Remember the I Heart JKR Poster (Edinburgh) that got loads of complaints...

[SaltandVinegarSquares]

According to Network Rail they "received complaints" (plural) about the poster, and one complaint specifically stated "rampant transphobia".

Only it turns out, they didn't.

Not a single fucking one.

Liars.

158 complaints about it's removal though.

@bettybeans

The thing that interests me most about this is the part when someone decided that "I love JK Rowling" was an unacceptably political statement. Who made that decision and why? What's the rationale and criteria? Edinburgh is her home city - she's a local, national and global icon. The station itself takes its name from a novel, written by another famous Edinburgh writer. Network Rail love sponging off the Potter franchise. There's a million reasons why her name would be promoted or up in lights at that location.

That's a really interesting point. I suspect nobody from NR will explain the rationale and criteria. Because it will be ad hoc, riddled with inconsistencies in its application and clearly motivated by partisan, political affiliations. The point you make about JKR being a global brand beneficial to tourism and generating revenue thus providing myriad reasons to celebrate her in her home town is a great point.

@Datun

They ARE a political lobby group, but they don't advertise themselves as being one.

There was recently a bit of background digging and someone came up with 'political lobby group' as a self description. I'm pretty sure it was stonewall. I didn't screenshot it tho. But I do remember whoever unearthed it was shocked.

Does that ring any bells with anyone else?

Yes it was on their companies house info. Will post a few screenshots.

The sign in Vancouver is being taken down now.

twitter.com/preta_6/status/1304893203598864384?s=21

@Datun

They ARE a political lobby group, but they don't advertise themselves as being one.

There was recently a bit of background digging and someone came up with 'political lobby group' as a self description. I'm pretty sure it was stonewall. I didn't screenshot it tho. But I do remember whoever unearthed it was shocked.

Does that ring any bells with anyone else?

Datun does this help? I’m not sure if it’s missing your point but thought it might be a useful addition to 2020s post

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonewall_(charity)

“Stonewall's most high-profile achievements have been in common law and parliamentary lobbying.

Under Angela Mason, it became the most influential LGBT lobbying organisation in Britain. Mason’s tenure saw Stonewall support legal test cases in the European Court of Human Rights which included: (cont)”

Is this political lobbying?

Re Stonewall as a lobby group, they're described as:

'Stonewall, the campaign group for trans rights'

in the article about Ann Sinnott's judicial review in the Times last Monday. You might be able to use this share token, it's just worked for me:

ErrolTheDragon
The Times today has a piece covering this and Ann Sinnott's challenge to the EHRC together.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/trans-challenge-over-equality-advice-2jlrz0n0m?shareToken=3b5e3eb09ad9b4722cd93f283f21536a

Thanks you 2020wumben and humpty.

So they describe themself as a lobby groups for companies house, and elsewhere. And they obviously do lobby. And that's forbidden in a charity?

Ah, we are fair cop is where I read it.

mobile.twitter.com/WeAreFairCop/status/1303090456490844162

A response says

What even is your point? Charities are allowed to lobby subject to the Lobbying Act. They are not allowed to align themselves with a political party.

With another replying

In 2018 Stonewall lobbied the government 100+ times.

So they do lobby, they say they lobby and they are apparently allowed to lobby?

So network rail are actively aligned with a lobby group, despite claiming it's not allowed.

No expert, but I believe if a body campaigns politically they have to be an NGO - see Greenpeace, Amnesty etc

@ArabellaScott

No expert, but I believe if a body campaigns politically they have to be an NGO - see Greenpeace, Amnesty etc

So does that mean they can't charge for training, or charge money for a Stonewall 'badge' of some description?

I don't know, I think it's maybe more to do with tax status

Lobbying is fine, lots of charities lobby - most of the big ones employ parliamentary officers to liaise with parliament

The issue with stonewall is not that they lobby, it’s why are they so successful?

Charities for people with learning disabilities have been campaigning for years for better treatment & support. People with LD have been kept in solitary confinement, been deprived of their liberty & died as a result of their treatment. Organisations that provide support have been taken to court & fined for continued breaches of the law - and yet nothing changes

Support for people with mental health problems is abysmal with few in patient beds & minimal if any community support. Again charities have been lobbying about this fir years and nothing changes

Stonewall though have managed to get every single largeGovernment dept, local authorities, the NHS, most of the FTSE 100 companies
, the media, academia & the whole charity world signed up to TWAW & to almost succeed in bringing in self ID in 10 years. How they’ve done that is what needs to be looked at

"Whether or not charities choose to undertake political activity, they must never support or oppose a particular political party or endorse a particular political candidate."'

'legal requirement: to be a charity an organisation must be established for charitable purposes only, which are for the public benefit. An organisation will not be charitable if its purposes are political

campaigning and political activity can be legitimate and valuable activities for charities to undertake

legal requirement: however, political campaigning, or political activity, as defined in this guidance, must be undertaken by a charity only in the context of supporting the delivery of its charitable purposes. Unlike other forms of campaigning, it must not be the continuing and sole activity of the charity. (Section 3.5 provides a fuller explanation.)'

Charity Commission - Guidance
Campaigning and political activity guidance for charities

Published 1 March 2008

Thing is , TRAs certainly, make no secret about it. Loads of documents leaked, Dentons, TELI, We're Still Here, etc.

All laying out their strategy, including access to schools, regulatory capture, keeping under the radar, not attracting MSM and attaching to other political groups which already have traction.

Sorry that was in response to Kit19

@Datun

Thing is , TRAs certainly, make no secret about it. Loads of documents leaked, Dentons, TELI, We're Still Here, etc.

All laying out their strategy, including access to schools, regulatory capture, keeping under the radar, not attracting MSM and attaching to other political groups which already have traction.

Datun Those are the tactics. But I must admit, I still don't really understand how they have been so successful in lobbying for self id, as Kit asks, particularly in comparison with other charities who haven't achieved aims that maybe have more widespread public support?

@DianasLasso

The irony of all this is that the poster has achieved its goals through the very act of having removed amid an ‘argument’.

Posie is an absolute genius at publicity. She has a nose for the thing that will get her column inches in newspapers. I don't know how she does it, but I'm so grateful that she does.

Absolutely this, when it went up I knew it would be coming down - it was fast, before I could visit it and I was in Edinburgh at the women speaking event that weekend. I could only hope it came down in a flurry of publicity and it did. As Diana say's Posie is very good at this kind of thing, she's a rabble rouser, a person who shakes things up and alongside the more considered and quiet letter writers and MP visitors, the intellectuals who write and the women who just talk, this movement needs someone like Posie and other women who make noise so those who don't normally see this issue have it brought to their attention. Thank goodness for them.

Reminiscent of the treatment and bare faced lies told to Lindsay Shepard when there were supposed to be multiple students complained about her using a Jordan Peterson clip as a learning tool in her lesson at Wilfred Laurier. .

Can't help themselves can they? Lying liars gonna lie.🙄

@Childrenofthestones

Reminiscent of the treatment and bare faced lies told to Lindsay Shepard when there were supposed to be multiple students complained about her using a Jordan Peterson clip as a learning tool in her lesson at Wilfred Laurier. .

Can't help themselves can they? Lying liars gonna lie.🙄

Not sure if you rtft but it looks like NR didn't lie by claiming anything about complaints. If anything it looked like the Times did some stirring that prompted it. I'm sure the general calibre of discussion on Twitter contributed to the decision, which is also being discussed, but it wasn't NR that claimed to have received any number of complaints about the poster going up.

The most vulnerable in society but can get posters taken down, people (mostly women) thrown off Twitter, threaten rape, violence and murder of women they don’t agree with, with no come back, get women arrested for none crimes and sacked from their jobs, even though absolutely no laws have been broken.

I wish women were listen to as much as the most oppressed in society.