Readers' Letters: SNP should see value of UK Supreme Court

Mhairi Black MP seems to be signalling that 2023 will see just the same kind of empty soundbites from her party as 2022, in saying that any Westminster attempt to block the Gender Recognition Act is blocking Scottish democracy.

Whatever you think about the issue at hand, the UK Supreme Court is there for a good reason, to make sure that any new legislation coming forwards is fully compliant with existing law, and that it properly takes account of the interests of others. Anyone in Scotland is fully entitled to appeal to it, and the UK Government is fully entitled to ask for clarification if they think there might be an issue which either affects others in the UK, or indeed others, notably women, in Scotland.

Ms Black and her colleagues need to be able to entertain the thought that they can get things wrong. This is particularly relevant as she and her fellow MPs and MSPs must sign a declaration never to criticise their party leadership, so normal democratic checks and balances within her own party are undermined and compromised, and this significantly increases the chances of flawed legislation being drafted.

The UK Supreme Court acts as a check and balance on politicians like Ms Black making mistakes. Scottish democracy is just as likely to get things wrong as any other kind. A little bit of self awareness and humility would not go amiss at such times. Ms Black obviously wants to tie this issue to something else, but we all know that is not going anywhere at the moment, so let’s just deal with the issue at hand.

SNP MP Mhairi Black needs to realise her party can get things wrong, reckons reader (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty)

Victor Clements, Aberfeldy, Perthshire

True democracy

In the proceedings leading to passage of the Gender Act, the Holyrood Parliament has functioned as its founders intended but which has rarely been put into practice. A contentious proposal was advanced by the parties forming the government, it received support from one of the major opposition parties, it was debated at length and it passed with support from MSPs from every party, including the Conservatives.

For once, the argument was about the merits of the Bill, not a mindless re-run of the habits of Westminster, despite the best efforts of Douglas Ross to frustrate the majority view. For once, we had MSPs speaking for themselves, not just acting as party cannon-fodder.

Those who opposed it continue to speak out, but they should accept that in a democracy not everyone gets his or her own way.

James Scott, Edinburgh

Real compassion

Reading the Letters pages of The Scotsman recently one would be forgiven for thinking that the GRA Reform Bill and its democratic passage through Holyrood was solely the work of the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon. It is misleading, if not disingenuous, to claim that a long-avowed feminist does not care about women’s rights.

With the overwhelming support of the Labour Party, the Greens and the Liberal Democrats, as well as the SNP, the main opposition to this bill has come from the same party that persistently opposed enfranchising women and gay rights, the Conservative and Unionist Party. More than 30 countries have already adopted self-declaration laws, and other countries, such as Spain, are also in the process of introducing them.

Of course we should all do our utmost to prevent malicious exploitation of any laws but given it has already taken six years to deliver this Bill it seems the claim that it has been “rushed through” is simply another deliberate attempt to divisively add politically motivated misinformation into important debate around the rights of “minorities” in a truly compassionate society.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Self-harm?

Holyrood passes a very contentious Act and then many of those MSPs who passed this take umbrage that Westminster might not be happy. The message is pretty clear, that the people of Scotland are not very happy either, but it is not Westminster but Holyrood that is the target of their ire.

It is bad enough that Holyrood have passed what is arguably the worst piece of legislation in its history, This is simply compounded by many MSPs being totally unware of the public’s disquiet at the potential serious loopholes contained in this rushed legislation. This disconnect is palpable. Has Holyrood mortally wounded itself?

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Disappointment

What a disappointment in the Watchnight Service from St Mary’s, Edinburgh this year on BBC1. No clear Christmas message, very few known carols and no Christmas Blessing. If anything was designed to chase away the sincere “Christmas” congregation – this was it. The music, repeated on Christmas Day from The Quay, may have been appropriate in that setting but was a complete turn-off on Christmas Eve.

No wonder church attendance is tumbling, if musical elitism is put above the Christmas Eve of the masses. The “secular” programmes of Christmas Day had more participation for the ordinary mortal than this self-promoting contribution from St Mary’s.

James Watson, Dunbar, East Lothian

True enough

Further to my letter on belief v facts (24 December), philosophically there are no facts, particularly in science, where there are only beliefs, most of them well-founded on evidence and therefore taken to be “fact”, all the time subject to correction when new evidence emerges.Absolute truth or certainty is unattainable. All we have is probability, eg. in history, where we have to make the best guess as to what happened. Even the human brain has to make a guess as to what we experience and can make mistakes in the process. The sensory input is so overwhelming that the brain has to select what seems important and present that as “reality”. It is easy to forget this is happening, leading many to make unwarranted assumptions.

Steuart Campbell, Edinburgh

Blowing in

One of the main news stories at the moment is the freezing, snowy weather in the US and Canada. Conspicuous by its absence is the phrase “climate change”. Instead we have “once in a generation”. Is that a bit like Scottish independence referendums?

Geoff Moore, Alness, Highland

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