, are you all so bloody feart that you sit there with your mooth tightly clamped, as well as your backside that is. God help us all, cause you flaming lot won’t help anyone but your wee greedy selves.
Come on Alba, your ideas are good, let’s roll before Scotland disappears all together in a veil of woke nonsense and at times downright hatred of the rest of us. If I was younger I would seriously consider emigrating, but since I’m an auld yin noo, I guess I’m stuck here. This is no where I want to live, this is not my country that we all had such great vision of in 2014. We so nearly made it, until the wicked witch of Bute house took over.
Onywho, Iain, I thought that you were supposed to be on holiday, some holiday son when you still have to do this. Away and enjoy yourself with your family.
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Life long SNP supporter until a couple of years ago. The reason I think members don’t do anything are firstly that they don’t know. We can publish this information online, but in reality how many ordinary members (i.e. not the activists) are bothered about what they consider to be internal stuff and not worth bothering with? I suspect it’s the majority.
They’ll also happily vote SNP 1&2 because their “representatives” and “Oor Nicla” tell them too as this allows them not to have to think about things to much. This internal politicking isn’t of interest to them anyway.
The SNP is morphing before OUR eyes because we no longer follow the dogma or propaganda, but look at the real impact of the changes that are taking place. Small incremental changes over several years passes most people by until it’s too late. Personally I think it’s already too late for the SNP. Even if Nikki and Piotr were pushed out now, I’m not sure the SNP can be saved – or at least for any years, well into 2030s.
Finally don’t forget the Unionist elite and their docile MSM are just waiting for the appropriate moment to bring down the house of cards. Whether or not there are people from UK-SS close to (or even being) the leadership, it’s obvious there are too many bodies in cupboards to be revealed when the time is right. Scotland is in a precarious place if what you want is the reemergence of a socially democratic and open and just society.
I doubt I’ll see independence in my life time now (I’m an “old” foggie”) all I can hope for it that the few good people left DO SOMETHING in the short time available to rescue the best of the SNP. OR they move over to ALBA or ISP in short order to take the YES Movement forward. The SNP is lost to me now.
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“We can publish this information online, but in reality how many ordinary members (i.e. not the activists) are bothered about what they consider to be internal stuff and not worth bothering with? I suspect it’s the majority.” Spot on IMO Tony. Well said.
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So we do nothing. We say nothing. They win. White flag is in the post.
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Too auld and too poor to move. I’d take the other way out but I’m determined to get at least some of my pension back from the b*****ds at WM – they are already stealing 6 years from me. So glad I had no children to worry about a future for. Bring on global warming – something comforting in all going together.
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“I can’t for the life of me understand why ordinary SNP members do not recognise this fact for themselves?”
It’s not an issue of ordinary members not recognizing facts. The issue is that there is nothing they can do about it. What actual as opposed to notional channels exist any longer for them to express their grievances? What influential party figures will champion their cause?
As little as three years ago you would have said that Salmond and Cherry were among the most influential politicians in the independence movement. Look how easily and completely they have been marginalized, ostracized, demonized and neutralized. What hope do any ordinary folk have of forcing their voices to be heard or their preferences respected?
It’s Animal Farm and the pigs are already in charge. The power grab isn’t under way. It has already happened. You don’t need to wield all power over everything, You just need to wield all the power that matters over everything that matters. And that situation already exists. We are already there.
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Chin up Carol,
I live in Edinburgh South/Southern. Sometimes known as the Deep South. Or Ian Murray-Daniel Johnson Shire. Although I prefer The Heart of Darkness as a moniker.
It is swamped with settlers and those of colonised mind.
But I won’t leave. Why should I? I like it here. I pay my taxes. It’s my country.
The Irish and the Indians took hundreds of years too realise their dream and obtain their freedom. Scotland, as a nation, will too. Maybe not in our lifetimes. But it will happen – you cannot kill an idea.
Sure, we are being led by donkeys just now. And corrupt ones at that.
It won’t always be that way – when the history of this period is written the names of the current leadership clique will be mudd soon enough.
On the other hand, you, I and others like us are part of the positive story of Scotland.
That thought keeps me going.
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Spot on.
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Sadly I think those members left in the SNP mostly don’t care or are happy with this. They’re sheep who go along with ‘Nicola is wonderful and has a secret plan’, and haven’t looked past the comforting words about “equality” to understand what is really happening over multiple areas. The revolt was attempted in 2019 and the cult became more paranoid, hence this kind of thing. It’s been seen over and over in dictatorships – the inner clique become ever smaller and more paranoid, and ever more of the faithful find themselves persecuted.
People will discover as they end up being the ones falling foul of these rules. And they will. A previously asleep sheep will say something they think is entirely non controversial, eg “Hang on, but that rapist is a man” and found V themselves hung out to dry. Only then will they realise others had a point.
The only positive to take from it now is those bastards at the centre always end up turning on each other at the end.
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My attitude to the inner machinations of the SNP now equates to how I felt about those of the all prevailing Scottish Labour Party in the 80s and 90s. Whilst fellow trade unionists agonized over internal Labour debate (instead of focusing on trade union “bread and butter” issues directly affecting workers), I meditated on more fruitful matters. Just as I recognised four decades ago that Labour would never deliver genuine economic and social equality (i.e. real equality which requires dismantling entrenched power structures), so now it is clear that the SNP, as is, cannot deliver indy, not even function competently within a devolved Scotland. Now the SNP is a “good career move”, full of suited and booted party bureaucrats but has lost its soul. Frankly dear, I don’t give a damn!
I will continue to read your blogs with interest but I won’t get too steamed up about it. The SNP is no longer the sole vehicle for securing indy, which unfortunately now looks like it’s going to take more time and hard work to attain?
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If it isn’t going to happen in my lifetime, why the hell should I waste my time fighting for it. Might as well go back to doing the things I enjoy – until they decide that gardening is wild flower phobic and I’m not allowed to weed any longer, or that cooking and baking wastes energy and everything has to be eaten raw. Maybe even home crafting will be considered capitalistphobic – why make do and mend when you can fill the pockets of the rich by consuming. Of course, we are now (those with any sense) SNP phobic – probably a capital offence. Where are Scotty and the transporter when you need them?
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I sympathise but I don’t agree – I’m old and I’m damned if this perverted traitor is going to be my legacy to the generations yet to come. We are old and can be radical without consequence – we can’t be sacked and if we get thrown in the chokey we will be in good company – maybe we can facetime Craig? We must stand up and take the fight to Holyrood. I’m hoping Alba will come up with an organised plan so at the very least the jails will fill up fast – they must not pick us off one by one as they have Craig.
This is the day – this is the hour – and we are the sons and daughters of this time. It is on us.
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Thanks Iain, the Wokies and personality worshippers in the SNP have truly excelled themselves and on track to destroy the party and independence. If the membership allows the Finance & Audit Committee to be stuffed with “professional staff”, which is against all accountancy principles, they will forever be treated like mushrooms on the Party’s finances. At this time all I can do as a member is contact my branch and let them know my feelings which are that this nonsense, which I think verges on the illegal, must be stopped. If the Conference votes for this it is the last straw for me and my membership!
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Jim. Why wait for the inevitable when you can resign your membership and join Alba?
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Like most people I’ve been a loyal support and member of the SNP all my life. My wives from Yorkshire she also became a member and supporter herself. We have come to conclusion that the SNP is a lost cause and our energies are best spent on knocking the SNP out of power. The SNP are now the stumbling block to EU membership and Independence and just to add a point there is nothing we can say or do that would effect Nicola Sturgeon she has ultimately got what she wants full control of the SNP, but there is something we the voters can do and that is to reject this party at the local elections and the next Westminster election and get behind Alex Salmond and the Alba Party that’s where I believe Scotland destiny lies and its future in the hand of people who actually want Independence and are prepared to put Independence before an individual.
The SNP are in real trouble and I reckon by the end of 2023 if there isn’t a commitment to a referendum (which we all know there won’t be) that’s when the membership will start to fall and the Alba Party’s membership will start to rise and I reckon that 2023 will be the starting gun for Sturgeon and her cronies demise.
A party that’s been the most open and transparent (transparent has nothing to do with trans I’m just using it because it made sense) and is now controlled by one individual has to come to an end sooner or later because no party can continue the way the SNP is without consequences.
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I agree but fervently hope that it will not take to 2023 for members to see what is happening and act.
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Me too, but do you read the utter nonsense these idoliser write. I used to think Scots had a bit of grey matter between their ears, when I read the crap this lot still believe I want to go on a rampage and scream at them, How much more proof do they need? But I’m wasting my time, they are as thick as mince and twice as dense. God help Scotland.
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Looks like the most under-represented members are the majority of the membership. I’m glad I left last year.
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Oh well, it looks like its back to the drawing board on independence, for we can now surely write off the current SNP as a vehicle to independence. The question is how much damage will they do to the cause, and Scotland before another party is in place to do something about this.
Its very frustrating that after all these years of backing the SNP and believing that the next mandate would be the one, that we now find out (Via a brave soul who has leaked this to you) that independence isn’t even on the agenda, so many wasted years since 2014, yet many of us still believe in an independent Scotland, we still have the will but not the way.
How much damage will Westminster do to Scotland before we’re in a position to leave this union again, God only knows.
Thanks Iain for this article and to the brave soul/s who leaked it to you.
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There’s so much that could be said about this totalitarian takeover but I shall limit my comments to two issues: (1) the comparative authority of professional employee as opposed to volunteer or part volunteer employer and (2) the question of how the SNP decides upon under-representation.
When working as a senior manager in a local authority, I was clear that the Council, my employers, held me to account. These employers were the councillors elected by the population.
The councillors could be voted in and out, their tenure limited to a few years. However they were and are the bosses, and professional staff know this. Chief Executives could be and were fired, if their performance didn’t please their employers.
In contrast, SNP ruling elite place their paid staff, particularly the leader’s husband who is Chief Executive beyond employer control.
But here’s the question: will SNP-run local authorities now put the same ‘reform’ in place? Will the SNP run Councils (who admittedly receive remuneration these days, so aren’t exactly volunteers, but few rely upon it) hand over their employer power to professional senior officers? Hell will freeze over first.
Secondly, the under-represented groups. What calculation is being done to assess ‘under-representation’? And what definitions used? We already know that according to the SNP definition of ‘woman’, they would be happy to have a Parliament with 100% male MSPs. Unless they create a sub-category of ‘woman’ for females; which defaults to actual women being a sub-category.
Theoretically it could go the other way too. Positions of power could be held 100% by men including females masquerading as men. Except that men are not classed as under-represented in the first place. (Note: I’m not sure if women are still under represented, at least in the higher reaches of the Party, given the coterie of powerful women around Ms Sturgeon.)
Other examples – in population terms are gay and lesbian people under represented in the SNP hierarchy or among staffers? Has this been shown to be the case? The Scottish Parliament as a whole has the highest proportion of gay and lesbian representatives in Europe. Where is the evidence of under representation compared with the general public? Where is there evidence of educational or health or income disadvantage? I am thinking here of my own gay son, a well paid professional, married to a banker, both highly educated and living privileged lives. Disadvantage has to be quantified and compared with other forms before being awarded privileged status.
BAME? What ratio is being used here to determine under representation or criteria for disadvantage in other terms? And which BAME group is disadvantaged and which ones are not? For example, the entire BAME population of Glasgow is 3 per cent yet 25 % of places at private schools such as Hutcheson’s are held by children of Asian heritage.
If the SNP genuinely wishes to address disadvantage and under representation, it within its ranks should look to where it is proven to exist: the same as in the wider community. Not within the ranks of baby lawyers and politics graduates but men and women struggling on low incomes, trying to hold down zero hours contracts and feed their children. The kind of people who used to populate and have influence in progressive political parties seeking to raise standards of living for the general population. As to other examples of under-representation, what is the SNP doing to improve the representation of small business owners in the Party?
Basically it looks as if assumptions of under representation and disadvantage are following a particular path, led not by objective analysts but by a elite pre-occupied by their own identity politics and personal ambitions, looking out on the world from an echo chamber as they order lattes and americanos from a tired-eyed waitress.
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Problem is that it would appear than any who do purport to be from an “underprivileged” background seem to become rather bourgeois and adopt the middle class attitude that the only way to help the working class is to enable them to become middle class. There seems to be no appetite to improve the income, health and living conditions of the working class without first wanting to convert them to couscous and quinoa and getting them to speak “proper English”. The only ambition they seem to have is to get everyone to have a university education. Where the hell are we going to get the tradesmen and craftsmen that we need and what will they do with all those students of media studies and gender studies? Give them jobs in the SNP, I expect.
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You are right on the money Joan. It is important in progressive politics that middle class LGBT, middle class women, middle class BAME, middle class disabled people, get their say and due representation. Only when they do will we truly have an equal society… at least by the reckoning of the middle class.
The single biggest marker of inequality is parental income. But talking about that bald fact seems to have gone out of fashion decades ago.
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Anyone decent still remaining in the SNP, now is the time you need to leave. What is revealed above tells us that the SNP is no longer saveable. The above sounds like the level of control exerted by cults. Members leave, join another pro indy party. Decent elected officials (not the carpetbaggers) leave, sit as an independent or join another party. The eyes of the wider independence movement need to be opened to the car crash that is the nuSNP.
I’ll never vote for them again (after decades). My MP (Oswald) better enjoy her current status because I guarantee she won’t be re-elected next time. That will mean it will be a Tory but they’ll talk about independence more than she has and there will be about the same chance of it happening.
It’s really easy to feel great sorrow at the current predicament. But we must be strong. We must regain control of the independence movement. It won’t be easy but nothing worthwhile ever is.
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Agree Panda Paws.
At the Women’s Demo against Self ID, the mention of Sturgeon and Harvie name elicited loud boo’ing from the crowd (of over 400 folk). What a turnaround!
Women can see very clearly that the SNP is no longer on our side, since we’re not protected under the HCB yet ‘crossdressers’ are included.
If she / her enacts legislation that means a woman has to refer to her rapist in court as ‘SHE’ then anything, absolutely anything is possible and there’s no stopping this current administration.
I will never vote SNP again and have written to them all , including Councillors to say so.
Iain, I notice on twitter you have attached the link to Dr.Bruce Scott’s article ‘The Queering of Scottish Schools’.
A must read by all parents. Utterly appalling.
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It’s difficult not to believe that the British State got a bit freaked out after 2014 and infiltrated the party at that time and that this is the result. Maybe I’m being kind though – maybe the party is just full of arseholes and thickos who have been brainwashed into following a new religious cult.
These people will destroy Scotland and any hope of ever gaining our independence. We’ll end up as a playground, not just for the huntin’ shootin’ fishin’ brigade but for the perverts who formerly went to Thailand or to the bestiality brothels of Denmark. What an absolute shitshow.
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This is what I like about you Wee child.You are so discreet.
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If this is her vision of democracy within the Party then I do not wish to live in her Scotland because this is how she will shape our Nation by imposing laws that destroy free speech.
To those fools who remain in the NuSNP convinced that they can change it from the inside….please explain how that can be done now.
To the remaining female members of the NuSNP…do you realise what you are doing??
A tiny, tiny clique now run the Party which governs Scotland. I will write this while I still can.
In 2014 I dreamed of a better future for my children and grandchildren. 2021 I fear for their future. Quite amazing when the same Party remains in power.
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“Quite amazing when the same Party remains in power.”
Except it’s not the same party, but a mere facsimile of it. The cuckoos have infiltrated and taken over the nest.
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The SNP is dead. Destroyed by Nicola Sturgeon the traitor. She may not realise that she is destroying Scotland, but I suspect that she knows exactly what she’s doing. She may simply be using the Woke nutters to achieve her ends.
Deliberate or not, she is doing what Westminster has always wanted. Neutering Scotland so that there will be no resistance to their plans for us.
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I agree. Sturgeon is a user. She is a despicable person but she could never have managed to destroy the SNP without assistance from the loyal membership. Those people such as Murrell, Robertson etc. have their own reasons – “dosh”. It’s the loyal membership I feel sorry for. Yes, I was an SNP member but I never liked Sturgeon (the one subject my SNP pal and I disagreed upon!) So it wasn’t difficult for me to let Murrell know I was finished with them. I’m just so thankful that there are other independence parties to take us forward. The destruction of the SNP will not destroy the march towards our independence. Scotland must – and certainly will – become an independent state once more.
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The pigs are now asleep under their covers in the farmers beds
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Just listening online https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000yyl6
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Don’t repeatedly tell people about the seven pages of phobias if you’re not going to show them to them. It’s terrible journalism. I see people have asked you about this on Twitter and you’ve sneered at them and called them “sycophants” and told them to ask the SNP for the document. But you know the SNP won’t show them.
Aren’t you supposed to be exposing the SNP’s lack of transparency? Yet you’re doing the exact same thing. I don’t doubt for a second that your document is real, so SHOW IT TO PEOPLE, don’t just dribble out little teasers. Upload it and let people download the whole thing for themselves, like Wings would have done. What’s the benefit of you hogging it to yourself other than making you feel important?
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*repeatedly TELL people, obviously.
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Your proposal is to identify the whistleblower by listing the full document and thereby end all future source material…brilliant thinking!
You do know that control freaks often issue copies of documents with minor tells recorded against each recipient to achieve this identification….on second thoughts…you probably don’t.
Why not just ask Iain to publish their name and membership details for openess?
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I publish a blog not an encyclopedia if you are a real journalist do your own research stop relying on me to prop you up and then moan about it.
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They cannae be claiming to be short of ffing material surely?
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This is utterly heartbreaking.
Sturgeon and Murrel are wilfully destroying the SNP.
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and trying to destroy the independence movement.
They may destroy the SNP but they will not destroy the yes movement.
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” Not every detail about the party’s finances has to be in the public domain to meet thresholds of good governance and transparency; sensitive information must be held securely”
I wonder who will decide what is and what isn’t “sensitive”?
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“As a democratic party, the annual election of office bearers is a key accountability mechanism for the wider membership.”
I think they use ‘democratic’ the same way as the D.D.R. or THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO.
They really have no shame.
They must know they are finished. And I, for one, will never forgive them or the cowards that are the SNP MPs and MSPs.
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‘Utter nonsense. How can the NEC do its job with leaks like this. It is all perfectly democratic and transparent’
@Feorlean any minute now.
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I enjoyed that. Or Iain is not a member, that’s one of his favourites!
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After Sept 2014 I was gutted, it was devastating to say the least that our nation was to staying in foreign hands. I felt like we had betrayed our beautiful nation. Then I thought, well, the momentum is still going we were on 45% and could only progress on that. The SNP had won 56 Westminster seats. So where has it gone wrong? Who would have thought what has happened in the last 7yrs would happen, and that one individual could have caused such utter chaos and devastation from what we had all achieved during the last referendum? I never ever would have thought that I’d be bad mouthing the SNP and its leader, and be thinking, how do I as a individual get rid of this party and the people running it. There’s a book here if ever there was one, because I feel like I’m in the twilight zone, because Nicola Sturgeon has alone turned a party of Independence into a party that has no direction in government, how to achieve independence or anything else. If this how I fell I dread think how Alex Salmond must felt after turning over a party in good order and with a healthy bank account. I got my delegates pass today so something to look forward to this weekend and for anyone else who’s going to conference well see you all their finger crossed this is the start of something good, well one thing is for sure we all want the same thing Independence.
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If SNP membership has collapsed the way some claim then members HAVE become aware of what’s going and have taken decisive action. And Alba are the real SNP.
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The SNp leadership are claiming 105k members. I would bet on that being false.
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Take it from someone who’s trained to put intersectionality into practice. You can’t support diversity and equality while supporting the material fantasy that humans can change their biological sex. So it looks like their project to democratise the party is doomed from the start, as their understanding of the law and public policy is dodgy at best.
Empirical Intersectionality:
A Tale of Two Approaches
https://www.law.uci.edu/lawreview/vol3/no2/hancock(dot)pdf
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“I am distraught and angry that nothing positive has has happened since that date, instead we are being led up a path to nowhere. Independence is being put to sleep by the Sturgeon Murrell cult. What eventually follows will be a nightmare. I recognise I have been betrayed, more importantly, do you?” 100 PER CENT I DO.
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I see Nicola the wee conman has kicked the independence can another three years down the line, still using her Covic crutch as support for her decision. strange three years, will that not be about the time that Boris will be going to the country in another General Election? Vote for Nicol, in the GE if you want independence, she will trumpet – Aye right hen.
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Are they going to make a representative on the board just for red heads?
It would just be as legitimate:
– they are a minority population
– they currently suffer discrimination based on a characteristic they cannot change
– they have historically suffered discrimination (see especially treatment of highland Scots historically)
– they are underrepresented as a group
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Johnny journalist,
A political party operating as this one seems to be doing would ( I assume) issue that kind document to its members with each copy different by as little as one word or spelling ‘ mistake’ thus making the leaked document traceable if viewed in its entirety. I’m quite sure that Mr Lawson is well aware of this possibility. Judging by your username i’m sure you are as well.Happy days
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Clootie,
You beat me to it. Chapeau!
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Let those who want to, stay put in the SNP, stay put. Personally, I’m fed-up hearing about them! Their party is a dead thing, which for reasons of civic health and safety, ought to be interred in a deep grave, sooner rather than later, for me.
Scottish-educated historians of the future will look upon the Sturgeon era in dismay, while Scottish-sociologists and psychologists will struggle to understand how such an extraordinary level of naivete ever became established within the minds of so many of the party faithful and the public, generally.
The party of colonial accommodation and administration is destined to live forever in infamy me thinks, and deservedly so. When the statues of the many colonialist con-artists are finally removed from our parks and public spaces, it seems a safe bet that none of them will be replaced by any figure remotely associated with the Sturgeonite SNP.
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Reblogged this on Ramblings of a now 60+ Female.
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I was going to say sorry for going off topic but actually I’m not! Here is the First Minister announcing that GRA reform is going ahead in the first year (as we expected) so we’ll have self id. However don’t you worry ladies because actually it’s abusive and predatory men we are in danger from. Oh you don’t say. So now those men can self id as women with no safeguarding checks at all. UNBELIEVABLE. Gaslighting 101.
Warning this clip contains Sturgeon
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Meanwhile the Scottish Police Federation say that 53% of police support their being armed with hand guns as safety equipment.
And what a future Scotland that portends.
Cops routinely armed with hand guns in an unarmed society will be an unmitigated disaster and it makes you wonder who prompted the trailing of this concept.
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Adding to the general malaise, this from the BBC website today:
“Finance Secretary Kate Forbes tells Drivetime with John Beattie that money is not currently being “actively spent” on an independence prospectus – but she “wouldn’t say” the cost would be in the millions.While the prospectus is not dominating her time, Ms Forbes says the government “will get to that point”.She also says she does not have a figure for the number of people who would work on it. During the pandemic, work on the constitution was put “on the back burner”, she says. However, she insists work will be commencing on an updated prospectus over the coming year.”
My 40 year membership of the SNP is on the brink.
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Initially I thought the best way was to remain in the SNP and try and change it from the inside hoping other people share that view. With the stacking of the NEC along with rules being changed that is now a pretty forlorn hope. Therefore the only hope is that they are starved of funds with a many members leaving as possible. People like Kate Forbes are only interested in their own pet projects along with their cushy well paid jobs.
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As a long-time supporter of the SNP, it gives me no pleasure to point out the NuSNP’s approach to the law actually poses as much of a threat to Scottish culture and democracy, as English Torydum.
International Human Rights Law and
Intersectional Discrimination
Click to access International%20Human%20Rights%20Law%20and%20Intersectional%20Discrimination(dot).pdf
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I know I’m off topic, but I looking forward to listening to people and talking about Independence without being told you can’t talk about it, I don’t know whether to bring my greatest hits of Ross Abbott but here’s a wee bit to get you in the mood before conference.
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That video of Sturgeon is a classic demonstration of her faux virtue signalling fraudulent persona. Posing as if the legislation proposed is not a threat to women’s hard fought achievement of equality over many years. When in fact the critical aspect of the legislation is in regard to men being allowed to self identify as female without full medical transition. Which by definition undermines what it means to be a ‘woman’. So how are women’ safe’?
‘Most degraded’?, ‘Stigmatised’? Minority group…really? How about food bank clients? How about Universal Credit recipients? PIP applicants?. Drug and alcohol sufferers? etc. None of these groups have the backing of high profile media savvy , ‘astro-turfing’, big Pharma and Government influencers and opinion shapers.
Scotland is a rich resourced country with a poor and badly served nation. A desperate electorate for the past decade and a half voted for hope over fear. The SNP promised this. We believed them, thinking this meant reasonably paid jobs, good and plentiful housing for our young and disadvantaged families (not the offensive £50,000 ‘bounty’ to repopulate the islands, instead of the local youth) , an efficient NHS which dealt with systemic problems of drink and drugs, sustaining Scottish excellence in education; and a resurgence of Scottish self confidence in our culture, language and media.
What we have received from this apology of a ‘government’ is abject surrender to Westminster and to the infiltration of corrupt woke ideology at the expense of all the above, but more particularly our children’s health and wellbeing. The deliberate interfering with their developmental health is a pernicious and disturbing feature of this legislation about gender id. Combined with the Hate legislation (which is primarily aimed at nationalists) in order to suppress free speech, is the last straw in betrayal of our people’s aspirations and will extinguish any trust in this government.
The problem that this mistrust will linger on and fester into a backlash against Sturgeon and her acolytes. Most worryingly it may deter further progress towards independence, Maybe this is what the real motive is behind all of this?
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The SNP will find it difficult to fill branch officer positions if it means taking equalities training and being open to complaints about discrimination based on the multitudes of phobias.
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I see Your Man Ellis is stroking his ego again. It’s quite embarrassing to watch really, and points to his over-inflated sense of self, and a narrowness of opinion. Which appears to be entirely ignorant of important stuff like post-colonial theory and critical realism, and without comprehension of the law.
Click to access intersectionality-and-international-law-recognizing-complex-identities-on-the-global-stage(dot).pdf
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I also note the far-right are now making claims to Natural law to suggest immigration is immoral. There really is no shame to their bigotry.
Discrimination in migration and citizenship
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1369183X.2018.1561053
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Makes chilling – and sad – reading.
Thank you, Iain, and your unnamed source, for trying to bring this into wider attention. People in Scotland need to wake up. Admittedly difficult to do when the MSM will not touch these subjects, will not report on these and many other subjects.
Hm. Makes you wonder why. Are they just biding their time to effect maximum damage to the SNP and therefore (hopefully) the independence cause? Or are they just happy with St Nic as she poses no threat to the union? Or is the UK-wide and Scottish MSM so institutionally woke that it won’t criticise the woke nuSNP?
Probably all of the above, and it suits the UK state just fine.
Well done, Nicola Sturgeon, taking a healthy, democratic party on the up, and running it to ground, nay, into a mire of corruption, favoritism, nepotism, internal strife, falling membership, financial trouble and increasingly despotic ways to preserve your self-image and power, casting inconvenient things like pursuit of independence or women’s rights aside along the way.
Her incompetent government will leave Scotland a shambles and more vulnerable to malign Westminster influence, the dream of independence now further away than in 2014. But that’s all right, she’ll probably have secured her own life-boat from the sinking ship that is the SNP and Scotland in general by displaying her woke credentials and will be rewarded with some high-paying job at some international foundation. All is well in the Sturgeon La-La-Land.
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I see Ellis has step over the line of outright slander, so I suggest someone advise him to wind his neck in. What he considers ‘touched’ is actually professional competence in decolonising culture. Though he might have appreciated this if he wasn’t so pathologically hostile towards contemporary sources of (critical) knowledge.
An intersectional approach to understandings of mental health inequalities among men with disability
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827318303562
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Somerville as Education secretary is a bloody disgrace. She allowed a book containing phaedophillia to be on a primary school approved book list. It was bad enough with Swinney and Black and their drag queen ( called flojob) visiting a primary school but Somerville now wants schools to exclude parents if a child in primary school wants to transition. The SNP is in the grip of organisations that are not acceptable. These people want to take us on a journey along the non- binary road and if you object it will be a hate crime soon.
Scottish independence is now an annoying matter in the SNP that has to be managed until the correct type of society is established.
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If Somerville excludes parents from their children, the whole issue of consensuality and acceptance of state administration goes out the window.
You could not attack a deeper bond than that of the emotional link between parents and their children.
Somerville and the rest of her ilk play with absolute fire on this.
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I cannot believe that the party of Government in Scotland can produce a report like this. Clearly, I have not seen it all. However, from what is quoted here the tone, language, content, and style is amateurish. To deliver such a report you need to outline the processes/methodology used to reach your conclusions, everything should be backed up by evidence and hard facts and by following best practices. Using terminology like ‘we think’ is just plain wrong, wtf cares what they ‘think’. I really am appaled at the standard of what I have seen of this report.
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The poor standard of the report is mirrored by the illogical drafting of the GRA amendments. Which expands the scope of the original GRA in a manner that extends the original intent of the GRA. So the amendments are a clear example of policy creep, and government capture that requires the abandonment of professional standards and international best practice.
https://nam.edu/health-inequities-social-determinants-and-intersectionality/
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A word of advice when looking at other nations who have adopted self-ID. Try to remember these nations have fully autonomous justice systems and are connected to international law. Scotland is not so fortunate.
Social geography I: Intersectionality
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0309132517743677
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Fully autonomous in the sense their justice systems does not stand under a parliament and constitutional order that denies their nation a defensible legal identity.
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Reblogged this on Muunyayo .
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