The Scottish Parliament banned rainbow lanyards last month to “help avoid any potential misperception over the absolute impartiality of all Scottish parliamentary staff.” No such policy looks to come from Westminster – taxpayer-funded spending on the lanyards has shot up by 431% in the past year. Some MPs are wondering why…
It has now been revealed that spending on rainbow/progressive flag lanyards has risen from £380 to £1,639 in the last year – thousands are available for staff to wear from the ParliOut Workplace Equality Network. Parliamentary rules are clear that staff “must carry out their duties and deliver services with complete political impartiality, and must be seen to do so. The wearing of pins or badges which express a personal view on a politically controversial issue would not therefore be appropriate in the workplace.” Parliament may be crumbling, though at least it’s doing so in solidarity and allyship…
The Princess Royal University Hospital in Bromley, South London opened a new link-bridge decorated with a huge “intersex-inclusive pride flag” on the outside, and pride-flag themed rainbow wallpaper inside. The new flag includes the traditional rainbow plus the trans pride flag, two black and brown stripes to represent Black Lives Matter, and a yellow triangle with a purple circle in it to represent intersex people. Technicolour-woke!
King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital, could not provide the total cost for the year-long building project when asked by The Telegraph. They should watch their wallet as they ran up a debt of £191 million in 2019, the biggest debt of any foundation trust in NHS history.
The Co-chair of LGBT+ Labour has taken a step back from his duties, citing a “toxic culture” on the group’s committee. In a letter outlining his decision, Matthew Lloyd tilts at a “small group” on the executive committee, naming Parliamentary Liaison Officer Joe Vinson, who “frustrate and sabotage” LGBT+ Labour’s work. Matthew makes a number of allegations against the clique, including a “violent threat” sent by text and a “drunken abusive intimidating incident that happened at conference 2022”. He also accuses this nefarious cohort of playing a game of “truth or dare… as a form of bullying”. Shocking.
Of course, co-conspirators won’t be surprised to see handbags, nor allegations of abuse, emerging from Labour’s resident drama queens – especially considering what we already know about the group. In 2021 they argued for Rosie Duffield to have the Labour whip withdrawn, whilst the MP herself has accused them of peddling “absolute rubbish” about her. The confused group can’t even seem to pick a side to self-identify with – they’ve also singled out Suzy Eddie Izzard.
Co-conspirators can read Matthew’s letter in full below:
Just over a week has passed since Suzy Eddie Izzard announced her new name and already the transphobic trolls are piling on, with the comedian suffering deadnaming on Twitter. The culprit really should know better…
In the announcement of the comedian’s new position as an honorary patron, LGBT Labour used Suzy Eddie’s old name – something trans activists often decry as harmful. They also described Suzy Eddie as an “actor” – when before they’ve used “actress” for female-identifying actors. Guido can forgive this minor transgression, it’s not easy to keep up with the iterations of gender-fluid Suzy “I’m Eddie’s” identity.
Police Scotland have come under fire for fundraising and supporting the charity LGBT Youth Scotland (LGBTYS), while also dealing with complaints about and conducting an investigation into the charity over historical grooming claims.
Members of the Scottish LGBTI Police Association have been “running, walking, cycling, skating & donating” to the LGBTYS charity’s Purple Friday appeal, as opposed to offering an update on their ongoing inquiries into the case of a charity worker suspended over abuse claims.
In December 2022, the charity referred itself to the police for investigation over historical grooming claims. A month later, an employee was suspended after Sam Cowie, now 28, publicly said he had been raped and sexually assaulted by strangers as a result of safeguarding issues at LGBTYS. Cowie was furious about Police Scotland’s continued endorsement:
https://twitter.com/wundt_vil/status/1629562511451205632?s=20
In 2009, the former chief executive of LGBT Youth Scotland, James Rennie, was convicted of being the ringleader of Scotland’s biggest paedophile network.
A selection of doting SNP MSPs have also endorsed the charity including leadership candidate Humza Yousaf, David Torrance, Colette Stevenson, Kaukab Stewart and Nicola Sturgeon posted a heartfelt video message. The police should be less focused on “running, walking, cycling, skating & donating” for LGBTYS and more focused on investigating them.
Apologies to anyone still eating breakfast, Guido’s just been sent a press release from the Tories’ LGBT wing announcing a new range of “limited-edition” political-themed condoms in time for this year’s party conference in Birmingham. Some of which bear the names of MPs…
Slogans include:
- Strong and Stable
- Unleash Britain’s Potential
- Honourable Member
- Labour isn’t working, but this condom will (*99% of the time)
Some patrons of the group, including two MPs also have personalised versions:
- Gary Sambrook: Strap it for Sambrook
- Peter Gibson: Glove it for Gibbo
- Andrew Boff: Boff – Safely
- Emma Best: Bang for Best
- Nick Rogers: Roger for Nick
Not a Johnson pun in sight…
LGBT Conservatives chair Elena Bunbury comments, “This is just a small step in the work we have done towards safer sex, but we hope it provides a fun tool and useful memento for all those using them.” A fun tool indeed…
