WOKE WEDNESDAYS #38

We're in Scotland for a second consecutive Woke Wednesday, with more Supreme Court-defying trans nonsense on display.  The Edinburgh Fringe is a huge festival that takes place across most of August and hosts millions of visitors each year.  Littered with live performances, combined with the proliferation of alcohol, there have been multiple complaints of lewd conduct, sexual harassment and serious sex crimes over the years.

In 2017 a former aide to John Major and Tony Blair raped a 19-year-old woman after luring the drunk festival goer into his camper van.  A 20-year-old festival goer claimed she was raped at a Fringe party in 2012.  A performer also claimed she was raped by a fellow comic - while another watched.  The alleged perpetrator later appeared on stage with her and 'slapped [her] arse'.  In 2019 the actors' union Equity called on festival organisers to 'do more' to tackle sexual harassment.  Multiple examples of performers being abused and assaulted were used to highlight the union's demand.

At the time, organisers responded with the following statement:

“Everyone who is part of the Fringe - be they a performer, member of the crew, producer, audience member, critic and so on - has the right to feel safe and supported.  The Fringe Society takes complaints of this nature very seriously and is already in contact with Equity to better understand the nature of these complaints.  We would urge anyone who has experienced inappropriate behaviour of this sort to contact Police Scotland directly.”

However, in 2025 it was revealed that a popular Fringe venue was providing gender neutral toilets, giving biological males the opportunity to invade female spaces where they are at their most vulnerable.  Underbelly Bristo Square displayed a message adjacent to the customary ladies and gents signs that invited guests to use 'whichever toilet best fits your identity or expression'.  A male photographer who snapped the signs asked a member of staff if he could use the female toilet, to which the reply was: "Yes".

As the news went viral, a backlash began to grow from feminist campaigners.  They used the recent Supreme Court verdict on biological sex to support their argument.  Tory MSPs were among those who complained directly to the venue and the pressure soon forced a u-turn.  The offending signs were removed and the segregated ladies and gents restored, albeit with a third toilet that retains the 'gender neutral' option.

Underbelly Bristo Square confirmed the u-turn: "We have updated our signage and facilities to clearly provide separate toilets for men only, for women only, alongside a separate inclusive option for anyone regardless of how they identify."

The Scottish government, led by the leftists of the SNP, is still resisting the implementation of the Supreme Court ruling.  Clearly, this has created fertile conditions for organisations in Scotland to ignore the ruling.  Feminist groups are resurgent following the Supreme Court decision and there will undoubtedly be litigation if woke businesses and the public sector fail to observe the law.

Last week's Scots prison meme generated 21 comments and 24 shares on Facebook.

CELTIC CALCULATIONS

Polling day is here and we'll be churning out some more quickfire seat predictions before polls close.  Here we'll take a look at some of the intriguing contests taking place in the Celtic nations of Great Britain.  We won't be delving into Northern Ireland, as those seats will not have a direct bearing on who enters government tomorrow.

Here we go...

SCOTLAND

Airdrie & Shotts

Narrowly held by the SNP since 2015, this marginal was the scene of a by-election in 2021 in which the young candidate (a former general secretary of Muslim Friends of Labour) emerged with a 1,757 majority.  It's too narrow a margin for a party in decline and Labour will take this one.

BTLP seat prediction: Lab GAIN from SNP

Dumfries & Galloway

Since its creation in 2005, this seat has been held by Labour (2005-15), the SNP (2015) and since 2017 by the Conservatives.  Its MP Alister Jack is one of many Tories who jumped ship at this election, sensing the inevitable.  However, a Tory loss is not set in stone.  They have a small majority of 1,805, but that is against the declining SNP.  Labour were a distant third in 2019, but could potentially surge through the pair of them.  Debutants Reform could be king makers here.  Tough one to call...

BTLP seat prediction: Con HOLD

Edinburgh South West

SNP bigwig Joanna Cherry won Alistair Darling's old seat from Labour in 2015 and is now defending an 11,982 majority.  The Tories have finished runners-up here since 2017, leaving Labour with a mountain to climb to dislodge Cherry.  Cherry will hang on, probably.

BTLP seat prediction: SNP HOLD

Glasgow North East

Glasgow used to be a Labour stronghold, but that all changed in 2015 when the SNP swept the board and won every seat.  Since then, only Glasgow North East has changed hands - Labour regained it in 2017 and then lost it again in 2019.  The SNP will be defending a marginal 2,548 majority this time round and given all their recent woes this has Labour gain written all over it.

BTLP seat prediction: Lab GAIN from SNP

Livingston

This is going to be a tussle between Labour and the incumbent SNP.  Hannah Bardell is defending a 13,435 majority, but the question is how many of her voters will abandon the SNP and revert back to the party that held this seat prior to 2015?  The result is likely to be very tight here.

BTLP seat prediction: SNP HOLD

North East Fife

The Lib Dems have held this seat at every election since 1987, with the exception of 2015 and 2017, the latter of which the SNP held it with a majority of just two votes.  The Lib Dems are defending a majority of 1,316 today, but with the SNP in decline and no other clear challengers - they're clear favourites.

BTLP seat prediction: LDem HOLD

West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine

This is an intriguing contest between two struggling parties.  The SNP gained this seat in 2015 from the Lib Dems, but lost it to the Tories in 2017.  The Tory incumbent defends a tiny majority of just 843 votes going into this election and it's difficult to see the second placed SNP not retaking it.

BTLP seat prediction: SNP GAIN from Con

WALES

Vale of Glamorgan

This seat has repeatedly changed hands over the years between Tories and Labour, albeit the Conservatives have held it longer overall.  Tory incumbent Alun Cairns has held the seat since 2010 and thinks he can win again, despite a relatively small majority of 3,562.  The Reform vote could be decisive here, tipping the balance either way.  Despite discontent with Drakeford and Gething, Labour will just about take this.

BTLP seat prediction: Lab GAIN from Con

Wrexham

This was a surprise gain for the Conservatives in 2019 and they are defending a marginal 2,131 majority.  The incumbent clearly thinks she has a chance this time, but she is almost certainly a goner.  Voter discontent with Labour in Cardiff won't save her.

BTLP seat prediction: Lab GAIN from Con

Ynys Môn

Anglesey (its English name) has gone through cycles over the decades - Labour (1951-79), Conservative (1979-87), Plaid (1987-2001), Labour (2001-2019), Conservative (2019).  It was a tight three-way contest in 2019, with the Tories victorious on a narrow 1,968 majority.  This time around it will be a two-horse race between Labour and Plaid.  Very difficult to call this one, but we feel that Reform are going to take votes from Labour and give Plaid Cymru the win.

BTLP seat prediction: Plaid GAIN from Con

CORNWALL

North Cornwall

Scott Mann has held this seat for the Tories since 2015, winning it from the Lib Dems.  Mann is defending a 14,752 majority over the Lib Dems and this could be a tight contest.  It will be interesting to see what bearing Reform's debut presence has on the outcome, but the result will likely be a Tory defeat.

BTLP seat prediction: LDem GAIN from Con

Truro & Falmouth

This constituency was drawn up in 2010 and has returned a Conservative MP at every subsequent election, peaking with a 14,000 majority in 2015.  The Tory majority being defended this time is 4,561 and second placed Labour will be looking to overturn it.  They will.

BTLP seat prediction: Lab GAIN from Con

TOON TUESDAY #1

With a general election potentially quite near, we have been looking at various ways in which we can boost our output and content without returning to the stresses and financial losses that led to our hiatus of 2023.  Seeing as one of our most popular features was The Month in Cartoons on our YouTube channel, we have decided to dedicate Tuesdays as 'Toon Tuesdays' and will feature one or more cartoons - past or present - in as topical a light as possible.

For our inaugural presentation we have chosen a trio of cartoons from Steve Jones, more commonly known as 'Jonesy'.  Jonesy has taken aim at the recent Hate Crime Act enacted by Scotland's socialist government, which will of course further restrict free speech and potentially lead to problems for comedians, writers and cartoonists...

LABOUR CRUSH SNP

Labour's crushing victory over the SNP in the Rutherglen by-election has implications far beyond the Scottish borders.  The SNP's persistent electoral successes have been a major hindrance to any hopes of a Labour general election victory since 2010.  Gordon Brown left office with 41 of the 59 Scottish seats still in Labour hands, but Ed Miliband lost 40 of those in 2015.  Labour never recovered from that crushing blow and prior to Rutherglen still had just one MP north of the border.

They now have two MPs in Scotland, thanks to a huge 20 per cent swing in Thursday's by-election.  If such a colossal swing were to be repeated in the next general election, Labour would surge back in Scotland and potentially deliver the keys of Number Ten to Keir Starmer.

However, things are not all gloomy for Westminster Conservatives.  While Labour may be on the up as a result of SNP free fall, things are not so rosy for them in Wales.  It is yet to be seen just how fierce the electoral backlash will be in the wake of Mark Drakeford's absurd 20 miles per hour scheme.  If Labour were to haemorrhage seats in the still standing 'red wall' of South Wales that could wipe out a potential advance in Scotland.  The more densely populated Valleys account for more than half of Wales' 20 Westminster seats and all but two are currently red.

Labour's war on the motorist in Wales, London and beyond could yet be Starmer's undoing.

Rutherglen & Hamilton West Parliamentary By-Election

Michael Shanks (Lab) 17,845 (58.6%) +24.1%

Katy Loudon (SNP) 8,399 (27.6%) -16.6%

Thomas Kerr (Con) 1,192 (3.9%) -11.1%

Gloria Adebo (LDem) 895 (2.9%) -2.3%

Cameron Eadie (Grn) 601 (2.0%) New

David Stark (RefUK) 403 (1.3%) New

Niall Fraser (SFP) 319 (1.1%) New

Bill Bonnar (SSP) 271 (0.9%) New

Colette Walker (ISP) 207 (0.7%) New

Christopher Sermanni (TUSC) 178 (0.6%) New

Andrew Daly (Ind) 81 (0.3%) New

Ewan Hoyle (Volt) 46 (0.2%) New

Prince Ankit Love, Emperor of India (Ind) 34 (0.1%) New

Garry Cooke (Ind) 6 (0.1%<) New

Lab GAIN from SNP

This month's Time magazine celebrates Humza Yousaf, in
remarkably poor sense of timing

DRUNK AND DISRESPECTFULLY

Drew Hendry, Charlotte Nichols and David Linden

Three left-wing MPs reportedly got so drunk en route to a military event in Gibraltar that one of them - Labour's Charlotte Nichols - had to be taken to a minibus in a wheelchair.  It is also claimed that the SNP's Drew Hendry and David Linden became 'rude' and 'lairy' when their vaccine passports did not work as they went through airport security.  A military guide is said to have intervened in order to calm the situation.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace is understood to be making a formal complaint to Keir Starmer and Ian Blackford after hearing about the MPs' behaviour from military escorts who were on the flight.  Wallace said on Wednesday:  "This type of behaviour shows a lack of respect for the enduring work of our Armed Forces".  He added that the MPs had put military personnel in a 'difficult position' and risked 'undermining respect for Parliament'.  The trio are believed to have been inebriated prior to boarding at Heathrow and continued drinking onboard.  Nichols was so drunk by the time they landed that she was put in a wheelchair in order to get her from the baggage area to a waiting minibus.

As part of the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme, the trio were due to attend a welcome dinner before meeting with Gibraltar's Chief Minister on Tuesday morning and engaging in various events leading up to Armistice Day.  Nichols was too drunk to attend the dinner and was instead dispatched straight to a hotel in order to sleep it off.  She is later reported to have flown back early and does not appear in any photos from the trip that have been posted online.

MPs line up in combat gear during their trip to Gibraltar.  Hendry and Linden
can be seen second and third from the right

Hendry and Linden have strenuously denied the allegations, calling them a 'Tory smear'.  Nichols admitted that MPs had been drinking, but claimed that her dishevelled state was due to medication she is taking having mixed with the alcohol.  She told The Sun: "Everyone had had a few drinks on the flight.  The issue for me is the medication I am taking.  That affected my tolerance.  I had the same amount to drink as the others.  I do not know how many drinks I had - I wasn’t counting. It was less than five".  She doesn't know how many drinks she had, but it was less than five?  That's a contradictory statement if ever there was one.

There were 15 MPs on the trip in total, but there is no suggestion that anyone else was involved in disorderly behaviour.

Charlotte Nichols is the Labour MP for Warrington North and a member of the hard left Socialist Campaign Group.  Drew Hendry represents the constituency of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.  David Linden is the MP for Glasgow East.

HYPOCRITE COX AND HAPLESS STARMER

It was a moment of total dejection for Keir Starmer as he was forced to listen to sour-faced Hollywood actor Brian Cox on why he abandoned Labour for the SNP.  The painful moment occurred as the pair appeared on The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.  Marr reminded Starmer that Labour can't win power without a resurgence in Scotland, to which the Labour leader replied with his usual abstract waffle of nothingness.  Cox gave an abridged version of why he left Labour in 2015.

From a working class background in Dundee, Cox was a natural Labour supporter back in the day.  He went on to voice adverts for New Labour in the 90s, but became a supporter of Scottish independence in the wake of New Labour's fall from power.  Cox publicly resigned from Labour and announced he had joined the SNP ahead of the 2015 general election in which the SNP won all but three Westminster seats in Scotland.  He has since become a loud voice for IndyRef2 and Scottish independence.

Click below for the Marr clip.

While Cox harps on about Scotland and its politics, it should be duly noted that he has not actually lived in Scotland for decades.  He has three homes - two in the United States and one in the UK, but in England no less.  None of his children were born or raised in Scotland.  Sound familiar?  That famous SNP supporter Sean Connery was no different.

The hypocrisy doesn't end there.  While Cox's repeated assertion that he is a socialist serves as a reminder that the SNP is an inherently left-wing enterprise, it also begs the question: When can we expect the redistribution of his multi-million pound wealth and property portfolio?

CALL FOR AFGHAN 'REPARATIONS'

Labour's Socialist Campaign Group has backed a call from the far left Stop the War Coalition for 'reparations' to Afghanistan.  A statement from the SCG was signed by 19 of the groups 35 members, plus six Labour peers (see below).

The statement mirrors that published by the Stop the War Coalition on its website two days earlier.  The statement includes the following: "The British government should take a lead in offering a refugee programme and reparations to rebuild Afghanistan, an act which would go a great deal further in advancing the rights of the Afghan people, women in particular, than continued military or economic intervention in the fate of the Afghanistan".

Now that the Taliban is back in power, how on earth do these buffons expect reparations to be used to 'advance the rights of Afghan women'?  Furthermore, what reparations did their beloved Soviet Union pay after they left Afghanistan?  How about those communist invaders cough up first, as a gesture to the West?

The Stop the War Coalition was founded ten days after the September 11 attacks by Lindsey German, a far left activist who was at that time a member of the Socialist Workers Party.  Among the early sponsors of the group were Labour MPs Tony Benn, Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway.  Rallies organised by the group have been addressed by many hard left MPs over the years, including Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon, John McDonnell and Caroline Lucas of the Greens.  During its twenty-year existence the group has also been backed by the SNP and Plaid Cymru, as well as the Communist Party of Britain.

On its website the group boasts how it was "one of the main organisers of the massive protests against Donald Trump".  Funny that, considering that during his presidency Trump did not embark on a single foreign conflict.  Further proof that Stop the War is just another front for communist agitators, for whom revolutionary uprisings are much higher on their agenda than 'peace'.

STURGEON ON COURSE

Undoubtedly the most important election taking place on Thursday will be north of the border.  The outcome of the Holyrood elections could potentially shape the future of the entire United Kingdom.  If Sturgeon and her separatist allies win a majority of seats they will push for another independence referendum, despite telling everybody in 2014 that such an event was 'once in a generation'.

According to most recent polling the SNP are projected to win an outright majority, but even if they fall short they can rely on the pro-indy Greens to back them up.  The highly respected pollster Professor John Curtice predicts that the SNP will win 68 seats, a majority of four.  The Greens would more than double their current tally of five and pick up 13 seats.  The other pro-indy party of Alex Salmond would enter Holyrood with one seat, but according to Professor Curtice it is unlikely to be Salmond who picks up that solitary seat (bit awkward).

Nicola Sturgeon has reason to be cheerful

Hapless Salmond, seen here trying to spell the name of his own party, may not be
victorious on Thursday.  The only Alba gain is likely to be Eva Comrie (far right)

Despite the mainstream media talking up Labour's new leader Anas Sarwar, his party looks set to finish third for the second consecutive election.  According to Professor Curtice, the Tories will pick up around 26 seats - down five - but will stay well clear of Labour who will lose seven seats and end up with as little as 17.

Curtice's predictions are based on the following YouGov polling.  Note that like Wales, Scottish voters get two votes - one constituency and one regional.

Holyrood Constituency Poll (YouGov, 2-4 May)

SNP 52% (+3)

Con 20% (-1)

Lab 19% (-2)

LDem 6% (-)

Green 2% (+1)

Other 1% (-1)

Holyrood Regional Poll (YouGov, 2-4 May)

SNP 38% (-1)

Con 22% (-)

Lab 16% (-1)

Green 13% (+3)

LDem 5% (-)

Alba 3% (+1)

Reform 1% (-)

Other 2% (-)

The sample size was 1,000 and changes are against YouGov's poll conducted 16-20 April.

While Sturgeon will be over the moon if these polls are reproduced on Thursday, there is less enthusiasm for her independence dream.  Polling on independence swung away from Yes last month, including a Savanta poll that gave No a seven point lead.  However, in two of the most recent polls the question has returned a dead heat.

Scottish Independence Polls

Yes 45% (-) No 45% (+2) Opinium, 28 April-3 May

Yes 48% (+1) No 45% (-3) Panelbase, 28-30 April

Yes 47% (-2) No 47% (-1) BMG, 27-30 April

Yes 42% (-2) No 49% (+1) Savanta, 23-27 April

Yes 42% (-2) No 47% (+2) Survation, 23-26 April

THE WEEK IN CARTOONS 28 MAR-3 APRIL 2021

28.03.21 - Peter Schrank, Business Post

28.03.21 - Nick Newman, Sunday Times 

28.03.21 - Nick Newman, Sunday Times

28.03.21 - Bob Moran, Sunday Telegraph

29.03.21 - Morten Morland, The Times

29.03.21 - Brian Adcock, Independent

29.03.21 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

30.03.21 - Brian Adcock, Independent

30.03.21 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph

30.03.21 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

30.03.21 - Paul Thomas, Daily Mail

30.03.21 - Morten Morland, The Times

31.03.21 - Christian Adams, Evening Standard

31.03.21 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph

31.03.21 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

01.04.21 - Bob Moran, Daily Telegraph

01.04.21 - Peter Brookes, The Times

01.04.21 - Paul Thomas, Daily Mail

01.04.21 - Bob Moran, Twitter

01.04.21 - AF Branco, Flag and Cross

01.04.21 - Steve Bell, Guardian

02.04.21 - Peter Brookes, The Times

02.04.21 - Steve Bell, Guardian

02.04.21 - Bob Moran, Daily Telegraph

03.04.21 - Paul Thomas, Daily Mail

03.04.21 - Dave Brown, Independent

03.04.21 - Ben Jennings, i

03.04.21 - Guy Venables, Spectator

03.04.21 - Peter Brookes, The Times

LABOUR BACK SNP BILL

All but four Labour MSPs voted in favour of the SNP's disgusting Hate Crime Bill on Thursday.  The bill is the brainchild of Justice Secretary Humza Yousaf and has had a long and troubled passage through Holyrood.  The reason for the controversy is the wide-ranging and subjective scope of the bill, which many say will spell the death of free speech in Scotland.

Yousaf has insisted that even private conversations are not exempt from prosecution, meaning that discussions around the dinner table or in the pub are fair game.

Humza Yousaf

The SNP required some opposition support to pass the bill, but they were obliged by most Labour MSPs, in addition to every Green and so-called 'Liberal Democrat' MSP.  One Conservative (Bill Bowman) inexplicably backed the bill, despite tweeting opposition to it on the day of the vote.  As a result of opposition support, the bill passed easily by 82 votes to 32 (see breakdown below).

FOR - 82 (56 SNP, 15 Lab, 5 Green, 5 Lib Dem, 1 Con)

AGAINST - 32 (28 Con, 3 Lab, 1 Reform)

ABSTENTIONS - 4 (2 SNP, 1 Lab, 1 Ind)

THE WEEK IN CARTOONS 28 FEB-6 MAR 2021

28.02.21 - Andy Davey, Sunday Telegraph

28.02.21 - Morten Morland, Sunday Times

28.02.21 - Nick Newman, Sunday Times

28.02.21 - Nick Newman, Sunday Times

01.03.21 - Steven Camley, The Herald

01.03.21 - Ben Jennings, Guardian

01.03.21 - Brian Adcock, Independent

02.03.21 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

02.03.21 - Martin Rowson, Guardian

02.03.21 - Brian Adcock, Independent

02.03.21 - Paul Thomas, Daily Mail

03.03.21 - Wilbur Dawbarn, Private Eye

03.03.21 - Christian Adams, Evening Standard

04.03.21 - Andy Davey, Daily Telegraph

04.03.21 - Dave Brown, Independent

04.03.21 - Patrick Blower, Daily Telegraph

04.03.21 - Matt Pritchett, Daily Telegraph

05.03.21 - AF Branco, Daily Torch

05.03.21 - Ben Garrison, Grrr Graphics

06.03.21 - Andy Davey, Daily Telegraph

06.03.21 - Grizelda, Spectator

06.03.21 - Grizelda, Spectator

06.03.21 - Robert Thompson, Spectator