Latest news with #HolyroodSources
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Scottish Labour silent on support for Sandie Peggie after racist jokes
Anas Sarwar, his deputy Jackie Baillie, and other parliamentarians in the group had given their full backing to Peggie amid an ongoing employment tribunal, sparked after the nurse was suspended following allegations of bullying and harassment against trans doctor Beth Upton. Peggie had taken issue with sharing a changing room with Upton at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife, on Christmas Eve 2023 – and later lodged a complaint against NHS [[Fife]] citing harassment related to a protected belief. On Monday, the tribunal heard that Peggie had made a series of transphobic and racist remarks, including referring to Upton as "weirdo", "freak" and "it". READ MORE: Sandie Peggie denies making racist comment as new allegation emerges It further heard that she had shared a series of racist jokes about Pakistani people and Muslims to a group chat, including mocking the victims of floods that killed thousands in 2022, saying the country would look like a 'bowl of coco pops'. Other so-called jokes shared by Peggie to a group chat said 'I bet little Mohammed isn't having to walk 3 miles to fetch water now' and 'the Queen … wanted to mention that Britain has plenty of spare P****'. She was also accused of using the racist slur 'Ch***'. Scottish Labour politicians including MP Melanie Ward, MSP Claire Baker, and MSP Carol Mochan had all spoken out in support of Peggie in the seven days before her racist comments were made public. All three failed to respond when approached about Monday's tribunal hearing. This morning @clairebakermsp & I met with Sandie Peggie, who I have spoken in support of in Parliament. Sandie has 30 years' service as a nurse at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy & should never have had to take legal action to uphold her right to change in a single sex space. — Melanie Ward MP (@melanie_ward) July 21, 2025 Sarwar and Baillie had told the Holyrood Sources podcast earlier in 2025 that they supported Peggie in the tribunal – at the same time as they U-turned on support for gender reform. Neither their Scottish Labour nor UK Labour responded to repeated requests for comment on Monday's tribunal hearing. The Scottish Conservatives, who have equally been vocal in their support of Peggie, also failed to respond when approached. Jess O'Thomson, the community outreach lead for Good Law Project, said: "The comments alleged to have been made by Ms Peggie are plainly obscene. "These Labour politicians should consider how they have ended up championing the side of bigotry against vulnerable minorities. 'It is surely a shameful position they have found themselves in." Edinburgh-based trans rights activist Tristan Grayford said that [[Scottish Labour]] politicians appeared to believe that 'being transphobic is more important than standing up to racism'. 'I think what we're seeing from Scottish Labour politicians is atrocious behaviour,' he said. 'They're basically attacking our NHS for daring to have any kind of limits on whether or not someone can be unpleasant to a colleague based on transphobia.' Grayford said the issues extended beyond politicians, telling The National: 'Yes, the racism is horrific, but the fact that we as a society, and especially a lot of our media, treat that kind of language to trans people as just normal, as something that should be defended and even promoted, is a horrifying indictment of how normalised transphobia has become in our media in a way that they seem capable of seeing that racism shouldn't be.' On social media, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie (above) shared a post reporting some of Peggie's comments about trans people – as well as allegations she had said she was minded to post bacon through the letterbox of a mosque in Kirkcaldy. 'This is the person Scottish Labour is lining up to defend, and who the entire [gender critical] movement has turned into their hero,' the post read. Sex Matters, the anti-trans campaign group supporting Peggie in her legal case, have moved to distance themselves from her comments on race. Maya Forstater, the group's chief executive, said: "Obviously, Sex Matters in no way defends the sentiments regarding the victims of the Pakistan floods, or remarks about a mosque attributed to her by a witness this afternoon. READ MORE: NHS Fife staff 'facing violent threats' amid Sandie Peggie tribunal 'The content of private group messages, however unpleasant, do not change the facts at the heart of this case: that a female nurse is seeking justice after suffering discrimination and harassment because she didn't want to share changing facilities with a male doctor." Former SNP MP Joanna Cherry, a prominent gender-critical activist, was pictured shaking Peggie's hand as she arrived at the tribunal on Tuesday. Giving evidence, Peggie said she did not remember making the comments about the mosque and posting it bacon. However, she did say of the mosque: "I can't say I didn't like it, but I had a fear of it being built." She admitted sending 'offensive' jokes about the deaths of Pakistani people in floods, but said it was 'dark humour'. Peggie further admitted using the words 'P***' and 'Ch***', but said that the Pakistani and Chinese people she knew had not taken offence. The tribunal continues.
The Herald Scotland
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Defence spending increase will benefit arms dealers but not security
Writing in The Sunday Times over the weekend, Ian Blackford, the former SNP Westminster leader, said 'difficult choices' would need to be made to meet the cost, and that to avoid austerity, the Scottish Government should look to back the sector. 'Investment in defence, though, can be a lever and transformative in itself in generating economic growth," he wrote. Ian Blackford said the rise in defence spending could kickstart Scotland's economy (Image: PA) Read more: The SNP has long opposed public money being spent on munitions. The Scottish National Investment Bank's ethical investment policy currently bars organisations 'primarily engaged in the manufacture of munitions or weapons' from receiving support. Recently, a new welding centre—backed by Rolls-Royce and intended to support Royal Navy submarine construction—was denied funding by Scottish Enterprise. The UK Government has since stepped in to fund the initiative. The SNP has faced accusations of hypocrisy, as the Scottish Government funds Ferguson Marine, which is subcontracted by BAE to work on Royal Navy frigates. Last week, First Minister John Swinney suggested the policy could be 'reconsidered' given the growing threat from Russia. Speaking on the Holyrood Sources podcast, he said: 'I'm conscious we are living in a very different context today. I do think the Russian threat is very real. We have to consider these questions.' He added he had no objections if a company wished to set up a munitions factory in Scotland. The First Minister said: 'We do not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions but will support skills and defence companies.' Read more: There is an alternative to massive defence spending: it means a new kind of security Veteran broadcaster Sandy Gall dies aged 97 Roads remain closed due to wildfires in the Highlands Mr Greer disagreed. He told The Herald: 'The only people who would benefit from splurging hundreds of billions of pounds on 'defence' are the arms dealers who have already made obscene profits from the killing of innocent people from Palestine to Yemen to Afghanistan. 'Britain's defence budget is massive as it stands. Spending more money on weapons to please Donald Trump will not decrease international tension or the likelihood of war. We would do far more for our own safety if we increased investment in energy and food security, protection against cyberattacks and countering misinformation.' He continued: 'The dirty secret at the heart of Westminster, which a former senior MP like Ian Blackford is well aware of, is that we could do far more to counter hostile states like Russia and China through targeted economic and political sanctions. 'Of course, arms dealers and their lobbyists would not make any money from actions like shutting down the UK-based companies still supporting Russian gas exports. If there is no profit to be made, the elites dictating UK foreign policy are not interested.' He added: 'The most impactful steps Westminster could take for world peace right now would be to stop arming Israel's genocide in Gaza, send home or arrest the Israeli soldiers currently being trained by the British military, and recognise the state of Palestine. "There will be no peace as long as Labour continues to play an active role in Israel's war crimes.'
The Herald Scotland
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Ian Blackford urges SNP to support defence spending
At this week's NATO summit, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer committed to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. READ MORE Mr Blackford said this was a "seismic shift" and would have "massive implications for the budgets of every government department over the next decade." "Though in these islands we have excellence in many aspects of our armed forces, to a large extent our military capability has been hollowed out," he wrote. "The need to enhance defence capability and at pace is stark. "There is now a race to invest and if we take last year's defence spending of £53.9 billion as our base, we are going to have to find by 2035 an extra £60 billion plus a year to invest in defence. "Where is this to come from?" The former MP said 'difficult choices' would need to be made. He argued that defence funding should not be seen as a moral compromise, but as an economic lever. "Austerity will be a price to be paid as a consequence of having to invest in our national security. "Investment in defence, though, can be a lever and transformative in itself in generating economic growth." He noted that the industry already supports 33,500 workers in Scotland and contributes £3.2 billion in gross value. "We all want a high-growth, high-wage, high-productivity Scotland—a society that drives investment in skills and innovation." The SNP has long opposed public money being spent on munitions. The Scottish National Investment Bank's ethical investment policy currently bars organisations 'primarily engaged in the manufacture of munitions or weapons' from receiving support. Ian Blackford calling on the SNP to embrace the defence sector (Image: PA) Recently, a new welding centre—backed by Rolls-Royce and intended to support Royal Navy submarine construction—was denied funding by Scottish Enterprise. The UK Government has since stepped in to fund the initiative. The SNP has faced accusations of hypocrisy, as the Scottish Government funds Ferguson Marine, which is subcontracted by BAE to work on Royal Navy frigates. Mr Blackford's intervention comes as John Swinney faces mounting internal and external pressure to reconsider his government's position. Recently, the First Minister suggested the policy could be "reconsidered" given the growing threat from Russia. Speaking on the Holyrood Sources podcast, he said: "I'm conscious we are living in a very different context today. I do think the Russian threat is very real. We have to consider these questions." He added he had no objections if a company wished to set up a munitions factory in Scotland. The First Minister added: "We do not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions but will support skills and defence companies." Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Stewart McDonald, the SNP's former defence spokesperson at Westminster, said it was time for the party to look again at the policy. "It hasn't had a proper defence debate since 2012, when we changed the policy on NATO," he said. "All of this is moving at such pace. The entire international picture is moving at a rapid pace and if we are a party that seeks to be an independent state—and an independent state in NATO and the EU—then we should have stuff to say on this." Mr McDonald warned: "There is a risk the party falls behind in that debate." He said: "That's a debate going on in capitals across Europe. And although Edinburgh is not a state capital, the Scottish Government has a role to play as a domestic partner. "We have an industry in Scotland worth many billions of pounds, employing somewhere between 33,000 and 35,000 people, and it has a very awkward relationship with the Scottish Government—it has done so for a long time." He suggested Mr Swinney should gather major and smaller defence employers in Scotland, invite the defence procurement minister from London, and ask: "How do I marshal the resources of the government—spending, policy, legislative—to better support this?" "I understand there's a bit of political balancing to be done here, but I think that can be over-thought and over-egged," he added. "We do live in much more dangerous times and there's a risk we are just saying the same stuff we've been saying for a long time—and that just would not be credible to stand still politically as the entire world changes around you." Mr McDonald branded the Scottish Enterprise ban on munitions-related investment "a stupid policy" and criticised restrictions at the Scottish National Investment Bank. Meanwhile, in the Sunday Mail, Labour's Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, called on the SNP to reverse its opposition to nuclear weapons entirely. "Any responsible government has to make sure they put their national security and the safety of their own people first. "Scots only have to turn on their TVs and pick up their newspapers to read about the fact that there is a changing global instability. "I do think the Scottish Government should readdress it." Previously, Mr Murray described himself as a 'lifelong unilateralist' and was one of 2000 parliamentarians to have signed the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) pledge, which obliges signatories to work for their respective nations to sign up to a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons through the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He added: "My views on nuclear weapons changed some time ago but they have been underlined and emphasised by the fact that the issue of nuclear weapons and deterrence has become a huge global stability issue. "For the Scottish Government to tell Rolls-Royce, one of the most respected British institutions, that they will not contribute to them investing in a highly skilled welding academy in Glasgow tells the public that they do not care about jobs, growth and opportunities for the future. "That is a huge part of the defence dividend we should be trying to capture. Places like Babcock and BAE Systems are hiring foreign welders from the Philippines and South Africa to do the work local people should be doing." READ MORE However, SNP defence spokesperson Dave Doogan told the paper that the party remained 'resolute' in its opposition to nuclear weapons. "We believe we're firmly in step with the vast majority of civil society in Scotland on that point. "Ian Murray, consistent with many other issues, is not in step with the majority of civil society in Scotland. "I've spoken to armed forces professionals who deal with the nuclear deterrent and nobody talks about it in the triumphant way in which Westminster politicians of the two main parties do." Any change in the Scottish Government's policy would likely be met with opposition from the Scottish Greens.
The Herald Scotland
29-06-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Ian Blackford calls on SNP to support defence industry
At this week's NATO summit, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer committed to raising defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. READ MORE Mr Blackford said this was a "seismic shift" and would have "massive implications for the budgets of every government department over the next decade." "Though in these islands we have excellence in many aspects of our armed forces, to a large extent our military capability has been hollowed out," he wrote. "The need to enhance defence capability and at pace is stark. "There is now a race to invest and if we take last year's defence spending of £53.9 billion as our base, we are going to have to find by 2035 an extra £60 billion plus a year to invest in defence. "Where is this to come from?" The former MP said 'difficult choices' would need to be made. He argued that defence funding should not be seen as a moral compromise, but as an economic lever. "Austerity will be a price to be paid as a consequence of having to invest in our national security. "Investment in defence, though, can be a lever and transformative in itself in generating economic growth." He noted that the industry already supports 33,500 workers in Scotland and contributes £3.2 billion in gross value. "We all want a high-growth, high-wage, high-productivity Scotland—a society that drives investment in skills and innovation." The SNP has long opposed public money being spent on munitions. The Scottish National Investment Bank's ethical investment policy currently bars organisations 'primarily engaged in the manufacture of munitions or weapons' from receiving support. Ian Blackford calling on the SNP to embrace the defence sector (Image: PA) Recently, a new welding centre—backed by Rolls-Royce and intended to support Royal Navy submarine construction—was denied funding by Scottish Enterprise. The UK Government has since stepped in to fund the initiative. The SNP has faced accusations of hypocrisy, as the Scottish Government funds Ferguson Marine, which is subcontracted by BAE to work on Royal Navy frigates. Mr Blackford's intervention comes as John Swinney faces mounting internal and external pressure to reconsider his government's position. Recently, the First Minister suggested the policy could be "reconsidered" given the growing threat from Russia. Speaking on the Holyrood Sources podcast, he said: "I'm conscious we are living in a very different context today. I do think the Russian threat is very real. We have to consider these questions." He added he had no objections if a company wished to set up a munitions factory in Scotland. The First Minister added: "We do not use public money to support the manufacture of munitions but will support skills and defence companies." Speaking to Scotland on Sunday, Stewart McDonald, the SNP's former defence spokesperson at Westminster, said it was time for the party to look again at the policy. "It hasn't had a proper defence debate since 2012, when we changed the policy on NATO," he said. "All of this is moving at such pace. The entire international picture is moving at a rapid pace and if we are a party that seeks to be an independent state—and an independent state in NATO and the EU—then we should have stuff to say on this." Mr McDonald warned: "There is a risk the party falls behind in that debate." He said: "That's a debate going on in capitals across Europe. And although Edinburgh is not a state capital, the Scottish Government has a role to play as a domestic partner. "We have an industry in Scotland worth many billions of pounds, employing somewhere between 33,000 and 35,000 people, and it has a very awkward relationship with the Scottish Government—it has done so for a long time." He suggested Mr Swinney should gather major and smaller defence employers in Scotland, invite the defence procurement minister from London, and ask: "How do I marshal the resources of the government—spending, policy, legislative—to better support this?" "I understand there's a bit of political balancing to be done here, but I think that can be over-thought and over-egged," he added. "We do live in much more dangerous times and there's a risk we are just saying the same stuff we've been saying for a long time—and that just would not be credible to stand still politically as the entire world changes around you." Mr McDonald branded the Scottish Enterprise ban on munitions-related investment "a stupid policy" and criticised restrictions at the Scottish National Investment Bank. Meanwhile, in the Sunday Mail, Labour's Scottish Secretary, Ian Murray, called on the SNP to reverse its opposition to nuclear weapons entirely. "Any responsible government has to make sure they put their national security and the safety of their own people first. "Scots only have to turn on their TVs and pick up their newspapers to read about the fact that there is a changing global instability. "I do think the Scottish Government should readdress it." Previously, Mr Murray described himself as a 'lifelong unilateralist' and was one of 2000 parliamentarians to have signed the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) pledge, which obliges signatories to work for their respective nations to sign up to a worldwide ban on nuclear weapons through the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He added: "My views on nuclear weapons changed some time ago but they have been underlined and emphasised by the fact that the issue of nuclear weapons and deterrence has become a huge global stability issue. "For the Scottish Government to tell Rolls-Royce, one of the most respected British institutions, that they will not contribute to them investing in a highly skilled welding academy in Glasgow tells the public that they do not care about jobs, growth and opportunities for the future. "That is a huge part of the defence dividend we should be trying to capture. Places like Babcock and BAE Systems are hiring foreign welders from the Philippines and South Africa to do the work local people should be doing." READ MORE However, SNP defence spokesperson Dave Doogan told the paper that the party remained 'resolute' in its opposition to nuclear weapons. "We believe we're firmly in step with the vast majority of civil society in Scotland on that point. "Ian Murray, consistent with many other issues, is not in step with the majority of civil society in Scotland. "I've spoken to armed forces professionals who deal with the nuclear deterrent and nobody talks about it in the triumphant way in which Westminster politicians of the two main parties do." Any change in the Scottish Government's policy would likely be met with opposition from the Scottish Greens.
New Statesman
27-06-2025
- Politics
- New Statesman
Dishonesty now rules Scottish politics
Photo by Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert / Alamy Stock Photo Hope is, famously, one of the most powerful words in politics. Every party lays claim to offering it. It helped get Barack Obama elected. It's rarely far from the lips of any politician with something to sell you. So it proved on Wednesday evening, when John Swinney and Anas Sarwar took part in a live event for the Holyrood Sources podcast. The First Minister said he would put independence at the heart of his devolved election campaign, as this was where 'hope' could be found for Scotland. The Labour leader talked of bringing 'hopefulness' back to the nation if he wins in May. A powerful word, but sadly not much more than a word these days. There's not much of it around on the international, national or devolved stages, is there? Voters see a deteriorating global scene, desolated public services and an economy that continues to fail them, and wonder where this hope that their leaders speak of is to be located. Like so many words that are common in political rhetoric, this one has been thoroughly devalued: we don't believe you. Swinney, who has suddenly begun talking about independence again after a refreshing period of silence on the matter, has clearly decided that the best – perhaps only – strategy available to him is to hold out some vague idea that a separate Scotland would be able to do all the nice things that he claims it can't as part of the UK. This is what we might call a bold approach, in that it's neither new nor convincing. It merely takes us back to 2014, when the Yes campaign argued that independence would deliver the best of all possible worlds, and then produced a large, hugely detailed document that managed to answer none of the hard questions about economics and borders. Enough of the population saw the gaps to ensure a win for No. Those pesky questions remain wholly unanswered today. So who is Swinney's message of hope aimed at? Support for independence sits somewhere just shy of 50 per cent, though support for the SNP is well below that now, at just over 30 per cent. There is a hardcore who will be delighted that the First Minister has started banging on about independence once more. There are a lot more whose reaction is likely to be along the lines of 'not now, John!' The fact that the SNP has been in power for two underwhelming decades also makes its claim to offer hope appear somewhat hollow. But even Sarwar, who promotes himself as the new broom that Scotland needs, will struggle to convince. The Scottish Labour leader is hamstrung, for now at least, by the difficulties facing Keir Starmer's government at Westminster. He is quizzed constantly about his views on benefit cuts, on the winter fuel payment, on the conflict in the Middle East. Does he agree with Starmer's position on these issues, or is he with the rebels? He can do nothing about any of it, but is forced to triangulate every time he opens his mouth. He can't afford to tie himself too closely to the Prime Minister's unpopular decisions, but doesn't want to appear disloyal. Hence, he says nothing, repeatedly, at great length. What neither leader seems to grasp is that hope, like happiness, is something that comes as a result of effort, of doing the hard stuff well, of creating the conditions that allow people to glimpse the prospect of a better future. But neither has so far shown themselves willing to have a frank conversation with the electorate about what must be done to build that future. For example, Scotland's failing schools system needs radical reform, in ways that would inevitably provoke fury among the teaching unions and the broader educational establishment. There really is no other way to fix it. But neither Swinney nor Sarwar seem to be up for that particular scrap. Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month Subscribe There is no money, which means the devolved state is in no position to continue to deliver the universal benefits so beloved by the dominant soft left. The state itself has grown like topsy and needs dramatically cut down in size. The population is aging at an alarming rate, and the workforce is predicted to shrink as a proportion over the coming decades. Things are going to get worse, not better; harder, not easier. The data is there, the experts are all saying the same thing, and yet the politicians give the impression they have their fingers firmly stuck in their ears. Jam today, tomorrow, and forever is their retail offer. It is a lie. The disconnect between the daily lived experience of Scots and the Scotland their leaders tell them they inhabit is growing ever wider. It all plays into the hands of Reform and other fringe movements. What's the point in supporting the moderate mainstream if that moderate mainstream repeatedly refuses to do what needs to be done? Where are Scotland's mainstream revolutionaries – its Thatchers, Blairs, Milburns, Goves, even Streetings? Where are the ministers who will seize their departments by the scruff of the neck and deliver a programme of change that at least stands a chance of making a measurable, visible difference? That, I believe, is what it will take to bring optimism back to the nation. People are willing to be led through harsh decisions if the values behind them are clear and the outcomes worth shooting for. Can Scotland's politicians change tack, and start telling the truth about what's required? I wish I could say I'm hopeful. [See also: Inside the SNP civil war] Related
