Scotland hate crime bill

Holyrood’s Justice Committee sets out timetable for Hate Crime Bill scrutiny

www.parliament.scot/115964.aspx

Timetable

The Committee has agreed it will handle the high volume of submissions it has received as follows. All submissions will be available on this webpage.

Written submissions from organisations will be published first on 4 September.

Thereafter, written submissions from individuals will be published in batches once processed by the clerks in accordance with the Parliament’s policy on the treatment of written evidence – the policy includes the treatment of requests for anonymity and submissions containing potentially abusive or defamatory content.

The Committee will then consider who will be invited to give oral evidence. Oral evidence sessions will begin in late October, following the Committee’s completion of the Defamation and Malicious Publications (Scotland) Bill.

The Hate Crime and Public Order Bill follows a review of hate crime legislation by Lord Bracadale. It is expected that Lord Bracadale will be invited to give oral evidence as one of the initial witnesses.

Research Briefings - HATE CRIME AND PUBLIC ORDER (SCOTLAND) BILL
Author: Frazer McCallum

digitalpublications.parliament.scot/ResearchBriefings/Report/2020/9/3/Hate-Crime-and-Public-Order--Scotland--Bill

www.heraldscotland.com/news/18696402.snp-hate-crime-bill-deluged-almost-2-000-responses/

MSPs have received almost 2,000 submissions on the SNP Government’s Hate Crime Bill in an ”unprecedented” response to a piece of legislation.

Holyrood’s Justice Committee said it would start considering the controversial Bill next month after its 12-week consultation was deluged with evidence from organisations and the public.

The MSPs hope to report on the Bill’s general principles by Christmas, although the work could go into the New Year because of the volume of material to consider.

The Government wants to complete the remaining stages and pass the Bill into law before the 2021 election.

Glasgow Tory MSP Adam Tomkins, the convener of the Justice Committee, said: “The number of submissions we have received is unprecedented and reflects that this Bill is contentious. Hundreds of individuals and organisations have written to us setting out their views on the offences that this Bill would both create and abolish.

“Given the importance of this legislation – and the strength of feeling it is generating – it is vital that sufficient time is allowed for scrutiny. Our Committee has already agreed that it will revisit the deadline of 18 December should it become necessary.”

MurrayBlackburnMackenzie have put up a post that explains the entire parliamentary process and the potential timeline of the Hate Crime Bill as it moves through the different stages.
Very useful if, like me, you aren't familiar with all the inner workings of how legislation is generally brought forward, and how various amendments and rejections can take place.

murrayblackburnmackenzie.org/2020/08/30/the-scottish-parliaments-bill-process-and-the-hate-crime-and-public-order-scotland-bill/

The bloody brass neck of this man!!!

twitter.com/HumzaYousaf/status/1299691570011217921?s=20

Given the state of this govts 'consultations' and their approach to parliament, will it make any difference? It's becoming clearer to me that this party governs by just blustering through and ignoring any voices that don't chime with their own. Bullying, arrogance and manipulation dressed up as progressiveness.

Meanwhile, a mere 3 Committee members have ensured that if sex ever gets listed, the gov will be able to redefine it without consultation or parliamentary approval.
twitter.com/ForwomenScot/status/1299052065667383297?s=20

The FM is paying lip service to being horrified by nasty misogyny. Not enough, however, to censure those in her party who have attacked women, including her own MPs and MSPs.

'Patrick, would your feelings about the Bill change if misogyny was also protected? You’d have to be much more careful about how you express yourself to, and about, women campaigning for their rights. Would the prospect to criminal conviction have a chilling effect on your speech?'

Good comment.

So far, though, really not encouraged by the FM response today - in the face of robust criticism from a long list of stakeholders, they're just going to ignore and continue as planned?

Scottish Green Party leader and arch misogynist Patrick Harvie has popped up to defend the bill. Funnily, he's obfuscating on the (non) inclusion of hate crime against women. Many think that if "stirring up hate" against women were a crime, he'd be one of first to get a tap on the shoulder!
twitter.com/patrickharvie/status/1298604634223902724?s=20

I think this is terrifying and also utterly insane.

If they are mad enough to vote it through our best hope is that the electorate gets so pissed off that it will vote the SNP out.

People have already said what I want to say, but one more thing: seven years for breaking this law? Seven years? Bearing in mind that Eric Joyce got a suspended sentence for downloading videos of babies being raped?

That all sounds rotten, Babdoc, I'm sorry to hear about it. Of course there will always be arseholes and jingoism (on both sides, too - I hear probably as much anti-Scots rhetoric from English people living here as I do the converse) - but my experience is that there is much, much less anti-English sentiment about than I remember from my childhood.

I don't agree that 'westminster' is a euphemism for the English - I think things are more getting divided along this new woke-progressive line versus - I suppose - Tory/midleft/establishment lines.

ArabellaScot, I don’t know which part of Scotland you live in, but there is very definitely anti English sentiment in my part.
My surgical colleague had an SNP supporter spit in his face and swear at him for speaking in an English accent. Ive been told to go back to England - by a retired church minister, of all things. There are racist thugs waving anti English banners at Edinburgh airport. I’ve been intimidated by white van men while campaigning for the Union. Neighbours were warned to take down their union jack flag or risk a brick through their window.
I think you are being very naive or are in denial about the poisonous atmosphere brewing here. All nationalism is predicated on hatred of others - it divides communities very clearly on racial lines into “us” and “them”. The SNP stir hatred of “Westminster” as a euphemism for “the English”. They are tapping into a dark and nasty thread in the Scottish psyche for political gain.
I foresee Scotland ending up like Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles. The SNP are natural bedfellows of Sinn Fein and the IRA.

Scotland on Sunday's editorial leader on the Hate CRime bill:

'not just a bad law but effectively unenforceable.'

twitter.com/_freetodisagree/status/1297491982198210560/photo/1

'Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities' . (Voltaire).

*it should be a criminal offence to say that someone born biologically male cannot become a woman

40% of adults under 25!*

Unbelievable.

It's amazing that the SNP are utterly obsessed with 'freedom'...for a new nation state...from Westminster so so utterly cavalier with freedoms for individual citizens.

See also: Offensive Behaviour at Football Act, Named Person.

That other Daisley piece (on the opinion poll) makes the point that they are obsessed with painting Scotland and Scots are more progressive than the rest of the UK (not borne out by the evidence when you look at attitudes to immigration, welfare state etc.) but at the same time they are desperate to police the behaviour of Scots.

Thank you, Aesopfable, that could prove to be a revealing decision.

Those poll results show that this legislation has limited public support. 87 percent think that freedom of speech is an important right and 73 percent think disagreement does not equal 'hate.'

Comres poll link:

t.co/VpdOdYQ8tp

From this tweet.

On phone so can't go through it, but according to Maya Forstater

Progressive authoritarianism on the rise

21% in Scotland say it should be a criminal offence to say that someone born biologically male cannot become a woman

40% of adults under 25! / 1 in 4 women
t.co/gBFkCckANo

I think that's an interesting, pertinent question, does this constitute a redefinition? I don't believe it's a sensibly written bill but does it run afoul of reserved powers?

Forewomenscotland have taken legal advice - not about the hate crimes bill but the gender representation on public boards (Scotland) act which redefines ‘women’ as anyone who wants to be called a woman. They are about to put in a request for a judicial review.

When is the bill meant to come in? Will it be in place before the canvassing starts for the election in 2021?

Liked that broadcast nauticant thanks

Where a power is retain by the UK government (such as the Equality Act) the Scottish Parliament does not have powers to redefine the terms of that act.

I think that's an interesting, pertinent question, does this constitute a redefinition? I don't believe it's a sensibly written bill but does it run afoul of reserved powers?

Don’t see why we wouldn’t be ‘subjected’ to it when it was something we were very instrumental in the origins of.

It's not without precedent, for example, the disagreements in 2014 on prisoners' voting rights.

Apprehensive about being English in Scotland? There's very little anti-English rhetoric in Scotland at the moment. I've lived here 40 years, it's virtually a murmur compared to how it used to be. The battle lines are drawn along different divisions at the moment.

There is a fanaticism in the air, it's a very strange time.

Yes, I can see politics being pushed to the extreme in at least two directions! But I am not sure how much of it is idealism/ideology driven and how much neo-liberal manipulation. People like Cummings don't strike me as ideologues - just people who can see how useful divisive ideas can be as tools for manipulation. I think 'wokeness' is one of those - as was Brexit, Scottish independence, etc. Destabilising, polarising, emotive subjects. In the US, that issue seems to be race. The Russian interference is another matter - these 'wedge' issues. Used to divert, but with unfortunately potentially serious consequences for everyday life. And sometimes handy vehicles for justifying restricting civil liberties.

The talk on Radio 4 motorcyclenumptiness was this by John Gray:

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ltfd

It was repeated this morning. It is well worth a listen.

@Babdoc, utterly brilliant post. This is exactly how it feels to be in Scotland right now. Being English, we feel genuine apprehension about what Nationalism is stirring up.