Latest news with #ChristineGrahame
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Don't use 'value-laden language' against seagulls...it might 'demonise' them, claims veteran SNP MSP
An MSP called for seagulls not to be 'demonised' after the Scottish government announced a summit to address serious concerns about the birds attacking people. Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie confirmed the move in a debate on the issue of gulls swooping on the public raised by both former Conservative leader Douglas Ross and SNP grandee Fergus Ewing. But the SNP's Christine Grahame said: 'Language such as 'mugging' and 'menace' can be applied to us, our counterparts, but it is not appropriate to demonise an animal simply looking for food.' She claimed people should modify their own behaviour to tackle the problem and added: 'What we mustn't have is people versus gulls, or gulls versus people.' Mr Ross, a Highlands and Islands Tory MSP, told the chamber he has been 'inundated' with concerns about gulls from constituents, including a couple in the village of Hopeman who were 'worried about going out of their home'. Grahame, who has announced she will not stand in the 2026 Scottish parliament election, pointed members to a submission from the OneKind animal charity that urged them to avoid 'value-laden language' that described gulls as a 'menace or nuisance' and their behaviour as 'mugging' or 'dive-bombing'. Highlands and Islands MSP Mr Ross said: 'Well, I will say these gulls are a menace, they are dive-bombing and they are a problem.' Mr Ewing, who represents Inverness and Nairn, said a swooping gull could cause serious injury for an elderly person while their droppings can cause 'potentially lethal' illness in an infant. The minister said: 'There is absolutely no doubt - we've heard from members right across the chamber - that the people are being injured, they are being attacked and this is something that we have to deal with.' He said action needs to also be taken to find out if human behaviour is allowing gulls to 'thrive', including in urban areas as well as licences for dealing with the birds. Mr Fairlie said: 'I've already said that I will convene a summit in Inverness and we will look at the entire issue.' The power to hand out licenses to deal with birds is with NatureScot, a government-funded quango whose role includes conserving gull numbers as well as controlling them. Mr Fairlie said that licences can only be issued if there is a clear health and safety concern and not because the birds are regarded as a menace or nuisance. Mr Ewing asked if any analysis has been done by the Scottish Government or NatureScot about the health risks, and warned: 'I believe there has been no analysis whatsoever. If so, and there is a fatality, this Government will be held responsible for that fatality because they haven't looked into it.' Mr Ross said: 'In typical nationalist fashion Jim Fairlie believes that another talking shop will solve all these issues when he could take action right now.'
Scottish Sun
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Scottish Sun
Trans toilet rules will not be ‘policed' by Holyrood bosses
Parliament's ruling body said it will not monitor the use of toilets NEW rules on the use of toilets at the Scottish Parliament will not be 'policed' or monitored by Holyrood's ruling body, MSPs have been told. Officials have confirmed that female and male facilities at the parly should be used according to biological sex in the wake of the landmark Supreme Court judgment which ruled sex refers to biological sex under equalities laws. Advertisement 2 Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie raised the issue at Holyrood. 2 Rule changes were made following the Supreme Court judgment in April this year. It applies to toilets, changing rooms and showers in the building, while some other existing facilities have been designated as being for gender-neutral usage. However, 17 MSPs and 29 staff at Holyrood have signed an open letter criticising the decision and to express their 'deep concern' about the changes. Raising the issue with the parliament's ruling body on Tuesday, Scottish Greens co-leader Patrick Harvie asked: 'Can the Corporate Body promise us that nobody will be required to provide birth certificates or other paperwork merely because someone intolerant suspects them of being transgender?' Responding, SPCB member Christine Grahame said: 'This is not going to be policed by the Corporate Body, but like other sector bodies, we have a complaints process which staff can advise on… for those who wish to complain and which we will consider. Advertisement "But, we are certainly not monitoring the use of public facilities as a corporate body.' Weighing in, Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay claimed people would be 'astonished' that parliamentary time was used up to debate the issue. He added: 'This farcical waste of time confirms how out of touch these left-wing parties are from the concerns of people in the real world.'
The Guardian
23-03-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Almost quarter of SNP's female MSPs to step down amid ‘hostile environment'
Holyrood is becoming a 'hostile environment for women' and a significant number of female MSPs in the Scottish National party are stepping down before the May 2026 elections, citing lack of support from the party, tolerance of bullying, and abuse in the chamber and online. Almost four years on from the election of a record number of 58 female MSPs across all parties in 2021, 14 SNP women have so far said they will not stand again, accounting for 23% of the party's current MSP group. While some departures were expected, such as the former first minister Nicola Sturgeon and the 80-year-old veteran Christine Grahame, other exits raise questions about why women with seemingly burgeoning careers are choosing to step away. Michelle Thomson, who is standing down as MSP for Falkirk East, having previously served at Westminster, told the Guardian: 'Politics is generally very misogynist, and I don't think the SNP can be complacent about its own internal mechanisms which mean that examples of inappropriate male behaviour – including bullying and sexual harassment – are not tackled.' Elena Whitham, an SNP former minister and another MSP not seeking re-election, said: 'It's not just about barriers to entry but to staying in politics. Neither party nor parliament are able to effectively support women when they encounter difficulties, and that's why we are losing far too many talented women to the detriment of democracy.' These concerns were shared by other SNP women who told the Guardian there was a chronic lack of support from the party, including for those with younger families. Some mentioned factional tensions and bullying within the party involving other female MSPs. Natalie Don-Innes is standing down as MSP for Renfrewshire North and West, citing 'the sacrifices that being an elected member and a mother brings'. But other women raised concerns about the Holyrood environment itself. 'The bullying, booing and braying from the Tory benches whenever an SNP woman makes a progressive intervention is awful. Women feel they can't speak up, especially on issues like LGBT+ inclusion,' said one former party official who regularly visited the parliament. Others worry that the atmosphere will get worse if Reform UK wins upwards of 10 Holyrood seats, as polling predicts, and if former SNP MPs ousted in the party's catastrophic general election defeat last July bring a more combative Westminster culture to the Scottish parliament. Some fear this is already happening, after reports that allies of the SNP's leader in the House of Commons, Stephen Flynn, have a 'hitlist' of sitting MSPs – all women – whom they hope to replace with former MPs in May next year. Flynn faced a fierce backlash last autumn when he announced that he planned to stand for Holyrood – potentially pushing out the incumbent female MSP – while maintaining his Westminster seat. Holyrood sources said that in addition to what could be bruising contests to select candidates, there were concerns the SNP would face a very difficult election because of its funding difficulties and a substantial drop in membership after the police investigation into its finances. It is understood that has also weighed on some MSPs' thinking. This is all happening against a background of increasing online abuse, with a recent Holyrood magazine survey finding that female MSPs of all parties faced rape threats, death threats and severe misogynistic abuse. Although the SNP's leader, John Swinney, has maintained Sturgeon's tradition of a gender-balanced cabinet, some women described themselves as 'furious' and 'appalled' that equal representation reforms brought in by Sturgeon, including ensuring all-women lists where MSPs stood down, had been ditched for the next election. The SNP said its legal advice was that because it achieved a 50/50 gender balance in 2021, it could not put in place similar corrective mechanisms this time. The approved candidates list, circulated to SNP members last week, included 64 women (42%) out of a total of 152. Thomson said there was 'a very real risk that the SNP could take a significant step back in 2026', pointing too to the lack of diversity among the approved men on the list. 'The SNP put in all-women shortlists without looking at the systemic misogyny within the party,' said one prominent backbencher, 'and it just elected women to a tough position with very little support. Holyrood is becoming a hostile environment for women.'
