Critical Incidents declared at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary and Dr Gray’s in Elgin. How much more of this chaotic nonsense must we endure here in the NE? 🤬 NHS Grampian at 'breaking point' as two hospitals declare 'critical incident' scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/n…

Swinney prizes the ability to exude determined, unblinking vagueness in his ministerial choices above pretty much everything.

Solidarity not separation. Exactly. I want Mr Swinney to explain in his next sit-down interview why he rejects solidarity across the UK, especially in the geopolitically tense times we are living in.

As someone who works for the BBC and knows how absurdly difficult it can be to get pieces commissioned for the website - the hoops, the meetings, the endless process - it’s genuinely staggering that something like this sails through. For starters, it isn’t news. Yet there it is on the BBC News website, complete with twaddle about how the way a woman does - or doesn’t do - her nails can apparently be linked to white supremacy. I was blissfully unaware of the supposed politicisation of nail polish, and I’m sure most people were. But by reporting claims like this, the BBC doesn’t simply observe a debate - it helps create one. It amplifies a narrative and gives prominence to voices that seem determined to detect white supremacy in the most mundane aspects of everyday life. There’s something deeply unhealthy about that. Imagine the BBC publishing an article suggesting some equally trivial cultural habit was evidence of a “black supremacist mindset”. You can’t really imagine it, because it would never happen. Yet the nation’s broadcaster apparently has no difficulty amplifying extraordinary claims about white supremacy. This is the sort of thing that makes me despair about the BBC. I’ve criticised it for years for being captured by progressive ideology, identity politics and gender woo-woo. Every so often I start to wonder whether things might finally be improving. Then an article like this appears and disabuses me of that notion pretty quickly. If anything, the problem seems to be getting worse. “How the bare nails trend became a class issue” bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpd7…

Swinney's high-handedness surpasses 'extraordinary'. It's downright weird.

To turn hopes into reality they need *education*.

Quite shocked at the flippancy.

Amused by comments re uninspiring backdrop for 'Cardiff Agreement' signing photo. 'Edinburgh Agreement' signed in scruffy SG room specially chosen as snub to Cameron, I reckon. thetimes.com/article/87eda4b…

Waverley captured sounding her whistle today (Saturday 26th Sept) as she passed under Tower Bridge on the start of her cruise down the Thames to Tilbury, Southend and the River Medway. Waverley sails on the Thames until Sunday 11th October - book your tickets online at waverleyexcursions.co.uk/boo…

"Compassion is a key part of the SNP's schtick. Their brand of Scottish exceptionalism bears heavily on the emotional. But the nationalists' is a performative and cynical compassion."

Women make up the majority of union members. If you stop en masse giving union bosses the political levy to play with, I think they might suddenly notice you.

NHS Grampian has confirmed it has declared a critical incident due to “extreme pressure” on its emergency departments at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary & Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin. It says it’s taking “all necessary steps”, including diverting ambulances, to ensure patient safety.

She didn't actually think through the stance she decided on as a 16 year old? You don't say.

Woman = adult human female

There are several men in these pics who looked very pleased of picketing a women’s conference because it won’t let in anyone male. Most of them look middle-aged. Have they been waiting a long time to have this excuse to object to women-only meetings in the party?

🚨 BELONG TO ONE OF THESE 11 TRADE UNIONS? YOU MAY WANT TO LOOK FOR AN ALTERNATIVE All 11 Labour-affiliated trade unions have issued a joint statement pledging “total solidarity” with the trans and non-binary community. They are: ASLEF Community CWU FBU GMB Musicians’ Union NUM TSSA UNISON Unite USDAW The @labourunionsuk statement calls for expanded trans rights but makes no mention of women's sex-based rights, including access to single-sex changing rooms and toilets at work. Were female members consulted before this statement was issued? And what are these unions doing to protect the rights of the women they represent?

Getting madder and madder at Labour-affiliated unions arguing to dismantle women’s Equality Act protections for single-sex services on the train up to Liverpool. 🤬

Suited her not to think about it. Swinney likewise.

Trade unions making clear where their priorities lie, and it isn’t with female members women making up the majority of TU members in the UK, 55% to 56% of total membership. This statement was issued only this morning 👇🏼

And in what can only be described as a provocative move this morning, the organisation made up of the 11 trade unions affiliated to Labour, released this statement 👇🏼