Rutherglen byelection - a chance to hold SNP/Scottish Labour to account

[fromorbit]

This Rutherglen and Hamilton West byelection, probably to be staged in early October is going to be crucial for both SNP/Scottish Labour. Both parties would prefer not to talk about women. This is a chance to change the agenda. It could be the election will be decided by a few hundred votes that's how much Labour held it by in 2017 before it flipped back to SNP in 2019.

Remember the situation in Scotland is getting worse:

The shocking recent attack on a woman in Aberdeen for standing up for her rights which seems to be being covered up at rally organised by a Green member.
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4853886-women-wont-wheesht-aberdeen?

The recent announcement on SPATH - Scottish government treatment protocol for trans is lacking safeguards. So more "legal" experiments on Scottish kids, which are banned in England.

Both main candidates hold disturbing genderist views:

Katy Loudon the SNP candidate the local Rutherglen party participated in the witch hunt of Joanne Cherry in 2021 actually breaching their own party rules.

"Local party councillors Janine Calikes and Katy Loudon were among those who re-Tweeted the local party branch's statement, while others accused the branch of breaching party rules by supporting groups publicly calling for another member to be disciplined."
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/in-your-area/lanarkshire/lanarkshire-snp-branch-call-transphobia-25498632

Michael Shanks The Labour candidate is defying Starmer on gender.

"In another split with the UK Labour leader, Mr Shanks said he backed the “de-medicalisation” of the process for changing legal gender and the “general principles” of the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill at Holyrood."
Labour by-election candidate clashes with Keir Starmer on gender self-ID
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/02/labour-margaret-ferrier-michael-shanks-keir-starmer-policy/

The candidates and voters need to be confronted by the implications of what is going on. With the Scottish/British media focused on the area this is a perfect chance to highlight all this and more. Especially we can force the division between Scottish Labour and UK Labour on gender more in the open and create more debate.

A recent survey on Rutherglen and Hamilton West showed that many people are sceptical about gender ideas:
https://britain.unherd.com/constituencies/rutherglen-and-hamilton-west/#tabs1-trans

I know we have plenty of Scots here hopefully some are local. Plenty of amazing resistance groups in Scotland. This thread is a brainstorm for information on how we could help and to monitor progress.

Advertise demos.
Maybe we could garden a leaflet print run?
Questions to ask candidates in hustings.
Are there any local stories we can use to illustrate the problems?

Great idea, OP. I expect there will be a Women's Rights Network in the area?

The DM has picked up on the behaviour of the SNP candidate towards Joanne Cherry.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12365545/SNP-election-candidate-Katy-Loudon-backed-campaign-trans-sceptic-MP-Joanna-Cherry-booted-party.html

Should be. It is just south of Glasgow home of the famous Weegie Witches resistance coven. Easy trip on a broom.

Great example of how closely watched this election is going to be. Note the SNP totally avoid trying to justify their candidate's atrocious behaviour. This is why sunlight here is going to drive all of the parties crazy.

The SNP did not deny Ms Loudon supported the campaign against Ms Cherry when asked by MailOnline.
In response to our questions, including whether she still believed the MP should lose the whip, an SNP spokeswoman said: 'Katy's clear priority is to be a strong voice for people in Rutherglen and Hamilton West as their SNP MP, who will do everything she can to help them through Westminster's cost of living crisis and create a fair and equal country.'

But who is else to vote for? The Lib Dems are surely just as bad? Are Tories the only option? A lot of people would balk at that …

I feel the urge to sit at the back in a puritan witch finding hat and periodically stand on my chair to wave a scold's bridle shout 'Up the SNP! Bash the women! Burn the witches!'.

Oddly I feel it would be more helpful than trying yet again to explain what reality is.

Bloody brilliant, Frood.

Katy Louden also uses some kind of blocklist on Twitter - I'd never heard or interacted with her prior to this by-election and when I checked, i found that I've been pre-emptively blocked for wrongthink. And I'm a tiny wee account who basically re-tweets so it's guilt by association.

How very democratic.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/02/labour-margaret-ferrier-michael-shanks-keir-starmer-policy/

Owen Jones endorses the Labour candidate.

Who else is standing?

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23693425.candidates-rutherglen-west-hamilton-by-election/

'So far the SNP have announced Cambuslang-based councillor Katy Loudon at the party’s candidate. She will be up against Labour’s Michael Shanks, whose selection triggered a row within the party over the process.
The Conservative candidate will be Thomas Kerr, the party's Glasgow City Council group leader, while other parties have yet to announce candidates. Under the rules, the recalled MP may also stand as a candidate.'

We have our first story right there. Katy Louden is blocking women's rights campaigners from speaking to her on twitter. Maybe there is secret SNP antiwoman blocklist.

Not unionists.
Not Tories.
Not any manner of objectionable male based groups I bet.

Just women.

All the Labour candidates that were local favourites were blocked in favour of Shanks, apparently.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23495897.labour-councillor-condemns-farce-rutherglen-by-election-row-grows/

The Tory candidate is anti self ID.

'The SNP's Gender Reform Bill risks the safety of women across Scotland. Despite opposition from their own voters, Labour’s candidate in Rutherglen & Hamilton West backs this flawed bill. If voters want an alternative to this cosy alliance, then@ScotTories are offering it.'

https://twitter.com/CllrTKerr/status/1687133164831916032

He's getting a lot of abuse in the comments.

This will be a really interesting test case to see how all the parties fare after recent events.

• Labour candidate who is pro self ID and disagrees wtih Starmer on it
• SNP candidate who is apparently anti-women
• Tory candidate who is anti self ID

Two of the candidates openly campaigning on the basis of their stance for/against self ID.

Oof. Knew Katy well back in the day, utterly lovely and genuinely passionate about women’s rights. Bit sad to think if I were on Twitter still she’d have me blocked.

Not my circus and not my.monkeys but I would vote Tory just to fuck the other fuckers over.

Thomas Kerr seems a bit confused about self ID but definitely standing on an anti self ID ticket.

If it was my vote I'd lend it to him to send Labour a message. Alba will probably have similar pitch for aggrieved indie women voters.

Scottish Labour are ignoring both Scottish opinion and their own boss. They'll probably win in Hamilton but if the majority was a slim one they might start to listen to women.

Wtf happened to her, then?

Yep, I think it looks like a Labour win likely here, but the size of the win will matter.

I think it'll be quite strongly contested. Lots of doorknockers - get your questions ready, wims of R&H!

Labour have a problem this byelection even Guardian recognises :

But on the streets of Rutherglen on Wednesday, launching the byelection campaign that Starmer hopes will send a crucial signal nationally as to UK Labour’s electability, the Scottish Labour candidate, Michael Shanks, made it clear: in contrast to the UK leader, he supports the Scottish Labour policy of demedicalisation for gender recognition.

Questioned about the policy split, Shanks was keen to play it down. He said Labour was united across the UK in wanting overhaul of the outdated process: “We want trans people to live with equality, but we also want women to have safe spaces.”

He argued that – along with policy differences on the two-child benefit cap – this was an example of the “maturity of devolution” rather than a split. Although the angry response from some MSPs to Starmer’s initial restatement might suggest otherwise.

Certainly political rivals are quick to highlight the division: Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, has been accused of “deafening silence” on the matter by the Scottish Tories, while he is in fact on a family holiday.

It is notable, too, that Shanks and others in Scottish Labour emphasise their longstanding commitment to “demedicalisation” rather than “self-identification” – perhaps evidence of how toxic the latter phrase has become, and open to different interpretations by those with differing agendas.

Starmer yet to resolve policy split with Scottish Labour on gender recognition
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/03/keir-starmer-policy-split-scottish-labour-gender-recognition

According to a Glasgow Herald article (4th July 2022) that someone added to his Twitter thread, it would appear his new stance is a little… disingenuous:

“I've been proud to use my voice to push my own party in the right direction on the big issues facing the LGBTO+ community. I used my platform at the Pride stage in George Square in 2019 to say trans rights are human rights and justice delayed is justice denied.

I stand by every word of that and fully support reforming the Gender Recognition Act. I won't be afraid to not toe the party line”

Joanna Cherry he ain’t, it would appear.

https://betting.betfair.com/politics/uk-politics/rutherglen-and-hamilton-west-by-election-betting-labour-odds-on-after-vote-triggered-030823-204.html

Well, back when I knew her most normal people who were interested in women’s rights didn’t really consider the possibility of extending those to men (oh halcyon days!), but in the interim decade I suppose we’ve all had to choose a side.

True, but whether we see this change by the Tory candidate as either a sudden realisation of the truth or an unprincipled switch as it becomes clear reality matters, it shows how events can force people to change.

Rumours are Greens might not stand which would be a pity. They deserve to be in spotlight.

This means the byelection maybe happening around the same time or soon after the crucial court case.

Scottish government loses bid to delay gender reform review
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-66409588

Meanwhile the Tories are going in hard on the gender angle. Things are going to get nasty:

Scottish Tories accused of 'gutter politics' in Labour trans row
https://archive.is/QzuJI#selection-1499.0-1499.64

Councillor Kerr, said: “Voters in Rutherglen and Hamilton West have heard it loud and clear. Labour’s candidate wholeheartedly backs the SNP’s reckless gender reform bill.

“Despite the screeching U-turn from Keir Starmer, it is clear that Michael Shanks – like Scottish Labour did in the Scottish Parliament – is all too happy to back the SNP’s plans that clearly put the safety of women and girls at risk.

“For all their spin, Scottish Labour unashamedly row in behind the SNP on a whole host of issues. Even when their own voters are opposed to them doing so on gender reform, they won’t listen.

“Only the Scottish Conservatives are standing up to protect the safety and rights of women and girls in Rutherglen and Hamilton West.

“The question for Labour is whether they are fielding a candidate who backs Keir Starmer’s policies or the SNP’s.”

Ellie Gomersall, the president of NUS Scotland said the Tory had “some brass neck” given that he had taken part in a photo op for Glasgow’s pride with fellow councillors in August. She accused him of spreading “transphobic lies.”

Labour councillor Keiran O'Neill tweeted: "It wasn’t that long ago Thomas stood in solidarity (quite literally) with LGBT+ people… now he is just doing gutter politics because the Tories literally have nothing positive to say. So disappointing."

It is clearly vital that independent women's voices are heard in this byelection so NONE of the parties can cover up the shameful stuff that has been going on. This is more than just politics.

The article goes on to discuss other parties standing. Sounds like there will be loads. The Scottish Socialist Party looks to pro gender stuff as does Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.

What happens to spoiled votes?

Will Keir starmer see mine?