Johann Lamont - ex leader of Scottish Labour - backs women

[ScrimshawTheSecond]

Well, a little bit. But I think this is pretty astounding, really. Lamont attended the recent event on womens' sex based rights at Edinburgh Uni.

She has retweeted this:

'Where rights come into conflict, you have to allow for discussion. You can't just tell one side or the other to shut up and suck it up. There is clearly a conflict between trans rights and women's rights. I can no more support women going unheard than I could with trans people.' (from a journalist)

The event at Edinburgh Uni - marred as it was by violence, might yet help us get to a point where we can discuss things rationally and respectfully. (I can't believe we have to beg for this.)

Well done, Johann. Thank you for moving towards support for women.

... and also tweeted this, after the meeting:

'Important and thought provoking meeting. Discussion respectful. Cannot remember the last time I went to a discussion on women’s rights where security was so visible. And necessary. #SexBasedRightsEd. '

Good to see. But I feel angry that I am now in a situation where I feel pathetically grateful for even the most minor nod in the direction of women's rights. Always the 'both sides' false equivalence. Virtually no-one in politics is telling it like it is; no-one is doing the research, following up the links, checking the facts or asking actual women. We simply don't matter. Men do.

I know, I know. But I do think that most politicians have said nothing at all while being very aware of the situation. It's impossible that they haven't been, or they wouldn't mention it at all. So I don't think they say anthing on the topic unless they have thought it through.

(Unless it's the usual bland party line about equality/diversity/acceptance that one can tell hasn't been given a moment's thought and doesn't actually mean anything.)

This glimmer, like Dianne Abbot's support for Julie Bindel yesterday, speaks volumes.

I wonder if there comes a point, when a prominent lesbian campaigner meeting to discuss women's rights is attacked by a trans rights activist, and the media just huffs about transphobia, that the situation just looks .... outrageous.

The situation looks more and more outrageous as time goes by and the evidence mounts. The astonishing David Davies aside, it’s women who are starting to speak out. It remains to be seen just how much power the anti-women activists can retain when it becomes apparent just how unacceptable putting men in women’s spaces is with the general population.

I went to meet Johann as one of my MSPs. She clearly agreed with me but was very cagey about doing anything. This was a month or two ago. I get the impression that there have been discussions amongst labour women MSPs and they’re supporting one another to ‘come out’. She was at the Edinburgh meeting with a couple of others, one of whom I’d also been to see and who’d suggested i encourage other women to come and see her.

I just sent her a message via mutual friends. Hopefully she will be emboldened to speak out. Postcards worked well with other brave public figures.

I know Joan McAlpine has suffered lots of abuse, but so far, her party doesn’t seem to have stamped down on her and she’s still talking. Sometimes that’s all it takes for others to feel emboldened.

I think it sounds promising, DrSusan. Thank you.

To call up the spirit of Dr Jane Clare Jones... Puuullllll!

Oh you bunch of cock-eyed optimists you! But ok, I'll back off with the grumpy cynicism and give hope a try (the wine has probably helped).

Yey