Scotland's school toilet ruling is another win for women's rights
Yesterday, this illegality was brought to a halt, aided in no small part by the victory of For Women Scotland in the Supreme Court last Wednesday, which reconfirmed that the legal situation all along had been that 'sex' in the Equality Act 2010 means, well, sex. A week on from this, the Court of Session in Edinburgh ruled on Wednesday that Scottish schools must provide single-sex toilets for students in a win for worried parents.
The latest ruling came about after parents Sean Stratford and Leigh Hurley raised a judicial review over the lack of single-sex provision at Earlston primary, which their young son attended.
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Press and Journal
an hour ago
- Press and Journal
Watch: President Donald Trump raises fist as he arrives at Balmedie for crunch talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer
Donald Trump has touched down in Aberdeenshire – with his children and grandchildren – ahead of crunch talks with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and First Minister John Swinney. The 79-year-old politician raised a fist aloft to gathered media representatives as he stepped off a military helicopter at his Balmedie estate. The US president has been on a four-day trip in Scotland, beginning with a stay at his Turnberry resort where he enjoyed some golf on Saturday. Combining pleasure with business, he met the President of European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen while there and agreed a new trade deal. He is now expected to have 'private engagement' with the prime minister before meeting First Minister John Swinney as well. A highlight of his trip, however, is the opening of the second Trump International Golf Links course, which son Eric previously said would be 'one of the best in the world'. The two leaders arrived at RAF Lossiemouth at around 6pm on Monday, following a busy day at Turnberry. During a press briefing there, President Trump backed North Sea oil and gas following desperate pleas from north-east business leaders for the billionaire's backing. The pair landed at the Moray airbase in Air Force One, and from there boarded the Marine One helicopter to the Menie Estate. The copter touched down on a helipad just yards from MacLeod House, the lodge at the resort named after the US leader's Scottish mum. Bagpipers from Robert Gordon's College in Aberdeen greeted Donald Trump as he arrived in Aberdeenshire shortly before 7pm, with Keir Starmer by his side. Uniformed servicemen saluted the leaders as they stepped off the aircraft, while Mr Trump saluted back before raising a triumphant fist as he greeted onlookers. It came just hours after protestors gathered at Balmedie to demonstrate against the president, with police lining the beach to prevent any from climbing the dunes onto the golf course. As well as official business however, this trip appears to be a family affair for the president as Donald Trump's children and grandchildren were spotted arriving in Aberdeenshire too. Donald Junior was seen stepping off a US helicopter along with Eric and their spouses. The president's grandchildren Tristan and Chloe exchanged high fives with Donald Junior on the lawn. Guests there for the occasion included Scottish golfing great Colin Montgomerie, who is hosting the PGA Seniors Championship at Menie later this week. Aberdeenshire aristocrat and businessman George Aberdeen was on hand too to greet Donald Trump. Mr Aberdeen is the founder and managing partner of Kinrise, a UK real-estate company that works to revitalise historic buildings and bring them back into use. His family has been looking after the Haddo Estate in Tarves for more than 550 years. John Swinney will also join the two leaders at a private dinner on Tuesday night. A Scottish Government spokesman said the dinner would 'provide the First Minister with an opportunity to advance the interests of Scotland to the President of the United States'.
Press and Journal
an hour ago
- Press and Journal
Protestors rally near Donald Trump's Balmedie golf course with signs saying 'make Aberdeenshire great again'
Protestors marched in Balmedie, just a stone's throw from Donald Trump's Aberdeenshire golf course, to protest the US president's visit. Mr Trump is currently in Scotland on a four-day 'private' trip, visiting his golf courses in Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. He arrived in the north-east this evening, along with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. The highly publicised trip is atypical for a sitting US president to make, but Mr Trump is here to open his latest golf course, Trump International Scotland, near Balmedie. The Macleod course is named after his Scottish mother and has been in the works for years. However, Mr Trump's visit to Aberdeenshire has been met with backlash and protests, along with heightened security in several places, including Lossiemouth and Balmedie. Dozens of protestors marched from the White Horse Bar down to the border of the US President's golf course. Jenna Halpin, from Aberdeen, also attended a previous protest in the city at the weekend. She said: 'I am disgusted that this visit has been allowed to be honest. 'The fact that it's costing so many millions of pounds for this man to go on a golf jolly is ridiculous. 'There is so much going on in the world. The fact is he and Starmer are sitting having lunch while children in Gaza starve. 'Everything about the man stinks, and we need to show him he is not welcome here.' Jenna says people who have been quiet before are now speaking out. Protestors brought an array of creative signs on their march, including inventing the term 'MAGA' into 'Make Aberdeenshire Great Again'. Others included 'Children starve, Trump plays golf' and 'Food not bombs'. Two protestors even brought Trump-themed toilet brushes with them. Luca Quinn told the Press and Journal why he decided to come from Fife to protest. He said: 'I just wanted the opportunity to show that we Scots want nothing to do with Donald Trump. 'Having him in our country goes against everything I hold dear. 'The state of his country at the moment, he should really be there and not coming anywhere near ours.' Luca added: 'It's infuriating the number of police officers here today. 'He should be footing the bill himself.' Many of the protestors echoed those same thoughts that the money spent on policing and security could have been better spent. One protester said: 'Trump is the figurehead for a lot of the awful things going on in the world at the moment, and we should not be inviting him into our country. 'Security has been really over the top. 'Considering he's only spending 24 hours at Balmedie, the beach has been shut for four days. 'It doesn't seem proportionate.' The latest demonstration comes after a large protest took place over the weekend in Aberdeen city centre. A crowd gathered outside Union Terrace Gardens to voice their opposition to the visit, with key north-east representatives including MSP Maggie Chapman in attendance.
Leader Live
2 hours ago
- Leader Live
Swinney says SNP majority at Holyrood could make second referendum a ‘reality'
He dismissed as 'laughable' claims from critics that this strategy for getting a second referendum is 'punting' independence 'into the long grass'. However, while opinion polls have the SNP in the lead in the run-up to the crucial Holyrood vote, none has indicated Mr Swinney's party could win an overall majority. The Scottish Parliament's proportional representation system makes it harder for any single party to win more than half of the seats, with only former SNP leader Alex Salmond having achieved this in 2011. That victory led to the 2014 independence referendum, with Mr Swinney now relying on this 'precedent' as he seeks to secure a second vote on Scotland's place in the UK. His comments came as he indicated independence supporters are 'frustrated' that despite the 2016 and 2021 Holyrood elections both returning majorities of MSPs supporting independence, successive Westminster governments have refused to allow a second ballot to be held. Mr Swinney, speaking at an event organised by think tank Enlighten in Edinburgh on Tuesday, also noted that while Scots voted to stay in the UK in 2014 there were now 'various polls' with a majority for independence. Pressed on his strategy of using a Holyrood majority to achieve another referendum, the Scottish First Minister insisted that the idea this was 'punting it into the long grass is laughable for me'. Instead, he insisted independence as an 'urgent necessity', claiming decisions by the Labour Government at Westminster will make it harder for him to achieve his 'mission' of eradicating child poverty. However, he insisted he has 'got to be realistic' about how a second referendum could be brought about. Mr Swinney said: 'An independent Scotland will only come about if it carries domestic and international legitimacy, ie the rules of how it becomes independent are accepted by all parties.' He stressed this had been the case in 2014, as he added: 'If we want to advance on this issue there has got to be a means of breaking the log jam that we are currently in. 'Two successive elections, the majority of members of the Scottish Parliament supporting holding a referendum on independence and the Westminster government just folds its arms and says 'no'.' The First Minister noted that 'in 2011, when the SNP won a majority of seats in the Scottish Parliament, that led to a referendum in 2014'. And he added: 'If we want independence to happen we have got to rely on that precedent.' He rejected suggestions from Enlighten director Chris Deerin that returning a majority of SNP MSPs to Holyrood next May was a 'bold ambition', as he called on independence supporters to make the issue a 'priority' in that election. 'Then we can turn this into reality,' Mr Swinney said. Polls currently indicate the SNP could still be the largest party at Holyrood after the next election, but have so far failed to show Mr Swinney's party winning more than half the 129 seats. However, Mr Swinney recalled that in the run-up to 2011 election, his party was 'miles behind' in the opinion polls but 'then we won a majority four months later'. And he said: 'Today, nine months out from the election, I am ahead in the opinion polls. 'When I took over as SNP leader we were behind. I have brought the SNP back into the lead, a commanding lead in the opinion polls, and on the opinion polls today, we still would be the largest party by a country mile in the Scottish Parliament.' However he insisted: 'That's not good enough for me. 'I have set out what we have got to do to clear a pathway to win Scottish independence and I am going to give absolutely every fibre of my being from now until May 7 next year to make sure it happens.'
