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Mhairi Black

Paisley born in 1994 she was educated at Lourdes Secondary School, Glasgow, and the University of Glasgow, where she was awarded a first-class honours degree in Politics and Public Policy in June 2015.

Formerly a Labour Party supporter she said she was a “traditional socialist”, citing Tony Benn as her enduring political hero despite his opposition to Scottish independence.

A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South since 2015.

Her defeat of Douglas Alexander, a Labour MP and Shadow Foreign Secretary, was unexpected and entirely due to the collapse in popularity of the Labour Party in Scotland.

Worked in a local chippie before entering politics.

Only a few days after her election to parliament, on 1 July 2015, it was announced that she had been appointed to the Work and Pensions Select Committee.

She made her maiden speech on 14 July 2015 and criticised the Tory government’s approach to unemployment and the growing need for food banks. She said: “Food banks are not part of the Welfare State. They are a symbol that the welfare state is failing.” She also took the government to task over cuts to housing benefit and State Pension Inequality (WASPI).

In a 2016 interview, while expressing concern about displays of arrogance and sexism towards her from other MPs, she labelled Westminster an “old boys club totally excluded from reality”.

And in 2017, she considered not standing for a second term expressing her frustration that: “so little gets done and it is a pain to travel to and from London every week”.

But despite her lack of enthusiasm she decided to stand again at the 2017 general election. And in a controversial campaign she was heckled by protestors who were angry at the decision of the SNP Government to close the sick children’s ward at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in her constituency.

But she was re-elected albeit with a much reduced majority. She stood again in the 2019 general election and was elected.

She is a strong critic of the Tory government’s rollout of Universal Credit, maintaining that delays in payments have serious negative effects on claimants and she is critical of how loans must be paid back later.

She said in Parliament that the government was like a: “pious loan shark except that instead of coming through your front door they are coming after your mental health, your physical well-being, your stability, your sense of security that is what the experience is for all of our constituents. Plunging people into debt and hunger causes anxiety and distress and the eviction of families from their homes does not incentivise work.’

21 Jul 2018 Black admits to health issues

Elected MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 2015, and re-elected in June 2017 she said that the long hours, frequent travelling and stress of three years working as Paisley’s MP had taken its toll on her health and well-being and the pressure of being a public figure was something she was still adjusting to.

She said: “It’s absolutely horrendous. I hate it. But I will strive to help the people in my community who have fallen through the cracks. I have no desire to be famous or to be the face of something, or have a profile. I just want to do a good job. If that means shining a spotlight on something then I’ll do it but I don’t want it shone on me. The whole reason I’m in this job is to try and help the people I feel weren’t getting enough help before we were elected.”

On issues affecting her own personal life, she said: ” it is not something I plan to open the door on. I’ll talk to anyone about politics or whatever but my life’s my business. I suppose it’s the kind of thing where one day, maybe, but right now I’m an MP.

You only need to know what my political opinions are, you don’t need to know about my personal life. Asked about her decision to “come out”, she replied “I’ve never been in”.

Comment: But even allowing for the impact of stress which might be attributed to the foregoing, which incidentally can be applied to to all Scottish MPs, her attendance record at parliament is poor.

And her staff back in Glasgow are clearly also adversely affected by the stress their MP suffers from since she/they seem incapable of providing an acceptable level of services to her/their constituents.

Her/their letter response rates to constituent requests for assistance has been measured at just 27% in contrast her colleague Ronnie Cowan (Inverclyde) who achieved an 81% response rate, Ian Blackford 80%, Michael Weir 77%, and so on.

It is also difficult to square her claims of stress etc against her presence in parliament. Her attendance record compares poorly when measured against her colleagues: (https://www.writetothem.com/stats/2015/mps) – (http://www.publicwhip.org.uk/mps.php)

Attendance 2017-
Mhairi Black 57.7%
Ian Blackford 88.5%
Kirsty Blackman 92.3%
David Linden 91.0%
Stewart McDonald 80.8%
Joanna Cherry 89.7%
Deidre Brock 85.9%
Alan Brown 89.7%

18 Dec 2017: I need a life of my own

In an interview with the “Holyrood” magazine she said: “People need to recognise that I have a life of my own and I have responsibilities to the people in it.

They’ve looked after me and supported me because they recognise that I’m fighting a political battle that needs fought just now but no one has the energy to keep going forever.

I’m tired of sitting in constituency surgeries and despite what’s been said, I have been doing them from the very start having people coming to me with all these problems, and saying to me this is horrible, I can’t live, I can’t survive, it’s terrible, and I’m agreeing with them but when they ask me what I can do about it, I’m like, ‘well, we can raise it in parliament’.

I can press, I can twist arms but fundamentally, they [the UK Government] don’t need to give a thing.

21 Feb 2020: Black promotes the LBBTQ cause with a visit to a Primary School with drag act “Flowjob”

Flowjob was introduced to the children at Glencoats Primary in Paisley by Black, as “Flow” and read pupils a story in drag. After revelations in the press that Flojob’s social media profile contained sexually explicit material Education Secretary John Swinney said the “Flowjob” visit should not have happened.

Concerned parents and Renfrewshire Council apologised for the “concern the incident had caused”. Black took to social media later and accused concerned parents of “homophobia”.

25 Feb 2020: Black and an unfortunate incident at a Paisley primary school

What on earth is going on in my old home town of Paisley?

Mhairi Black, local MP and the SNP’s Scottish spokesperson at Westminster, is at the centre of an extraordinary row. She took a drag queen a character who travels under the name “Flowjob” apparently to read a story at a school in the town. Incredibly, the children were in Primary One, that is they are just starting out on the journey of life.

Those who have scrutinised Mr Flowjob’s online accounts tell me that they feature all manner of highly sexualised material. Saying that there is fury from parents and the wider community is putting it mildly. The Scottish media is reporting a tidal wave of outrage.

Black further inflamed the situation lashing out at critics, accusing them of homophobia.

The SNP’s top new spindoctor become embroiled after musing in a late-night tweet that he couldn’t see what the fuss is about when parents take their children to the pantomime featuring drag acts. Sometimes in Glasgow panto, I’m told, the Krankies are involved. Foote tweeted: “I could be wrong but do thousands of parents not voluntarily take their primary age kids along to see drag acts in pantomime every Christmas?” It turned out Foote could be wrong.

The following morning he clarified his position, stating: “In hindsight this tweet lacked the necessary qualification around some of the legitimate parental concerns about social media posts. I was attempting to make too broad a point.”

Attempting to make too broad a point. That’s one way of putting it. Recent convert to the cause of Scottish Independence and immediately appointed by Sturgeon, to the post of Party spin-doctor.

Foote, a former editor of The Daily Record, needs to watch out with the ever suspicious Nats. He is credited as one of the original authors of “The Vow” – the devolutionist pledge promising Scotland more powers to which Gordon Brown put his name in the final days of the 2014 referendum campaign when the Unionist side needed help.

The Vow was, it is said, literally drawn up on the back of a beermat by Foote and a Unionist associate. They then had it done up like a mock scroll and put on the front page of the tabloid Daily Record, to the fury of the Nats who saw it as a last minute attempt to hoodwink the voters.

This latest Paisley-rooted row follows the resignation of Gay MSP, Derek Mackay, over a sexting scandal. The disgraced Mackay used to run the local council and is MSP – still – for a seat which takes in part of Paisley.

What is happening to the place and its politicians? Paisley has actually been doing rather better with a long-running programme of regeneration. The SNP seems more interested in degeneration.

As a Paisley person, albeit one in exile, I am flabbergasted. One half of the town was until 2015 represented by the cerebral son of the manse Douglas Alexander for Labour. While I can imagine Douglas opting to take a Nobel Prize-winning economist in to tell Primary One pupils an improving story about income redistribution and regional policy, he would never for a second think it a remotely good idea to do what Black has done.

A seasoned observer of the Scottish scene says that Paisley’s other MSP George Adam, the straight-laced SNP chief whip (no jokes about whips here), will not like any of this either: “George is an old-fashioned guy who thinks the local electorate think the party should be getting on with the day job rather than the flowjob.”

But then perhaps some of the voters in my home town prefer the Black approach. Sufficient numbers of Paisley persons adore Black and they made her MP. The self-defined working class hero Black is actually from a nice part of Paisley, called Ralston, overlooking the golf course, incidentally. But this is rarely mentioned. (Iain Martin-reaction.life)

26 Feb 2022: Black under fire from feminist campaigners

Current 2004 GRA legislation requires a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria in order to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate. Labour MP Angela Eagle submitted a motion calling for the current act to be scrapped in favour of a self-identification system.

Speaking in a Commons debate Black pointed out that one to two per cent of the world’s population are born with sex characteristics that don’t match the binary of male and female. She Added: “People often think that we have male and female but the truth is that one to two percent of the global population is born intersex which means they represent characteristics of both sexes. To put that in perspective, one to two per cent of the population are ginger.

Also in the debate SNP MP Joanna Cherry said clashes over trans rights have become so toxic that MPs are “afraid” to debate the issue. she said: “I have received death and rape threats for raising concerns about calls for people to be able to obtain legal recognition more easily if they want to change gender and I have been vilified for speaking out about the impact reforms could have.

But if we lose clarity over what the words male and female mean it will make it more difficult to set and enforce clear and simple rules for female-only services and women’s sport. And women should not be expected to share their intimate spaces, such as public toilets, with men”. She added: “MPs are afraid to engage in this debate because of the potential backlash from campaigners”

But “For Women Scotland” blasted Black’s comments as ignorant and offensive and in a follow up Twitter post they said: “She recycles old, misinformed nonsense about “intersex” being as prevalent as red-heads. And she is clearly unaware that most people with differences in sex development (DSDs) are unambiguously male or female.

Natalie Don is resident in Bridge of Weir. This event occured in the town in July 2010. Is this the same Robert Innes?

Resident of Bridge of Weir harassed at home by a group of yobs

Kenneth Horn of the Bridge of Weir snapped after months of harassment when yobs armed with weapons laid siege to his home. In the ensuing melee he was hit over the head with a baseball bat. Paisley Sheriff Court heard how Horn and his family had been forced to endure a relentless campaign of terror and torment. He had previously reported numerous incidents to police and was “at the end of his tether” when a group armed with weapons appeared outside his home in Bridge of Weir’s Mimosa Road at 3.50am on March 28.

Horn left his home at around 0400 hours to confront his attackers. Innes was present at the disturbance, claiming his intention was to take on a self-appointed role as “peacemaker”.

But 22-year-old Innes ended up in a face-to-face confrontation with Horn, who had been knocked to the ground earlier in the disturbance but had recovered and was seen brandishing a small knife. Innes closed on Horn, who, defensively, prodded him on the left side of his chest with the knife, then escaped from the confrontation.

An ambulance was summoned. Innes was taken to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital with a one-centimetre puncture wound. The injury was dressed but did not require further treatment.

Horn’s lawyer told Sheriff Susan Sinclair that he hoped to put the episode in perspective and revealed that his client’s house had been

“laid siege to and there had been numerous reports to the police of harassment and efforts were being made to have his family re-housed when the flashpoint occurred. He was acting under extreme provocation where armed youths had been hammering at his door and sincerely believed that his life was in danger that night and that Innes was part of the attacking group.”

The lawyer further stressed that Horn had not gone out into the street armed but had been hit with the knife in question and had then been struck on the head with a baseball bat. The knife ended up on the ground after it had been discarded by one of the attackers, and he had retrieved it.

Horn was found guilty of assault and locked up for eight months after stabbing one of his tormentors.

From Innes Twitter posts:

On education: I didn’t get any standard grades at school (an ‘affluent’ school). I worked in retail and call centres for years after school and gained some great experiences. Decided to go back to college and then uni and graduated at the age of 28. Schools not for everybody.

As a youth I joined the army at 16. I personally hated it and left. It’s not for everyone and other guys I was in with loved it. It shouldn’t be forced on anyone. This talk of forcing national service on young people should be nipped in the bud now.

Comment: His linkedin profile only states he attended college. No mention of any qualification. Even providing that he did gain a qualification of sorts it is difficult to accept he would be experienced enough politically to provide advice and assistance to Mhari Black the holder of a distinction in politics from a grade 1 universsity.

On illegal drug taking:

17 Jun 2019: RossThomson tweeted: I’ve visited a drug consumption room to see it in operation for myself. Opening them in the UK will be the thin end of the wedge. We need to ensure people end their addiction not simply manage it. Consumption rooms won’t cut heroin abuse and deaths.

Innes commented: Meanwhile back in reality. Like many people I had a family member who used heroin outside of a DCR in front of me as a child. I have kept edgy in alleys and sat in drug dens while people o.d. These safe spaces would mean other youngsters wouldn’t have these kind of experiences.

On nepotism

Innes tweeted: You know you can be pro independence and also be against transphobia, homophobia, racism and bigotry while at the same time be against blatant careerism taking over your party. Comment: Ironic surely!!

Robert Innes worked as one of Mhari Black’s Research Assistants at Westminster since around the beginning of 2016.

He was elected as a councillor for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood. His campaign was heavily promoted on Twitter and other media, with Mhari Black and Natalie Don, the local MSP, gushing that he was a local stalwart and potentially a wonderful servant of the people. She didn’t mention that he was her live-in lover and father of her children

His promotion matrial stated he was employed at Westminster and resided in London, not Renfrewshire, from 2016, nearly 6 years.

Before his appointment, he was a student studying politics and psychology at the University of the West of Scotland between 2011 and 2016, meaning that he has never been in paid employment from the time of his birth until selected by Mhari Black and appointed by her to the post of Research Assistant at Westminster on a salary between £35 and £55 plus expenses.

His profile lists him as the father of two children. Nicola Sturgeon enjoyed an extensive photo opportunity with a child, Alisa Innes, and it is evident from the publicity that Sturgeon was promoting the Renfrew MSP candidacy of Natalie Don, who, the accompanying article said, was the child’s mother.

Robert Innes is Alisa’s father. The public needs to know since their combined financial income from the state, courtesy of the SNP, exceeds £130,000 per annum.

Innes has had his troubles

A Renfrewshire councillor, Robert Innes, who was the victim of a glassing attack when he was just 15 years old, called for greater support for people with facial scars.

Innes was a 15-year-old teenager when he was hit in the face with a pint glass after a disturbance inside a pub spilled out onto the street. The attack left him with 27 stitches across his face and the inside of his mouth.

The councillor for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood said that the permanent scarring he was left with has had a lasting impact on his daily life.

In a pub aged 15?

Don was mentored by Sturgeon and promoted to a ministerial post in which she failed to impress

Natalie Don (now Natalie Don-Innes), the SNP MSP and Scottish Government Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, faced scrutiny regarding her ministerial portfolio: 

• Handling of Child Protection Failings (2025): In January 2025, Don-Innes faced criticism from opposition MSPs for her response to a case where child sex abuse victims in Glasgow were “failed” by authorities. She was accused of only committing to a review that would take a year to report, rather than immediate actions, following the conviction of a grooming gang.
• Refusal on Grooming Gang Probes (2025): She was confronted at Holyrood regarding the SNP’s record on child sexual exploitation and faced criticism for refusing to say whether there were ongoing grooming gang probes in Scotland during a period of heightened concern about the issue.
• Husband’s Conduct Controversy (2025): Her husband, SNP Councillor Robert Innes, was urged to apologize after calling critics of trans policy in changing rooms “weirdo” in May 2025, following a council debate.

November 2017: 1315-1400: Lloyd, Somers, Hynd and a member of Evan’s office, attended a meeting to further discuss the content of Sturgeon’s” instruction and to establish and agree on clear lines of responsibility between Sturgeon and Evans.

A second purpose was to reword the second draft procedure, inserting changes designed to prevent Sturgeon from stopping Evans, who had a duty of care to civil servants, from investigating a sexual harassment complaint made by a civil servant against a minister if Evans judged there was something to investigate.

Additional input from Lloyd included the view that Sturgeon needed to be made aware of an investigation or allegation into a serving minister, before the event, to determine if, under the ministerial code, that minister could remain in post whilst an investigation was conducted.

Yet she later stipulated that on that date, she did not know of any of the allegations against Alex Salmond that were subsequently investigated under the new procedure.

24 November 2017: Lloyd’s input to the process was understated by Evans. They couldn’t fart without her permission!!!!

27 November 2017: Hynd to Richards. Have a looksee at the next draft procedure. All hands to the deck!!! Why so much urgency over one man??

29 November 2017: Russell wrote to Ms A, “as agreed, I sent your narrative on in confidence to Nicky (Richards) and Judith (Mackinnon). I have now been asked by Nicky and Judith if you would be prepared to speak to them following receipt of your narrative.

As part of this discussion, Nicky would like to share with you the developing policy for handling complaints against former and current ministers.

This would allow you to test whether this would have helped at the time and also to consider the next steps.

Later that day, Ms A agreed to do so but reiterated she wished to speak personally with Sturgeon.

29 November 2017: Richards met with Evans, who then went on to have a “summit meeting with Sturgeon, “to discuss the new harassment procedure against former ministers.”

Conclusion: Hynd inadvertently revealed that the new procedure was being put in place, targeting Alex Salmond, and those involved in its compilation were fully aware of it.

I extracted and summarised this from:

(https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/09/dorothy-bain-incompetent-or-corrupt/)

The dispute settled on a case that could allow the Scottish Parliament to legislate for another independence referendum.

UK law officers argued that the constitution was reserved for Westminster.

The Scottish Government argued that the referendum would be “advisory” and have no legal effect on the union.

In seeking to refer the question of the Scottish Parliament’s competence to hold a referendum to the Supreme Court, the Scottish Government’s Lord Advocate advanced arguments both for and against.

But her unconvincing submission omitted the most powerful and most obvious arguments.

The SNP were forced to intervene and present the case for the SNP replacing Bain’s pathetic unionist-biased drivel with a proper brief.

Quoting a rule of the court, which states that “any official body or non-governmental organisation seeking to make submissions in the public interest” may apply to intervene the SNP, (not the Scottish Government)presented its case to the court through Claire Mitchell, KC, who argued that – as a public body – it would be “fair, just and reasonable” for the SNP to make arguments to the Court.

Her submission raised genuine, powerful and internationally accepted legal arguments which Bain had omitted, including the party’s past manifesto commitments, which were made before the elections that it won. It also argued that the right to self-determination was “fundamental and inalienable”.

In his article of 30 July 2022. (https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/07/independence-justice-and-the-unionist-lord-advocate), he described Bain as “spectacularly wrong”, writing that:

“The right to self-determination emerges again in Bain’s conclusion. Here she makes her view crystal clear, that self-determination is part of the “political context” and not a legal matter, it has no legal effect.”

This explains why Bain nowhere mentions self-determination as a legal argument justifying Scotland’s right to hold a referendum.

An explanation: The Independence of a country is not a matter of domestic law it is a matter of international law. The right of the Scottish Parliament to declare Independence may not be restricted by UK domestic law or by purported limitations on the powers of the Scottish Parliament. The legal position is set out very clearly here:

5.5 Consistent with this general approach, international law has not treated the legality of the act of secession under the internal law of the predecessor State as determining the effect of that act on the international plane. In most cases of secession, of course, the predecessor State”s law will not have been complied with: that is true almost as a matter of definition.

5.6 Nor is compliance with the law of the predecessor State a condition for the declaration of independence to be recognised by third States if other conditions for recognition are fulfilled. The conditions do not include compliance with the internal legal requirements of the predecessor State. Otherwise, the international legality of secession would be predetermined by the very system of internal law called into question by the circumstances in which the secession is occurring.

5.7 For the same reason, the constitutional authority of the seceding entity to proclaim independence within the predecessor State is not determined as a matter of international law. In most cases, provincial or regional authorities will lack the constitutional authority to secede. The act of secession is not thereby excluded. Moreover, representative institutions may legitimately act and seek to reflect the views of their constituents beyond the scope of already conferred power.

That is a commendably concise and accurate description of the legal position. Of major relevance, it is the legal opinion of the Government of the United Kingdom, as submitted to the International Court of Justice in the Kosovo case. The International Court of Justice endorsed this view, so it is both established law and follows from the stated legal opinion of the British Government that the Scottish Government has the right to declare Independence without the agreement or permission of London and completely irrespective of the London Supreme Court.

The SNP brief argued as Bain failed to argue, that:

“The right to self-determination is a fundamental and inalienable right, among the most fundamental of all rights.”

The SNP brief used many of the same sources in its argument – the UN judgement, the UK submission to the International Court of Justice on Kosovo, and the Supreme Court of Canada on Quebec – that Craig used in his article and has been using to argue the case for the last ten years.

The SNP brief and Claire Mitchell KC did not use the same arguments and even the same sources that Craig used because they were following him, or because he is especially brilliant. The fact is that any experienced diplomat and any public international lawyer would be expected to know exactly the law, arguments and cases which apply.

What Claire Mitchell KC produced for the SNP is precisely what any decent lawyer or any good diplomat would produce to support the case for Scotland’s self-determination.

So why did the Lord Advocate, Dorothy Bain, fail to produce it? Well, there are several possibilities. Dorothy Bain could be a truly, spectacularly, ignorant, stupid and incompetent lawyer. Or, she could have been cleverly and deliberately failing the Scottish Government on whose behalf she was supposed to be acting, which would be an act of dreadful professional wrongdoing. Or she could have been asked by Sturgeon to present a case to the Supreme Court that was sure to fail.

Questions arise. Namely:

The Lord Advocate is a ministerial position in Scotland, making it a political appointment. Why did Nicola Sturgeon appoint the unionist supporting Dorothy Bain to the position?

At the time of her appointment last year, it was already known that the certification of the Referendum Bill as legal would be a crucial task for the new Lord Advocate.

Nicola Sturgeon’s failure to appoint a nationalist-leaning person provides evidence that she was much more interested in identity politics than in Independence.

Bain’s mission is to guide the justice system through the under-noted changes, all of which are the highest priority on Sturgeon’s agenda:

1) Abolition of jury trials in sex assault cases
2) Establishment of misogyny as a hate crime and prosecution of sexist speech as a criminal offence
3) Reform of the Gender Recognition Act
4) Abolition of “Not proven” verdict and conforming the Scottish system to the English model
5) Continued clampdown prosecutions on “extremist” independence supporters and republicans, using a breach of the peace, harassment, threatening communication, contempt, etc

No mention of a referendum

The second question is how it happened that the SNP (not the government) came to decide to put in an amicus brief to the Supreme Court to try to make up for Bain’s glaring omissions.

There were reasons to be a little hopeful. Some worms seemed to be finally turning. Senior lawyers in the SNP were outraged at Bain’s fake attempt, and there was a near-open revolt among some Westminster MPs. At least 20 were outraged.

It is possibly not chance that the only senior SNP figure who put out the SNP’s, (not the government’s brief to the public was Joanna Cherry. It is still her pinned tweet.

The revolt caused angst in Casa Murrell. For once Sturgeon was forced to give some ground.

The compromise agreed upon was that Sturgeon accepted that the SNP could submit a brief arguing for the universal right of self-determination, but she only agreed on the condition that it was made explicit that the SNP was not arguing that Scotland could secede without Westminster’s permission. The SNP brief therefore, contained this disclaimer:

2.3. The Intervener emphasises that it is not advocating for a direct exercise or implementation of the right to self-determination in these proceedings.

Notes the “emphasises”. This is daft because it contradicts the entire meaning of the Kosovo and Chagos judgments which it goes on to quote. Nicola Sturgeon’s position remained however that Scotland could only become independent with Westminster’s agreement.

Sturgeon’s representative on earth is her election agent, constituency minder and long-term confidante Mhairi Hunter who recently spelt the position out very clearly indeed:

This gives an absolute and unequivocal veto to Westminster on Scottish independence and revealed Sturgeon’s “plebiscitary election” to be a total fraud.

It explained why Bain submitted her reference to the Supreme Court, dismissing Scotland’s international right to self-determination as of no legal force, and why the SNP brief undermined all the sources it quoted by stating it was not making a case for the right to implement self-determination.

The British Establishment will never willingly surrender Scotland’s massive resources. The leaders and Members of the SNP Government who believe Westminster has a veto are against Independence, whatever lies they spout.

The Creation of the Scottish Labour Branch

1997 Glasgow: Council Leader Bob Gould failed to get his own way over a package of cuts and shared his frustrations with a few friendly media hacks who duly went to print exposing allegations of fully funded holidays abroad, for Councillors, disguised as fact finding trips in return for horse trading deals ensuring controversial packages and other business would be assured of a safe passage through council.

The Scottish press, with the exception of a couple of, “leftish” rags attacked Labour Party Councils in the West of Scotland exposing and alleging a litany of scandals covering: nepotism, drugs, organised crime, sectarianism, vote rigging and bribery and harassment.

The public, still outraged by revelations exposed at the time of the demise of John Major and the Tory party were not at all pleased and demanded that a full enquiry should be fast track investigated and reported on without delay together with long outstanding investigations of allegations of a similar nature lodged against Paisley North and Monklands District Councils.

Donald Dewar, the Scottish Secretary of State was desperate to ensure there would be minimal disruption to Scottish politics at the time he was negotiating devolution, scheduled for 1999. He intervened in Monklands and ordered the immediate suspension and 2 year debarment from party office of the entire team of local Councillors. In Paisley a number of local constituency offices were closed on his instructions and a significant number of “active” party members were barred and or suspended. In Westminster the parliamentary whip was withdrawn from, Mohammed Sarwar, (Govan vote rigging allegations) and West Renfrewshire’s Tommy Graham, (suicide of Paisley South, MP Gordon McMaster).

Confident in his leadership of the Labour party and seizing the initiative provided by Donald Dewar Tony Blair decided to do to Glasgow what Kinnock had done to Derek Hatton and Liverpool. He ordered a full investigation into the activities of Councillors.

The inquiry was completed in 6 months. A total of 37 Councillors were interviewed at length by party officials from London, assisted by a number of Scottish Blairite supporting Party officials. The report recommended that disciplinary action should be taken against around a dozen senior Councillors, including where applicable suspension and or debarment from party office. These included, Lord provost Pat Lally, Deputy Provost Alex Mosson, “Whistle-blower”, Council Leader Bob Gould, Deputy Leader James Mutter and Head of Parks and Recreation Gordon McDairmid. Their fate would be decided by London.

Not content with the outcome of the inquiry the Scottish General Secretary of the Party, Jack McConnell, actively assisted by National Officers from London continued with their work intent upon exposing and dealing with anything that might reflect badly on the Party. Over a number of weeks many allegations and counter claims covering the full spectrum of excesses were made by an against Councillors and employees, usually through press leaks. Bob Gould eventually stood down from office.

The exposure of internal Council, “turf Wars” rife throughout the West of Scotland brought about the demise of many of the traditional left leaning party members being replaced with Blairites middle class opportunists. The oft quoted story about selection for office in the Labour party; “someone who wanted to be a candidate, was asked to outline his convictions. He thought they meant his criminal record and asked how far back they wanted him to go.”

The on-going activities of, “New labour” supporters created tension within the Party old guard in Scotland and claims of, “McCarthyism”. But relentless pressure and change created opportunity to place “New Labour” people in office bringing about the changes instructed by Blair & Brown in London. Control of Scotland was transferred to London.

But only the faces changed. Over the next 15 years Councils drifted back to their old ways of doing things. The time for remedial action presents itself again in 2015 & 2016. This time voters throughout the West of Scotland should say “enough is enough” and elect to office candidates of any party other than Labour.

Tony Blair’s “New Labour” promised to sweep away the old ideology of a political party. In Labour’s Scottish heartlands and birthplace, traditional socialists were dealt with severely, as Brian Deer’s investigation revealed. This is the best in depth report on the sickness that was and still is the Labour run councils in the West of Scotland. 15 years after a clean-up, corruption and scandal are bye-words again. http://briandeer.com/glasgow-labour.htm

LGBTIQ+ Equality

Shirley-Anne Somerville – Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice

responsible for:

• Baby Box
• benefit automation
• human rights
• minimum income guarantee
• national mission for tackling child poverty
• Office of Chief Social Policy Advisor
• Scottish Government benefits (development and delivery)
• Scottish Welfare Fund and Discretionary Housing Payments (DHPs)
• social justice, tackling poverty and inequalities
• Social Security Scotland
• third sector, social enterprises and Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR)
• UN treaty incorporation including United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)

Kaukab Stewart –  Minister for Equalities

Specific responsibilities are: 

• displaced peoples
• diversity, inclusion and equalities; including disability, older people, women, gender, LGBTI, religion, race, and Gypsy Traveller community
• Equally Safe strategy
• faith and belief
• New Scots strategy
• population and migration (inc. Ministerial Taskforce on Population)
•  refugees and asylum seekers
• social isolation and loneliness strategy

Rebecca Don Kennedy CEO – Equality Network

Equality Network: The Network is run by a Board of Trustees, who are all volunteers. They oversee the organisation, take strategic decisions, and are ultimately responsible for all our activities. The Network aims to create lasting improvement in the situation of LGBTIQ people in Scotland.

The day to day work of the organisation is delegated by the Board to our staff –There are currently 9 full-time staff and 6 part-time staff.

The Trustees

Dr Kevin Guyan (Convener)

Dr Kevin Guyan is a writer and researcher whose work explores the intersection of data and identity. He is the author of ‘Rainbow Trap: Queer Lives, Classifications and the Dangers of Inclusion’ (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) and ‘Queer Data: Using Gender, Sex and Sexuality Data for Action’ (Bloomsbury Academic, 2022). Kevin is a Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Edinburgh and Director of the Gender + Sexuality Data Lab. Further information: kevinguyan.com

Judi Syson (Deputy Convener)

Judi has supported LGBT+ community organisations since joining the LGBT Health & Wellbeing board in 2004, and served as their chair for 5 years. With a background in STEM innovation and clinical research Judi brings leadership and people management experience to the Equality Network Board, along with a youth charity management perspective as a current trustee for the YMCA in Edinburgh & Scotland. Judi enjoys participating in LGBT community activities with women’s hill walking groups, the Loud & Proud Choir and watching rugby. linkedin.com/in/judisyson

Daniel Clayton (Treasurer)

Daniel qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2002. He is an Investment Management specialist and has held several senior roles within Audit and Risk, Investment Operations, Investment Change and Product Design and Strategy. He has worked for several leading companies including PwC, Aegon Asset Management, Citi, Standard Life Investments, First State and Abrdn. He has a keen interest in promoting LGBTIQ representation at senior levels within the financial services industry and has been an active part in both establishing, chairing and being part of LGBTIQ networks within the various companies he has worked for. Currently he is the Inclusion and Diversity Lead for the Investment Office at his current employer, Scottish Widows. Daniel is the Treasurer of the Equality Network and oversees the financial governance, controls and overall financial position of the charity.

Cecilia Righini: Cecilia Righini is the Founder and Creative Director of Studio Lutalica, a non-profit design agency supporting women and LGBTQ+ communities. With a focus on intersectional feminism and sustainable practices, Cecilia leads projects that empower diverse identities. Their work has been recognised with awards for its impact in the creative industry. Cecilia also serves on the board of Proud Futures and is a visiting practitioner at in Design Management at UAL: London College of Communication. linkedin.com/in/ceciliarighini

Christina Tatlow: Christina is currently on a short sabbatical from our Board.

Katherine O’Donnell: Katherine O’Donnell is a journalist and writer of more than 35 years’ experience in print, broadcasting and digital media. She has a longstanding interest in human rights and equality. She is a former night editor of The Times and the only trans person ever to have held a senior editorial role in the UK national press.

Peter Hope-Jones: Peter is a civil servant with twenty years’ experience in different roles in the Scottish Government. Currently working on higher education institutional stability, he previously led on taking the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill through the Scottish Parliament, and has also been Private Secretary to the Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Head of Human Trafficking Policy, and Interim Chief Executive of Parole Scotland.

Stella Sibbit-Johnston: Stella works in international education, with experience living and working in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Scotland. She brings a global perspective to the Board, and as a migrant and a parent is passionate about intersectionality within the LGBTIQ community. Having recently completed the Radius Employee Network Leadership Programme, she leads the EDI Committee in her workplace.

Tristan Grayford: Tristan Grayford is a software engineer and author who moved to Scotland from Jersey in 2014 and joined Equality Network’s board in 2024. He is the co-founder of the End Conversion Therapy Scotland Campaign and QUILL Scotland. He has previously worked at the Scottish Parliament and written policy for multiple political parties. In his career he has chaired LGBTQ+ employee networks and spoken on panels from the risks of Generative AI to inclusive practice in tech and genre fiction.

Staff:

Chief Executive Officer: Dr Rebecca Don Kennedy (she/her)

Finance and Business Coordinator: Claudia Russo (she/her)

Communications Officer: Chris Timmins (he/him)

Branding and Publications Officer: Nathan Skye (he/they)

Training Officer: James H. Verardi (he/him)

Community Engagement and Development Officer:Ruth McGill (she/her):

Disability and Neurodiversity Officers: Mel Maguire (she/her) Rowan Alison (they/them)

Policy Coordinator: Erin Lux (she/her)

Policy and Campaigns Officer: Christopher Clannachan (he/him)

Policy Officer: Eleanor Sanders White (she/her)

Scottish Trans: Strives to be inclusive and open, to challenge discrimination and to consult, involve and inform the individuals and the communities for which we work.

Partnership is a key part of our approach, and much of what we do involves working in partnership with diverse LGBTI people, other trans and LGBTI organisations, and with organisations working in the wider equality and human rights field.

There are currently three full-time Scottish Trans staff within the Equality Network:

Scottish Trans Manager: Vic Valentine (they/them)

Scottish Trans Policy & Public Affairs Officer: Florence Oulds (she/her)

Scottish Trans Community Engagement Coordinator: Oceana Maund (They/Them)

Scottish Trans is also currently hosting a fourth full time member of staff, as part of the Scottish Government’s NHS Gender Identity Services Strategic Action Framework 2021-2024:

Lived Experience Officer: Ryan Butter (he/they)

Government Finance: 2024 Scottish Government grants : £576,316 of which £450,000 was spent on staff costs.

All The Nice Greens Love A Rapist

Boys Who Rape

LEAP Sports Scotland: Scotland’s LGBTIQ+ sports charity campaigning for equality, visibility and greater participation for LGBTIQ+ people in all areas of sport.

2024 Scottish & Local Government grants : £126,000: Total funding all organisations £550,000 of which approx £320,000 was spent on staff costs.

LGBT Youth Scotland: Scotland’s national charity for LGBTQ+ young people, aged 13-25. Supports young people in all aspects of their lives through the provision of youth work, supporting them to use their voice to create change in equality and human rights.

2024 Scottish Government grants: £1,871,046 of which £1,500,000 was spent on staff costs (17 Operational 32 Project work)

Stonewall

Stonewall Equality Ltd: Over the past 35 years, Stonewall has primarily focused its activity in two key domains – influencing legislation and policy, and creating change through research, programming and leadership development.

Stonewall has played a very significant and important role in changing the law to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people. This includes:

The repeal of Section 28: We were founded in direct response to Section 28, the homophobic legislation that prevented young people learning about homosexuality in schools.

Equalising the age of consent: The Sexual Offences Amendment Act (2001) lowered the age of consent for gay and bi men to 16, aligning the age of consent with heterosexuals.

Lifting the ban on military service: Until 2000, LGBTQ+ people were banned from the British military, often dismissed or stripped of medals. Stonewall campaigned to end this discrimination, leading to the ban’s repeal in 2000.

The right for LGBTQ+ couples to adopt: The Adoption and Children Act came into effect in 2002 and allowed unmarried couples, including LGBTQ+ couples, to apply for joint adoption.

Marriage equality: The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act made history by legalising same-sex marriage in Scotland 2014,

2024 Scottish Government grant: Around £110,000 of which £3000 was SG membership fees. Note Company folded but S.G. maintained the funding support.

LGBT Healthy Living Centre: LGBT Health and Wellbeing was set up in 2003 to improve the health, wellbeing, and equality of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) people in Scotland. It provides responsive support services, a social programme for the community to connect with each
other in sober and safer spaces, and supports mainstream services to become more inclusive.

Trustees

Yorath Turner: Chair (he/him)

Yorath is currently Head of Digital Capability and Talent in Scottish Government and leads the Digital profession development as well as initiatives responsible for building digital skills, capability and diversity across the public sector in Scotland. After 10 years in the finance sector, he joined the UK Civil Service in 2015 and has worked in a number of central government departments in Whitehall and beyond. He has experience in a range of HR roles from business partnering, strategic workforce development, and organisation design and development. He is a Chartered Fellow of the CIPD.

Jon Dye: Vice Chair:

Jon graduated from St Andrews with a degree in Mathematics and went on to train as an accountant with the international accountancy firm PwC. After 10 years with PwC, Jon joined the Clydesdale Bank. Since then, Jon has held a number of senior Finance roles in the commercial and third sector. Jon has also been a Trustee and Officer of a number of local and national charities. Jon sits on the Audit, Finance and Funding sub committee of the Board.

Daniel Clayton: Treasurer (he/him)

Daniel qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 2002 with PwC where he worked for 6 years as an auditor. He has held a number of senior positions in financial service companies, specialising in investment management operations. Daniel has a keen interest in and experience of: operations, audit (internal and external), risk, finance, project management, financial controls and strategy. He has taken an active part in equality groups at the companies he has worked for, in particular the push to gain fair LGBT+ representation in senior roles at financial service companies.

Zyra Evangelista: (they/them)

Zy is a PhD researcher at the University of Glasgow. Their primary area of research is LGBT+ psychology, with a specific focus on LGBT+ inclusion and well-being. They are currently one of the University of Glasgow Future World Changers, the PsyPAG representative for the British Psychological Society Psychology of Sexualities Section, and Book Review Editor for the Psychology of Sexualities Review. Outside of academia, Zy has been selected as one of the See Me Proud LGBT Community Champions and has co-founded the LGBTQI+ basketball group, the Rainbow Glasgaroos. Zy is bringing in their experience in psychology to help address issues related to anti-LGBT+ prejudice, stigma, and discrimination. Zy’s work in improving LGBT+ inclusion in higher education can contribute to developing policies and programmes that promote diversity, inclusion, and well-being across the LGBT+ community.

Robin Gay: (he/they)

Robin is currently the Student Voice Manager at Edinburgh University Students’ Association, where they oversee the Association’s democratic processes and support for over 1500 student representatives. They have previously worked directly with marginalised student communities, including Black and Minority Ethnic, disabled, and LGBT+ students, and empowered elected student representatives to campaign on a range of issues affecting these groups. They bring a range of experience to the Board including membership engagement, community development, and effective governance.

Nick Ward: (he/him)

Nick graduated from Edinburgh University before moving to London and becoming a secondary school teacher in some of the most challenging schools in the UK. He completed a Masters in Leadership at UCL and entered the charity sector, becoming the regional director for a large teacher training charity. He was also an elected councillor for the borough of Islington. After nearly 10 years in London he returned to Edinburgh and is now the Director of the National Autistic Society Scotland. He is a keen history geek and runner and is a member of the LGBT+ running club Frontrunners.

LGBT Health and Wellbeing is comprised 0f 26 full time staff.

The strategic aim is to attract and retain the best
possible team of staff. We do this by ‘offering
clear pathways to volunteering, employment, and
development within the organisation ensuring
the team feels supported, valued and listened to.

We recognise that being an LGBT+ person, or an active ally, whilst serving our community can cause particular and nuanced challenges for colleagues. Exposure to continuous microaggressions and political or media negativity that might otherwise be avoided, and an impact on our social relationships or use of queer spaces can risk having a detrimental impact on the health and wellbeing of colleagues.

Above our competitive Terms and Conditions of employment, colleagues are offered monthly support and supervision meetings, externally facilitated peer supervision, access to an
Employee Assistance Programme, access to Learning and Development opportunities, and a Staff Wellbeing programme.

We aim to nurture a culture where colleagues feel empowered to provide direct and continuous feedback to their managers and our People Support Coordinator about their experience as an employee, and for them to ask for what they need. We also conduct an anonymous annual staff survey in order to proactively check-in with our team.

The organisation continues to secure new contracts with a range of partners, along with the extension of previously-awarded contracts.

NHS Lothian (£205,500)

Glasgow Health and Social Care Partnership (£136,045).

The Scottish Government (£68,400) continue to fund specific projects and services within the organisation.

Edinburgh Integration Joint Board provides some core funding (£101,456).

2024 Scottish Government grants: £895,000 of which £870,000 was spent on staff costs.

2024: Total Government grants to LGBTIQ+ Equality support organisations: £3,578,000. Staff costs around 60%

The SNP manifesto commitment to the LGBTI network

01: Seek full devolution from the UK government of employment, equality and immigration

02: Introduce measures ensuring LGBT+ and intersex people are treated with dignity, respect and free from discrimination

03: Reform Gender recognition laws and recognise non-binary people in all official documents

04: Pardon retrospectively where needed, pardons for gay and bi people criminalised for their sexuality

05: Provide funding for life-saving PrEP medication

06: Protect the Human Rights Act and the Equality Act

07: Outlaw conversion therapy

08: Champion LGBT+ equality and human rights worldwide

The inclusion of the radical programme of change in the manifesto, was approved by Sturgeon and Swinney without discussion with or support from party members and broke new ground for the Party and there are many in the Party who are very unhappy with the leadership. But the force is with the WOKE leadership who chose to be guided in their policy decisions by Scottish Government funded, pseudo LGBTQI charities.( £30-£40 million annually)

The Scottish LGBTI Equality Pledge

The Pledge has been developed by the Equality Network, Scottish Trans Alliance, Stonewall Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and other charities working for LGBTI equality and human rights in Scotland. It calls for candidates to commit to:

01: Promote positive mental wellbeing for LGBTI people, ensuring that actions to improve Scotland’s mental health specifically address the inequalities LGBTI people face.

02: Support LGBTI people to have equal access to health and social care services, including by reforming NHS gender identity services to be fit-for-purpose.

03: Improve LGBTI rights and protections in the law, including by reforming laws on gender recognition and ending conversion therapy.

04: Support LGBTI young people to flourish in schools through the continued implementation of inclusive education.

05: Stand up for all LGBTI people, including the most marginalised – LGBTI people of colour, refugees, disabled people, older people, and trans people.

We intend to get as many MSPs committed to LGBTI equality in the next Scottish Parliament as possible. Please take the time to email your candidates to let them know this matters to you, and ask them to sign our LGBTI pledge. It can make a real difference!

The undernoted SNP candidates signed the pledge

Aberdeen Central – Kevin Stewart
Aberdeen Donside – Jackie Dunbar
Aberdeen South – Audrey Nicoll
Aberdeen West – Fergus Mutch
Airdrie & Shotts – Neil Gray
Banff & Buchan – Karen Adam
Clydesdale – Màiri McAllan
Dundee East – Shona Robison
Dundee West – Joe FitzPatrick
East Kilbride – Collette Stevenson
Edinburgh Central – Angus Robertson
Edinburgh North – Ben Macpherson
Edinburgh South – Catriona MacDonald
Glasgow Kelvin – Kaukab Stewart
Hamilton-Larkhall – Christina McKelvie
Shetland – Tom Wills
Strathkelvin & Bearsden – Rona Mackay

List Candidates

Central Scotland – Neil Gray & Christina McKelvie
Glasgow – Kaukab Stewart
Highlands – Sarah Fanet & Emma Roddick & Tom Wills
Lothians – Graham Campbell & Catriona MacDonald & Ben Macpherson & Angus Robertson
Mid Scotland & Fife – Stefan Hoggan-Radu & Fiona Sarwar
North East – Fergus Mutch & Lynne Short
South Scotland – Màiri McAllan
West Scotland – Michelle Campbell & Rona Mackay

https://www.equality-network.org/scottish-lgbti-equality-pledge/

2021: NEC Meeting hijacked by LGBTQ activists

The LGBTQ group proposed that the SNP’s eight regional lists for the Scottish parliamentary election should include either a *BAME or a disabled candidate in the top place,.

Four regions would be allocated a BAME person and the other four a disabled person.

The proposal carried the commitment that disabled status would be by self-identification with no confirmatory checking being carried out.

Members in attendance believed it would be illegal to adopt the proposal under the equalities law.

The matter was deferred and referred to the Party’s legal counsel, Jonathan Mitchell QC who warned that the policy was legally dubious and open to challenge in the courts and any case brought by a person disadvantaged by the rule would probably succeed, and cost the SNP many thousands of pounds in legal expenses.

But the LGBTQ group insisted the proposal should be decided upon by the NEC.

The Chairperson, Kirsten Oswald decided to put the matter to the vote.

The vote was tied and it was expected that in compliance with accepted practice the Chair would cast her vote for retention of the status quo.

She didn’t and passed the motion placing the Party at great risk of legal and costly claims of discrimination.

2016: Sturgeon on Patrick Grady – Sexual Predator I was aware of concerns but there were no complaints

Grady made unwanted sexual advances to a male teenaged staffer employed by the Party at Westminster by touching and stroking his hair, back and neck.

Ian Blackford, then leader of the SNP group at Westminster instigated a process effectively brushing Grady’s behaviour under the carpet a state of affairs that remained in place until 2022 when the content of a meeting led by Blackford was leaked revealing him urging colleagues to show support for Grady while failing to mention the victim.

Blackford was replaced by Stephen Flynn soon after.

The matter was investigated by House of Commons officials and Grady was forced to make a public apology in the Commons, for his unacceptable behaviour and a private one to the victim and was suspended from parliament for 2 days.

Weeks later the SNP was forced by press and public pressure to deal with the matter but only after the Scottish police opened an investigation into events in London.

Grady was called to account and following his admission to the offences he was first removed from his offical positions within the Party and had his party membership withdrawn.

Nicola Sturgeon then made a brief statement to the press that the process for complaining within the SNP was not fit for purpose and the victim had been badly served by the Party.

Six short months later the Glasgow North MP returned to the Party. Fully reinstated.

Shocked political observers commented: “This decision clearly shows that the SNP has no desire to root out sleaze or punish offenders. It is business as usual for the SNP Westminster club. Grady should have had the whip removed permanently but no matter, at the next election, the people of Glasgow will have the chance to give Grady his marching orders.”

And what of the teenager six years after the event. He feels he was badly let down by people he trusted and was forced to leave employment with the Party in London. His concern is that the outcome of his complaints will reinforce the views of many that abuse of staff employed by the SNP will continue unabated.

Dec 2018: Former SNP councillor, North Lanarkshire District Council wins her defamation case

Julie McAnulty, former SNP councillor won a £40,000 defamation payout after she sued fellow SNP activist Sheena McCulloch who made a malicious allegation of racism against her.

The allegation was first raised by McCulloch in a letter to SNP compliance manager Ian McCann, and copied to chief executive Peter Murrell, and then-National Secretary Patrick Grady.

(This is the same person reported to McCann, 2 years previously, as a sexual predator of teenagers in Westminster).

McNulty denied the allegations and asked McCann for the backing of SNP headquarters to clear her name.

Her plea for assistance was refused forcing her to pursue the matter in the civil court.

Explaining her decision she said: “It should never have got to this stage. The SNP’s internal procedures are more than capable of resolving the matter. But for reasons not explained to me they declined to get involved.”

In his judgement Lord Uist, stated the accusation was part of a campaign against her by an “opposing faction within the local SNP”.

He said it was designed to prevent her being nominated as a candidate for the Scottish Parliament and “possibly to oust her from the party.”

North Lanarkshire Council depute leader, Labour’s Paul Kelly, said: “It is clear that SNP headquarters should immediately conduct a full investigation of the elected members who played their part in this scandal.” There was no investigation.

2017 Jordan Linden accused of sexual misconduct

Jordan Linden, then Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, was accused of sexual misconduct in sending explicit photographs to another SYP member. He denied the claim and a police investigation failed to establish any criminality.

Note: These events are still unresolved many years later . Complainants continue to press for their allegations to be properly investigated and resolved to their satisfaction. What has happened since adds weight to their arguments.

Sep 2019: Ian McCann, Compliance Officer for the SNP was formally advised of allegations of sexual harrassment against Jordan Linden claiming he had made unwelcome sexual advances on he person of another male member of the Party at an after event function in Dundee on 21 September 2019.

Four days later Councillor Linden, who had been lauded before the function by Huma Yousaf as a person who would “make an outstanding MP” withdrew his nomination to become athe Westminster candidate for Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill at the next General Election.

Oct 2019: Concerns were raised with Mr McCann, but not resolved, about why no action appeared to have been taken over the matter. Much later activists told the press that SNP HQ had shown “wilful negligence”, and that “nothing was done.”

Mar 2022: Councillor Linden was elected leader of the SNP opposition group on North Lanarkshire council by his fellow councillors. Not long after the local press picked up on events at Dundee and asked Linden if there was any truth in the matter. He declined to comment but did not deny the allegations.

Sep 2022: Sophia Coyle spoke out after weeks of strife at crisis-hit North Lanarkshire Council, claiming the party is turning a blind eye to harassment she and others have endured.

She alleged another Councillor, tipped by party insiders as a potential leader of the SNP group in Lanarkshire, had been “obstructive, aggressive and abusive” towards her since he became a councillor.

She said: “His behaviour towards me has caused other branch members to complain. It’s not as if I have been the only one. He tried to block me from standing as the branch woman’s officer and, when my dad resigned, he said I should not be involved in Party meetings because of what happened. I’ve no control over my dad, his decision was nothing to do with me. Good members have written in and complained. Over the years I have emailed Ian McCann (SNP Compliance Officer) and I’ve yet to have a response from the guy, let alone a phone call. It’s absolutely shocking and he needs to explain what it is he’s doing about complaints.”

Neil Charles Gray (born 16 March 1986) was born and brought up in Orkney, and was educated at Kirkwall Grammar School. He graduated from the University of Stirling in 2008 with a first-class Bachelor of Arts Honours degree in politics and journalism. Outside politics he was formerly a keen athlete, representing Scotland, until a serious knee injury ended his career in athletics. He has three daughters and one son with his wife, Karlie. He is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

2008: Right after graduation Gray took up employment as a press and research intern for the SNP parliamentary group at the Scottish Parliament from 2008. He was also employed by Alex Neil, who appointed him to the post of constituency office manager in 2011.

2014: The selection process for the Airdrie SNP candidacy, which Neil Gray ultimately won, was not without controversy. Former diplomat Craig Murray was nominated as a potential candidate at an Airdrie Branch meeting but did not make the final list as he failed SNP candidate vetting, whereupon he commented that “I think in both Airdrie & Shotts and in Falkirk it’s evident who the party hierarchy wants to be the candidate.” Former Policeman and SNP Councillor Alan Beveridge and fellow Councillor John Taggart resigned from the party in February 2015 after Neil Gray was selected, claiming that there was a “climate of fear, intimidation and false allegations within the party” which was highlighted in the selection process.

2015: Elected MP for Airdrie & Shotts. Three, University of Stirling graduates, Steven Paterson, Angela Crawley and Neil Gray made history after being elected as MPs for Stirling, Lanarkshire and Hamilton East and Airdrie and Shotts following the Scottish National Party’s unprecedented gains in the 2015 general election.

2017: Elected MP for Airdrie and Shotts with a significantly reduced majority of 195 votes.

2019: Elected MP, for Airdrie and Shotts. Increased his majority to 5,000 votes.

Nov 2020: Announced that he would be resigning as an MP in order to try and win a seat in the Scottish Parliament at the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

23 Mar 2021: Made his final speech in the House of Commons, and was appointed Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead a day later. He is the only SNP member to have held that notional office. North Lanarkshire Council calculated that his decision to resign as an MP and trigger a by-election cost taxpayers £175,000. Gray said he’d made his Holyrood bid in order to spend more time with his young family. He said: “It was a risk, nothing is guaranteed in politics and nobody can take the electorate for granted. I certainly didn’t and we put in an incredible effort to get this result. I owed it to my family to try to be closer to home. I’m so pleased that I’ve managed to be around more and to be able to do more in my constituency. I’m so grateful.”

07 May 2021: elected MSP for Airdrie and Shotts. “Best buddies” friendship with Humza Yousaf revealed. See: (https://caltonjock.com/2025/06/14/a-whistle-blower-alleged-a-scots-businessman-and-good-friend-of-humza-yousaf-had-made-undeclared-cash-donations-in-a-cash-for-seats-operation-paul-di-mascios-nepotism-claim/)

24 Jan 2022: Appointed, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development. He was quickly tipped for the top. After just 18 months as an MSP, the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, appointed him to her ministerial team, with responsibility for international development and then in addition, for Ukrainian refugees. He won the One to Watch gong at Holyrood’s Garden Party and Political Awards a few months later. And when Sturgeon stood down, he was being discussed in certain quarters as a potential successor. He says he did think about it and “there were conversations had” but that, fundamentally, with four children all under the age of eight, he felt he couldn’t give the job of first minister everything that it required.

Once Humza Yousaf put his hat in the ring, Gray threw his full support behind him. “I had a pretty early conversation with Humza, obviously, and when I knew that he was thinking about it, I was pretty clear in my mind that he was absolutely the right person to take us forward. That was the right thing to do. And I gave a very early commitment that I would support him.” Gray was by Yousaf’s side throughout the leadership contest and that unequivocal support was rewarded when the new first minister gave Gray the pivotal role of Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy in his new Cabinet.

Of Humza he said: “as the fathers of young children we understand the pressures of family life and the vital role their respective wives bring to their support of them. Humza and I are friends, we understand each other, can be open with each other, be frank with each other, and we can also challenge each other, and that is so important in government when you are looking for new ideas. We both understand the importance of our family and the pressures we are all under. We meet up and we have playdates with the kids. Amal [Yousaf’s youngest daughter] is the same age as my twins, and Nadia and Karlie know each other and get on, so that’s really nice. It means we can properly reflect on how well – or not – we are doing at juggling work and family life and, just as important as it is having that strong team behind you at home, it’s also important to have that camaraderie at work as well, and have a mutual understanding of those pressures of work and having young children, because it’s not easy. He was quickly tipped for the top. After just 18 months as an MSP, the former first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, appointed him to her ministerial team, with responsibility for international development and then in addition, for Ukrainian refugees. He won the One to Watch gong at Holyrood’s Garden Party and Political Awards a few months later. And when Sturgeon stood down, he was being discussed in certain quarters as a potential successor. He says he did think about it and “there were conversations had” but that, fundamentally, with four children all under the age of eight, he felt he couldn’t give the job of first minister everything that it required. (Extracted from Mandy Rhodes, Holyrood blog)

29 Mar 2023: Appointed Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing, Economy, Fair Work and Energy.

08 Feb 2024: Appointed Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, succeeding Michael Matheson, who had ben forced to resign amid an expenses scandal.

Nov 2024: Gray faced criticism after it was revealed that he had used an official ministerial car to be chauffeured to watch four Aberdeen F.C. football matches. Gray, an acknowledged fan of Aberdeen F.C., registered the events as official government visits. In a statement to the Scottish Parliament, Gray also admitted to using an official car to attend five Scotland matches, and that he had been accompanied by a family member or guest to six of the matches. Gray said all the engagements were “official ministerial business” and that summaries were available for all of the meetings, but apologised for not attending “a wider range of games”, and for creating the impression that he was acting “more as a fan and less as a minister”. The Scottish Conservatives accused Gray of having a “jolly to watch the football” at the expense of the taxpayer and called for the costs to be refunded in full, while the Scottish Greens criticised him for not using public transport. First Minister John Swinney told journalists that he would not refer Gray for investigation under the ministerial code, and that he considered the matter “closed”. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPRlM7yBdJ4) (reported by David Bol Deputy Political Editor)

27 Nov 2024: SNP dealt blow as NHS recovery in Scotland lagging behind target

27 Nov 2024: The SNP Health Minister has been urged to rethink the NHS recovery strategy after new analysis from the “Institute of Fiscal Studies” (IFS) found hospital performance is “still worsening.” The divergence emerged despite the Health Minister bringing forward targets designed to increase activity and increases in staffing. Between April and June, hospitals in Scotland treated 6 per cent fewer inpatient and day cases and delivered 6 per cent fewer outpatient appointments than before the Covid pandemic.

The Scottish Government’s NHS recovery plan, published in 2021, aimed to increase inpatient and day case activity to 15 per cent above pre-pandemic levels this year. The IFS said one reason for the failure to increase activity is that patients now have a much higher average length of stay in hospital, in part due to challenges with delayed discharges. The IFS analysis stressed “there is a clearer difference between Scotland and England when it comes to performance over the last year. In Scotland, almost all measures of NHS performance have worsened over the last year. For example, the elective waiting list has continued to grow from 692,000 in September 2023 to 725,000 in September 2024, and the share of patients waiting less than four hours at A&E has fallen slightly from 66.5 per cent in September 2023 to 65.9 per cent in September 2024. The only measure considered that has improved in Scotland is for diagnostic tests, where the share waiting six weeks or less has risen from 49.8 per cent in September 2023 to 53.6 per cent in September 2024. In Scotland, hospital activity remains below pre-pandemic levels, and waiting time performance has worsened over the last year. The same is not true in England, where performance remains poor, but is at least moving in the right direction. It is vital the Scottish Government is honest about the poor performanc since understanding and improving NHS performance and productivity is a major priority.

Tory MSP, Dr Sandesh Gulhane commented: “On the SNP’s watch, hundreds of thousands of patients remain on NHS waiting lists, delayed discharge has hit record levels and cancer waiting times have not been met in over a decade. The IFS’s findings should be an urgent wake-up call for Neil Gray who should be honest about the permanent crisis in Scotland’s NHS. He must accept his current approach is failing and outline a real plan that accelerates the recovery in our health service.”

Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: “This is a damning indictment of the SNP’s failure to tackle the crisis in our NHS. Ministers have repeatedly boasted about Scotland’s superior performance to England, but this report makes a total mockery of those claims. Hundreds of thousands of Scots are stuck on an NHS waiting list. Every day people sit in agony at A&E departments, wondering if they will ever be seen. This Government must stop making up bogus excuses and finally confront the emergency in front of them. That starts by rewriting Humza Yousaf’s botched NHS Recovery Plan and repairing the crisis in social care, so that more people can leave hospital on time. You can’t fix the NHS without fixing care.”

Scottish Labour deputy leader Dame Jackie Baillie said the report told the Government what patients and staff have known for years, that “Scottish hospitals are buckling under the strain of SNP incompetence. The SNP pledged over a year ago that it would spend £300 million in driving down waiting lists, but just £30m of this funding has been allocated to health boards so far. At the same time, we know that there were 50,000 fewer planned ops in the last 12 months compared to same point pre-pandemic. This is simply unacceptable. Scottish Labour will tackle delayed discharge and reduce waiting lists so our hospitals can focus on emergency treatment once again.” (The Scotsman)

Jan 2025: A freedom of Information request revealed that no note was produced of the Gray’s meeting at the 2023 League Cup final at Hampden Park. Gray subsequently apologised to the Scottish Parliament for making a misleading statement. John Swinney re-iterated his support for Gray and insisted that the Health Secretary had made an “inadvertent error”.

Jan 2025: John Swinney has admitted the NHS is in “crisis” as he relaunched the Government’s plan to save the health service. The First Minster tore up earlier strategies in an attempt at slashing waiting times and tackling the “canary in the coalmine” of delayed discharge. He also insisted embattled Health Secretary Neil Gray will still be in the job by the autumn. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ldY_Sp_NI) Appears Swinney is incapable of delegating responsibility for health to his minister or the minister is incapable of doing the job. Perhaps away at the football too often.

19 Feb 2025: health secretary Neil Gray today failed to back nurse Sandie Peggie amid a row over single-sex spaces – but supported the leadership of the scandal-hit health board NHS Fife. The NHS nurse objected to trans colleague Dr Beth Upton using the women’s facility at Victoria Hospital in Fife back in 2023 – with the case subject to an ongoing employment tribunal. Opposition leaders including Scottish Labour’s Anas Sarwar backed Ms Peggie – but Mr Gray refused to do so when asked during a visit to the Queen Margaret Hospital in Dunfermline. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Epy0dkG1M0). His position is at odds with guidance to the Health Board by the “Equality and Human Rights Commission” (EHRC). (https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/equalities-watchdog-intervenes-in-nhs-fife-transgender-row-involving-dr-beth-upton-5002557)

01 Apr 2025: Ordering the lifting of a long-standing salary freeze for SNP Ministers (introduced by then First Minister Alex Salmond in 2009), enabled Swinney to give all Government Ministers a bumper £30,000 salary bonus (total annual recurring increase of salary and extra’s around £1.5miillion). He was allset to pocket the rise himself boosting his take-home pay to £155,000 butl he performed a dramatic U-turn hours after the “Mail on Sunday” asked him to explain the unjutified pay rise bonanza. A source close to Swinney said the newspaper revelations had helped ‘crystallise’ his view that it would be inappropriate or him to take the rise. The annual pay for Cabinet Ministers, including the poor performing Health Minister Neil Gray pay has been increased to £116,125 PA. Junior SNP ministers now earn £100,575 PA.

The pay hike came into force on the same day that tens of thousands of Scots were plunged into higher tax brackets in a move that sparked fury among hard-working Scots. And the revelation came only days after Swinney was accused of using a trip to New York Tartan Week as a taxpayer-funded ‘jolly’ abroad.

John O’Connell, chief executive of the Tax-Payers’ Alliance, said: ‘Scots will be absolutely seething at the way in which ministers are stuffing their pockets with extra taxpayer cash all while frontline services are spluttering and the tax burden is soaring. The public realm is in a miserable state in Scotland, with politicians abjectly failing to deliver on voters’ priorities, while also hammering taxpayer with some of the highest bills in the UK. If these ministers had any shame they’d be abandoning this pay rise and would not consider another one until they’ve delivered a boost in living standards, measured by GDP per capita.”

14 Jun 2025: Scandal-hit SNP health chief Neil Gray used a taxpayer-funded limo to chauffeur him to an Aberdeen pub before watching a Dons game last year. The Aberdeen fan is embroiled in a fresh ‘limogate’ storm over a trip to the city’s Brig O’ Don pub ahead of attending the side’s clash against Livingston in May last year. The journeys were incorrectly logged in the official ministerial register as trips to and from a ‘personal address in Aberdeen’ rather than the watering hole. But they were later amended after an investigation found there was no evidence of the Airdrie MSP having a second home in the region