Initially I thought the left in govt sinking political capital wholesale into trans rights was an example of the long march thru the institutions, then I fell more for the theory of Captain Cock Up (literally true when it comes to AGPs in women's spaces), then the idea that TRA is a neo religion and caste structure.
But more and more I'm thinking that the whole of politics in this modern era where decisions aren't made by MPs directly, but materialize thru the æther of the legal-charity-third sector blob, where politicos have lost any existence re the traditional class war, but since the Wall came down are subborned to literal uselessness.
All they have is their progressive echo chamber & their impotence to enact anything to make the population at large have better lives, so they purity spiral on trans rights, critical race theory, policing wrongspeak.
These are people I wouldn't trust to sort a shopping list, let alone policies that directly impinge the lives of millions, including millions of girls and women.
As to why the SNP are prepared to die on this most extreme of hills, that echo chamber is how they maintain relationships in politics as well as judge the virtue of others, and as horizontal radicalising continues unabated, the absolutely insane becomes the definitely sane in their eyes.
The problem is, the further they go down this rabbit hole, the further they get away from the light, until all they can see is each other, and this becomes their normal.