Nicola Sturgeon - Radio 5 Live - this morning

Tbf, at least Nicola answers the questions directly. Most politicians just dance around the issue cowardly.

Changing the Gender Recognition Act will change nothing beyond simply enabling trans people to get their GRC.

What is the benefit for trans people in getting a GRC? If it confers no benefits why are they so keen for it to be easier?

I'm not an SNP member or supporter, but I am a huge admirer of Nicola Sturgeon. She has principles, she articulates them well, she seems to genuinely care about people, she understands what needs done. And then you hear her views on this. I don't understand.

I do hate the "I've been a feminist all my life " she prefaces every second sentence with when she's on this topic, as if that makes her words more valid.

I do hope there is a giant apology coming once she wakes up.

and said that the Equalities Act allowed transwomen into women's refuges already

She either hasn't got a clue, or she's being deeply disingenuous.

we are committed to helping women understand why being thrown under the bus is fine.

That about nails it.

However I'm with the increasingly large group of people committed to helping people understand Nicola and others pushing this view are out of their tiny minds.

I heard this on the way to do the grocery shop. Non-binary Ben asked her what she was going to do about transphobia in the SNP, didn't name any names and when asked to give examples, pointed to the Women's Declaration, which they declared to be transphobic.

Nicola repeated that she was a feminist a few times, and said that the Equalities Act allowed transwomen into women's refuges already and she was not here to change that.

No mention of girls or women transitioning.

we are committed to helping women understand why being thrown under the bus is fine.

Great paraphrasing. I'll keep this in mind, it's sure to come in handy!

My feeling is, if she was so close to Salmond all those years she must have known what kind of man he was, but chose to turn a blind eye..... I know it isn’t down to her to sort out his issues, but perhaps it shows that she was brought up with and has internalised the idea that sexual harassment isn’t that big a deal.

Well, that's a typical politician bullshit answer.

I was very impressed with the interviewer pushing for precise answers to relevant questions.

I thought her answers amounted to: we are committed to helping women understand why being thrown under the bus is fine.

A quick summary:

She's a big fan of "trans rights", there's lots of transphobia in society, there's no tension between "trans rights" and feminism, women's refuges are currently accessible to transwomen so enabling that further won't cause problems, she's not proposing to amend the Equality Act, it's the Gender Recognition Act that she wants to change and since you don't need a GRC to access single sex spaces as things current stand, effectively nothing changes.

Changing the Gender Recognition Act will change nothing beyond simply enabling trans people to get their GRC.

Because she's a long-term campaigner for feminism, anything she's proposing by definition cannot go against women's rights.

Go to 43.14.