Latest news with #PatrickHarvie
Glasgow Times
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
SNP and Labour can't be anti-Reform choice; Scottish Greens can
Any SNP leader would struggle to make them credible as an anti-Reform option. They have been the party of government for the best part of two decades. The anger people feel about the decline in public services is squarely on them. But Mr Swinney's bland managerialism just adds to their problems. Patrick Harvie was absolutely right to call this out recently at his last ever FMQs as co-leader of the Scottish Greens. Since taking charge, John Swinney has watered down rent controls, stopped legislation to help get homes off expensive fossil fuels, abandoned human rights and equality laws, and ditched environmental action such as creating a new national park. Fighting Reform demands action, not inaction. Labour is no better, though. Despite having the keys to power in Westminster for a lot less time, Labour can't shake the self-inflicted harm of welfare cuts, winter fuel, and keeping the two-child cap that is driving their slump in the polls. Even more limiting in them being seen as an anti-Reform option is their penchant for lapping up Reform talking points. It is a fundamental error to think you can beat the far right by copying the far right. Reform's politics are poisonous and divisive and must be opposed head-on. Greens are ready and able to do this. We know that the millionaires behind Reform are not on the side of working people. We know the solutions they are selling are nothing but snake oil, scapegoating migrants for our problems when the real threat is those who are hoarding vast wealth. We know that the enemy of the people arrives by private jet, not by dinghy. Greens can also demonstrate a deep connection to communities when there is widespread distrust in the political establishment. In the last council elections in Glasgow, Green votes went up everywhere, but they went up the most where there already was a Green councillor. When people have a Green representative, they want to keep them. In contrast, Reform councillors just don't seem up to the job. This week, I called out Cllr Thomas Kerr. He defected to Reform in January but hasn't said a peep in Council meetings since. He's not asked a question on behalf of his constituents or spoken up in important debates, and he sat on his hands during the budget in February. All while taking a wage out of taxpayers' pockets. He has more time for the TV cameras than he does for his constituents. That's not good enough. As a party, the Greens have work to do. We are selecting our Holyrood candidates and that is a chance for us to present a fresh face to voters. We can also learn from others on the left who are sharpening how they communicate and connect on issues that matter. But it is increasingly obvious that the only credible anti-Reform option in Scotland is the Scottish Greens. Join us.
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
Scottish Government changes guidance that led to Supreme Court ruling
The Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act sparked the legal challenge from For Women Scotland (FWS) on the definition of a woman which led to the issue being heard in the UK's highest court. Initially, the guidance stated that transgender women with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) or those living as women would count towards gender balance on public boards. The 2004 Gender Recognition Act, which introduced GRCs, used the terms sex and gender interchangeably. It said a GRC meant someone "becomes for all purposes the acquired gender". READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment The anti-trans campaign group disagreed with this definition, and in 2022 took the Scottish Government to court. They initially lost a judicial review, but were then successful on appeal. The Scottish Government then changed guidance to only include trans women with a GRC. This led to FWS calling for a second judicial review, which they lost in December 2022. The case then went to the Supreme Court, with judges ruling in April that women were defined by biological sex under the Equality Act 2010. (Image: NQ staff) FWS raised thousands of pounds via a crowdfunder to take the case to the UK's highest court. They have recently said they would consider further legal action. And now, the Scottish Government has updated the statutory guidance relating to public boards on its official website. An update to the document reads: 'The meaning of 'woman' for the purposes of the Act. 'There is no definition of 'woman' set out in the Act with effect from 19 April 2022 and 22 March 2022. 'By virtue of section 11 and section 212(1) of the Equality Act 2010 references in the Act to a 'woman' or to 'women' are references to a biological woman or women.' READ MORE: Labour U-turn on benefits cuts in bid to win over rebel MPs In April, Social Justice Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville announced the Scottish Government would make the change to the guidance. She added that the ruling had sparked 'real anxiety' from trans and non-binary people. 'It is significant that the Supreme Court stated that their judgment that the rights of the trans community are enshrined in law and I want to reassure our trans community that you are valued and the Scottish Government is fully committed to protecting everyone's rights and that includes your community,' she said. Following the judgment, the Equality and Human Rights Commissions (EHRC) issued guidance that banned transgender people from using the toilets of their acquired gender. The EHRC has since been forced to change part of the guidance amid a legal challenge of its interpretation of the Supreme Court ruling. It rescinded guidance that stated it was 'compulsory' for workplaces to provide single-sex toilets. The Scottish Parliament, and more recently the House of Commons, have banned transgender people from using the toilets of their acquired gender following the Supreme Court's ruling. Trans women were also banned from playing in women's football and cricket teams.
The National
a day ago
- Politics
- The National
SNP must give up pretence weapons firms aren't arming Israel
We see the devastation every day on social media – the flattened homes, the murdered children, the hospitals turned to rubble. While Scotland is thousands of miles away from this daily death and destruction, we have important questions to ask our own Governments about their complicity in this escalating conflict. Labour's UK Government has armed Israel. It has even trained its military forces. It has refused to challenge Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off as tensions rise over Israel divestment Its response has done nothing but encourage the escalation of violence in the Middle East, from its ongoing material support for Israel's daily atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank, to the political cover it is now providing Israel and the US as they intensify the conflict in Iran. The SNP have been right to call out Westminster's disgraceful complicity in Israel's war crimes. But, despite this, the Scottish Government has continued to give public money to companies which are arming Israel. This paper exposed that since 2019, Scottish Enterprise has awarded at least £8 million in public grants to arms manufacturers. And more recent research from Amnesty International found that between January 2022 and April 2025, Scottish Enterprise gave almost £2.75m to firms which have been arming Israel. That includes Leonardo, which produces the laser targeting systems for Israeli fighter jets, and Raytheon, whose smart bombs have helped level whole city blocks in Gaza. Entire cities in Gaza have been levelled by Israeli bombsThese aren't just abstract names on an export list, they are companies producing tools of death, and our money is helping them do it. The companies profiting from this assault on Gaza – one which leading human rights experts, including Amnesty International, have described as a genocide – are embedded in our economy. This should not be happening. In 2019, the Scottish Government – after pressure from the Scottish Greens – committed that all Scottish public bodies would conduct human rights checks on companies, including arms manufacturers, prior to funding them. These due diligence checks look at a number of things – including whether a company has been associated with human rights abuses anywhere in the world. READ MORE: 'Isn't it telling?': John Swinney rips into Anas Sarwar on benefit cuts But no company has ever failed the checks undertaken by Scottish Enterprise, despite clear evidence that companies like Raytheon and Leonardo are arming Israel's war. These human rights checks are clearly not fit for purposes. In February, we forced the Government to review these human rights checks. For months, we pushed for a progress update. We demanded answers before the summer. Earlier this week, Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes finally updated Parliament on the review. She claimed that Scottish Enterprise's internal assessment of past practice found no evidence that grant money has gone towards the manufacturing of munitions. The SNP are right not to use public money to pay for the production of munitions in Scotland. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes (Image: Jane Barlow/PA Wire) But exactly how many degrees of separation does the Scottish Government want before it finally acknowledges complicity? If you contribute towards building a bigger bomb factory, you don't get to say that you haven't funded the production of the bombs. The truth is that Scottish Government funds are still going to the manufacturers of weapons and military technology used by Israel to inflict unimaginable harms on Palestinians. The Scottish Greens have always been clear. Companies that are arming Israel's assault on Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank should never receive public funding. Our money should never be used to boost the profits and profiles of arms companies that are happy to fuel genocide and war crimes. READ MORE: Which protests will the UK state declare unacceptable next? Let's stop pretending we don't know where our money ends up and who's enjoying the spoils. The evidence is there. We may not have the power to halt the UK's arms sales or change its foreign policy. But we do have the power to decide where our own public funds go. And we must use that power responsibly. The Scottish Government can't have it both ways. Ministers can't call on the UK Government to halt arms exports to Israel while simultaneously handing money to the very firms that make those weapons. The people of Scotland deserve better. The Scottish public has a proud tradition of opposing war, standing for peace, and defending human rights. Let's not tarnish that legacy by turning a blind eye when it matters most.
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Spell out the facts to voters about the value of North Sea oil and gas
Elsewhere in the same edition, Fergus Ewing MSP accuses the SNP of failing to support oil and gas workers. READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment SNP independence literature should emphasise, once more, the vast riches earned from Scottish North Sea oil and gas. We should print the number of barrels produced per day in Scottish waters and the value of each barrel and how this could be used to benefit the ordinary people of Scotland. Simply state these basic facts to the voters, without tying ourselves to political doctrines. No oil-producing country in the world is reducing its oil and gas outputs. Indeed, other countries, such as Norway and Israel, merrily make cash for themselves through 'burn-baby-burn' enterprises in Scottish waters. It's time to arouse the people with the simple, basic facts. Councillor Tom Johnston (SNP) Cumbernauld
The National
2 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Which protests will the UK state declare unacceptable next?
It may come as a surprise, then, that it has taken this long for the USA to be directly and openly involved with Israel in its wars against its immediate neighbours. Support overt and covert, aid, munitions yes, but never actual direct military involvement. Depending on your point of view, the USA has waged war elsewhere – Korea, Cuba, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan – but this sets a dangerous precedent, not least 'pre-emptive' strikes coupled with the declaration from Netanyahu that the US strikes were carried out in 'full coordination with the Israeli military". READ MORE: Patrick Harvie and Angus Robertson face-off over Israel divestment Can we believe Trump when he says the hits were so successful that everything was 'completely and totally obliterated' and now, 'it's over'? We had all heard in advance of a supposed two-week window for negotiations, knew of the USA jet and navy movements. Surely Iran took its own pre-emptive actions to safeguard and remove who and what it could. So is it game over for another few years, or a generation perhaps, as die-hards on both sides lick their wounds with ultra-nationalistic spittle? None of this will help Palestinians and a two-state solution, nor the Israeli families waiting for the return of hostages. If anything, it has been a balletic manoeuvre, of killing, mayhem and destruction orchestrated by Israel, with USA drawn into what is a new war, no matter how short, as a full partner. And what of Israel: what does this current extreme-right-wing government want, apart from keeping Netanyahu out of prison? Is this a long war strategy from Israel, continuing to participate in destabilising remaining neighbouring countries with future land grabs in mind? Gaza, the West Bank, then Arab country after Arab country, all leading to the creation of Greater Israel? With American and British expats in Israel numbering nearly one million, just two of the many nationalities making up the returning diaspora, the safety of the rogue state of Israel is guaranteed. READ MORE: Prestwick Airport releases statement on US war planes row The last outpost of colonialism created in the 20th century, forced on those living there for centuries, as the West tried to expunge the guilt of centuries of pogroms and a genocide. Sadly this is no end, merely a pause. Palestinians will continue to be slaughtered, either starved or killed in some desperate attempt to find food, as the West wrings its hands in fake despair. As non-violent protest here in the UK is proscribed, yet genocide continues, who and what is next? When you stand in solidarity and support for the freedom of others, what next will be unacceptable to the state? When we stand for our own freedom, what will they outlaw? Then we should never forget Nelson Mandela when he said: 'We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians'. Selma Rahman Edinburgh KELLY Given hit the nail on the head in Thursday's paper when she used the phrase 'carefully curated political apathy'. She summed up in four words what I've been banging on about for years – the deliberate policy of successive UK governments to turn people off politics and to ensure a tiny but successful fan base for both Labour and the Tories. The establishment lives in fear of the day that the majority of the population wake up and pay attention, hence their love of low voter turnout. How they must laugh as they trumpet about democracy. Jim Butchart via email
