It seems strange talking about anger at Christmas.

Christmas is a time for celebration for feeling happy but we have been robbed of all that this year. Instead, we feel deflated and angry.

What has happened has happened, our hopes now rest with those in Westminster. Who would have thought that we would be depending on Alistair Jack to earn his crust?

This affords us an opportunity for action. We now know all of the Politicians in Scotland who care little about how women feel. This flawed piece of Legislation, which I am sure will be shot down further South shows us the character of those across all Parties Holyrood who need to be removed at the earliest possible moment.

Our anger as women can be a channel for change and change there needs to be because the Greens have already signalled they ain’t finished yet!

Not only have they shown their true colours they have also shown their incompetence in passing a flawed piece of Legislation, and what makes it worse is they knew it!

So rather that sit around letting your anger ruin your Christmas, use it as a power and think about how we can change things.

This goes away beyond Party Politics, women together would make a formidable force, let’s link up and do this for every grandmother, mother and daughter in Scotland.

Let’s show these Politicians who have ignored our every plea and fear, we will meet again at the Ballot Box!

Don’t let them spoil your Christmas, but make 2023 a very significant year for Lift Off!

Interesting quote from Shona Robison.

Just what kind of Minister would vote for a Bill they know to be flawed?

What kind of a Minister would so flagrantly show how incompetent they are as a Government ?

There just as to be another agenda here.

Does that agenda simply come down to retaining Power? After all they will have kept their promise to the Greens, to get this Bill through Holyrood, then they can hold their hands up and say ,’we did it what happens beyond here is not in our responsibility ‘

Sadly the spin off from this could play into Unionist hands proving to them that Holyrood is not competent to run it’s own affairs.

This statement has just been released from the ISP, I hope other Parties will endorse it.

https://twitter.com/indyscotparty/status/1605561944936796161?s=61&t=-J0ty90eRMuRnmFBUnKFqg

Some things are just too big for Party Politics.

This is not the end, it is just the beginning!

In May 2010 the Lib Dems joined the Tories in a Coalition, not perhaps the happiest of Political marriages. Nearly 13yrs on and the Lib Dems are just beginning to recover, it seems people have long memories!

In Scotland we have our own Political marriage between the SNP and the Greens. As with all Political marriages, there will have been a period of wheeling and dealing before the formal agreement. Normally the general public indeed even many members of the said Parties will not have been privy to these negotiations. Only much later will the penny drop. The cost for this deal will become apparent and many will not be happy.

At the formal agreement both Parties will focus only on the benefits, with everything else hidden in the small print! When 1000s of voters voted for the Green Party, being Green they would naturally think they were voting on Green matters but that’s not what they got. Similarly, when people voted for the SNP they thought they were voting for Independence or at the very least a Referendum within 2yrs. Again that’s not what they got!

So, what did they get? What has this marriage in heaven given us?

The GRA Bill.

Something that was never discussed in either Manifesto, although some would say it was sublimely referred to.

No wonder both of these Parties are haemorrhaging female members by the thousands.

Both have gambled with the Independence vote and both will lose because the issue of Self-Id and also that of women’s Safe Spaces are trumping that of Independence being delivered by either of these two Parties.

The Penny has dropped for many women, there are other routes to Independence, other Indy Parties, and other movements [eg, SALVO] with Legal Constitutional arguments that can grasp the prize. They may take longer to achieve but for thousands of women in Scotland time is on their side so they can get their priorities right, Women First!

Tomorrow they vote, yes they have the numbers but that does not mean they have won the argument. Neither does it mean it won’t be challenged in other quarters.

Nicola may have won the vote but the cost will eventually bring her down. Because WE will never forget and neither will WE forgive.

Our answer will be recorded in the next Ballot Box!

We all have the need to trust someone, but trust is built on blocks. Trust can take years to build but seconds to break.

In relationships we don’t trust someone we have just met. We get to know them, and spend time with them and even then most of us sometimes get it wrong! This can happen when the need to trust is greater than the need for caution.

As someone once said to me, ‘not everyone who comes to your door is a friend’.

So why do so many repeatedly put their trust in Politicians?

Politicians who have repeatedly let us down.

Do we, like so many abused women just hope things will change or is the fear of the unknown greater than the fear we live with?

In Scotland at the moment many feel their Government is letting them down, they feel they have been lied to by the very women who promised to take care of them. A piece of Legislation that was promoted as just an administrative change has suddenly redefined their sex.

Even the First Minister has had to concede that this could make safe spaces less safe!

The irony is that here in Scotland the loudest voices are not just women who have been abused but also women from all walks of life. A movement has started backed up by so many men who rightly fear for their wives and daughters.

Safeguards have not been put in place in their haste to pass a very poor piece of Legislation, one that crosses over other Laws. Thousands of hours and pounds are being spent on something Westminster will throw out.

Women in Scotland have lost trust in Politicians and that trust will never be restored.

This one piece of Legislation has the ability to destroy the road to Independence because so many women are turning their backs on the SNP. They would rather delay Independence than live in a country run by a Party that refuses to listen to their fears.

Sound bites mean nothing, just like Headlines!

They are used to draw you in.

Here are some examples:

“ In Brexit, we hold all the cards.”

“ Brexit will be good for the UK”

“ Brexit has energised millions of people”

And in Scotland.

“ We will not be taken out of the EU against our will”

“ We will have a Referendum in 2023”

“I am a Femenist”

90% of the time Sound Bites are just that, Sound Bites, empty words in their make-believe world.

Words can be used in many ways, even in powerful ways but in today’s world of Politics, they are empty and meaningless.

Why, because we have seen so many words turned into lies and empty promises. Most no longer believe in any Political Leader, they have given up on Politics and have almost given up on Democracy.

But some of us haven’t, although tempted, still believe in the Ballot Box and within that number, there is even a smaller number who believe in honest Politics.

They have the temerity to believe quality is more important than quantity and I am so proud to believe in that group.

It’s a hard slog and a slow one but to know you are on the right side of history is a great honour in today’s society. *

Righteousness is normally used in a Religious setting, but it is also used in a Moral setting and there is none so righteous as those that stand up for the protection of women and children.

Having experienced male violence myself I do not just stand on the sidelines and shout about a theory, I know how broken ribs feel, I know how a pregnant woman feels after being thrown down a stairs.

It is because of those memories I demand our Politicians be Righteous and moral people, man or woman!

Until they can prove they are, their Sound Bites on any subject will just remain empty words.

Journalism sure ain’t what it used to be, and the BBC isn’t either. Once proud professionals who reported stories as they found them now beaten down to follow someone else’s agenda tell only half-truths.

Take the media reports about the Rail strikes for example. ‘RMT turn down 8% wage rise offer’

Only it’s not 8%, it is 8% over two years, so that is a rise of 4% when inflation is 11%.

I am waiting to hear what MPs are going to give themselves! Do not believe the Independent Review story because those on that review board have been well placed by the MPs.

And as I am talking about money matters, do not believe for one moment that Sunak did not know where the money was going during COVID. He was Chancellor of the Exchequer, so if he wasn’t asking questions about the billions being poured into rogue companies through the VIP route then he has failed in his duty along with Gove and the rest.

Yes but……if you are still saying those two words, after all, that has been revealed then shame on you!

The one thing I ask of everyone it is this.

Do not forget!

Do not forget the vast amounts of money that found its way into the Bank Accounts of the rich……..your money!

Do not forget the number of people who died needlessly at the hands of this Tory government.

Do not forget that French Electric bills have risen by only 4% whilst yours has risen by nearly 200% because of the choices this Tory Government has made.

Do not forget how many people are dying right now because they are cold and have little food. Numbers we will never know because they won’t be recorded as such.

Do not forget the lies, the half-truths.

Remember all this and much more when next you go to the Ballot Box. Then it will be your turn to have your say!

But in the meantime here is something else you can do, support those on the picket lines!

This photo will probably bring back memories to people of my generation, but the well-known abbreviation HMV is known throughout the entertainment industry.

The original company fell into administration in 2013.

I am going to use a bit of artistic licence here because when I hear the words ‘His Masters Voice’ my mind automatically turns to either Religion or Politics!

Leaders and Followers!

Throughout my life, I have been taught how to recognise false cults, usually connected to religions. But these days I often see the word ‘cult’ referenced politically.

No more so than in Scotland where Politics seem to revolve around the person who leads a Party rather than the Party itself. The Leader can neither do no wrong nor say no wrong.

Personally, I find this kind of blind faith quite scary, because it removes the need for critical thinking by others. In fact, I would go further and say critical thinking by others is not welcome and to voice that thinking would be deemed as a betrayal of loyalty.

This evening in Westminster the SNP chose a new Leader and Deputy Leader, the Flynn and Black duo! This will be interesting because it is well-known that Stephen Flynn opposes some of his Party Leaders’ Policies. In this case it’s not His Masters Voice but His Misstresses Voice which might or might not be heeded! Can you have an SNP Leader in Holyrood saying one thing and the other in Westminster saying another?

Tonight’s voting in London could cause problems for Nicola, especially around the subject of Oil. But on other matters, she will be pleased with Mhairi Black!

Blind faith in Religious Leaders or Political Leaders is dangerous, especially when that Leader falls from grace or changes direction. Their followers are left flapping around in mid-air not quite sure what to do or say. Especially on Social Media.

Panic jumps from every word, words that only a few weeks would never have been written let alone thought of. But hey, His Masters Voice has spoken and those words must be justified even if you are out of your depth on the relevant topic.

It is ones blind faith that leaves egg on faces not our limited knowledge of the topic!

Leaders are not gods and therefore should not be worshipped as such. They are humans and humans are flawed. They can be flawed in knowledge and character.

It is for followers to discern the words they speak and the deeds they do.

Dare to be a critic!

Mention the word ‘Politics’ to most people and the reply you will get is, ‘I’m not interested’ and who can blame them?

Yet, politics run every part of our lives every day from our jobs to our households.

Because the definition of Politics is;

Politics is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals,

There is a form of hierarchy in every business and in every home! We just don’t call it politics.

Every day we make decisions that affect others either directly or indirectly and every day we usually take directions from others one way or another.

Our lives ebb and flow from being Leaders to followers.

So, it is not Politics that is the problem, it is the Politicians! The ones we choose to represent us in the important decision-making in the governance of our Country, our home.

We hope they have good Leadership skills but more often we find they just become followers with little or no voice following another Leader, the Top Dog, or the Leader of the Pack!

To be a Leader requires great skills.

Leadership should never be about Power and Power alone, it should never be about making bullets for others to fire.

Great Leadership also involves humility, acknowledging the work of others not trying to throw a spanner in the works to reflect the glory to you!

Great Leaders do not steal the ideas of others, they dare to follow their own vision and in some circumstances acknowledge that others may even be greater than them.

A great Leader will lift others up not stamp on them using others to fire the bullets, particularly on Social Media for all to see.

But sadly we see few Great Leaders these days, the ones who remain tight-lipped, who quietly plod on doing the hard work behind the scenes. Their day will come, it may not come with great glory but it will be recognised by those that matter, The People!

We live in a strange world, take Westminster for instance. You can lie in Parliament but you cannot call someone out for lying! But that’s not the only peculiar thing within Politics, there are many many more.

One being Plagiarism, the art of Copy & Paste.

In the normal world, particularly in the writer’s world if you copy another persons work or even part of it and claim it to be your own you can be sued. But not in Politics.

Down through the years, it has been common practice for a Leader to use a basic policy from another Party, embellish it a little, and expand and publish it as their own.

Yes, it’s dishonest, but hey who cares it’s just Politics!

For the more discerning, however, it does matter. For those who still care, and there are some, it matters. Why because Integrity matters.

Integrity has become a forgotten word in Politics that is why we are in the mess we are in. If a Leader of any Party can not meet that test early on in their Policymaking, it can only go downhill.

Gaining Power is usually the 🥕 that proves to be a Leaders downfall when it comes to Integrity.

The focus shifts from what is best for the Country to what is best for me!

Many a good man/woman has fallen at this hurdle.

Then down the line, if they succeed and gain the Power they crave they surround themselves with 🐏. Like-minded individuals who either worship them or come along with another agenda. A Minister with Portfolio is quite a 🥕

And don’t think this only happens South of the Border, the same game is played in Scotland.

Some Politicians both past and present who once had integrity are showing signs of personal Power being more important than the people they serve.

Political power only works for the people when it goes hand in hand with integrity.

Politics should never be about Power it should be about people.