Alex Salmond’s Alba party has been rocked by the resignation of a prominent founder member in a row over gender recognition and women’s rights.
Major divisions have opened up within the nationalist and pro-independence party that was founded three years ago by the former first minister.
The resignation of Alba’s equalities convener, Eva Comrie, provoked an angry reponse from party members.
Denise Findlay, the party’s former organisation convener, accused members of “nasty smears that have lost the party hard-working office bearers and many more activists and members”.
Comrie said that while she remained committed to independence and retained faith in Salmond, she had resigned over “fundamental disagreements” in the way Yvonne Ridley, the party’s women’s convener, had articulated its policy on women’s rights and gender reform.
Ridley incurred the wrath of Alba women activists with a tweet which stated: “A trans woman is a woman assigned male at birth. Trans women have a female gender identity and may experience gender dysphoria.”
Ridley later apologised for the statement — which is at odds with Alba policy — and claimed it was the product of a “senior moment”.
The full article is much longer https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/gender-row-rocks-alex-salmonds-alba-as-founding-member-quits-zrrvv6sl7
Can also be read at https://archive.ph/lIJcV
(Off topic or maybe not, I had no idea Yvonne Ridley was still active in politics. I remember there was a time that she would be constantly re-emerging with varying identities and political allegiances. )