alexstaniforth.bsky.social
Scottish Green Councillor for Craigentinny & Duddingston, Edinburgh
Non-binary
They/them
1,592 posts
1,169 followers
789 following
Regular Contributor
Active Commenter
comment in response to
post
Nor do I. Best hope there, imo, is that they have legal advice that jumping the gun is a bigger risk.
comment in response to
post
Well, it’s that or they think they can browbeat the Scottish Gov into making a bad decision because it’s current leadership hate the idea of going to court to defend trans rights.
comment in response to
post
They’re high on the fact they won a big judgement and think they can win anything no matter how unreasonable.
Even if they were 100% right it is totally reasonable for Scot Gov to wait on the EHRC guidance given its position has already changed since the ‘update’ it issued.
comment in response to
post
For the money and the fame, obviously.
comment in response to
post
Surely that depends what side you’re on?
comment in response to
post
In the second one he does announce his unconditional surrender, to be fair.
comment in response to
post
A clear majority for independence among the populace but not in parliament for some reason.
For that reason I prefer a simple parliamentary majority with frequency limited to once every 10 years.
Unless you were suggesting a qualified majority would not also need a referendum?
comment in response to
post
I could be persuaded. Arguably if there is that clear a majority of independence parties then it is a definite majority for independence and a referendum becomes almost a formality.
My only issue with it is that people vote for a platform, and you could easily end up with…
comment in response to
post
Unlike some, I’d quite happily settle for a rule that said it could only happen once every X number of years.
I’d lean towards 10, though, so we’re past that.
comment in response to
post
Votes should only happen once. That’s why Robert Walpole is still prime minister.
comment in response to
post
Not according to wiki. Mandela effect?
comment in response to
post
Omens and portents, everywhere.
comment in response to
post
Shows all the signs of believing there are only 2 political parties.
comment in response to
post
Yeah I’m not sure how necessary it is. It’s something of a fig leaf since obviously people have the same ethos and sympathies they had before (though I suppose John Bercow flipped) and we don’t do it in council - the current Lord Provost remains a Lib Dem.
comment in response to
post
Thing is, with a list MSP, how would that even work? If that was the system it would mean only constituency MSPs could be PO.
comment in response to
post
Reading what she said I think the headline is wrong. She’s saying some have had their offence downgraded from rape owing to consent, which I believe is a decision of the prosecution rather than a legal defence in court.
However I am not a lawyer.
comment in response to
post
When you become PO you have to give up your party affiliation so you can’t stand for the internal selection process - making it basically impossible to stand again. PO tends to be a final post.
(Unlike Speaker in the Commons where parties traditionally stand aside to let you win.)
comment in response to
post
I think it goes deeper than that, I don’t think she’s heard of Othello. If she has she thinks it’s a board game.
comment in response to
post
I was saying to a friend the other day - it looks like classic Naked Gun to me. I don’t get the haters.
comment in response to
post
I actually did get a couple of Nazis thrown out of my favourite pub. Nowadays they keep them away with Progress flags - like hanging garlic and crosses to ward against vampires.
comment in response to
post
In a way it’s been interesting to watch Gavin Newsom suddenly realise exactly what this is and that you can’t compromise with fascism.
comment in response to
post
I think that’s an unfair characterisation since by that reckoning MSPs are unaccountable to most, it’s just the limits are geographical location.
comment in response to
post
I think it would need a process for keeping it updated baked in, I’d also probably reduce the inordinate amount of time things spend in committee since, as I’ve said, I don’t think they’re necessarily a robust system of review.
comment in response to
post
Personally I’d give it powers akin to the Lords (so not able to block parliament forever) and make it elected from certain professions and representative groups rather than regions.
So health professionals, education professionals, disabled reps, union reps etc etc.
comment in response to
post
Though for clarity I do entirely agree with giving councils more power. The fact they have less power than the smaller councils of England is ridiculous.
comment in response to
post
I disagree, though I think it should be elected in some way I’d like to see a second chamber.
When we had a majority SNP govt the committee system was not robust enough and let through mince like the Offensive Behaviour at Football act.
comment in response to
post
The squeaking tanks had a particularly Simpsons vibe.
comment in response to
post
That’s brilliant!
comment in response to
post
I see what you did there.
comment in response to
post
Depends on your politics 😉
comment in response to
post
For about a year now I’ve been worried about two things:
1. That we may end up going to war.
2. That we will be on the wrong side.
comment in response to
post
Oh the anarchists are out there.
comment in response to
post
The idea that decriminalisation is likely to lead to more, rather than fewer, unsafe abortions is so completely backwards it’s difficult to parse that a professional politician even made that argument.
comment in response to
post
That’s the problem with comedians these days - too woke to want to be annihilated by nuclear explosions.
comment in response to
post
Got to love the line:
‘Why does this keep happening? “Crows are seen as harbingers of doom…”’
BBC hitting the nail on the head, there.
comment in response to
post
As someone with a degree in archaeology - can confirm.
comment in response to
post
Have you been hacked or something?
comment in response to
post
It also lets you do two things (or more) at once which is… attractive to a certain kind of mind.