The remarkable story of nurse Sandie Peggie, suspended from her job after she complained about the presence of a male doctor in a staff changing room, has what politicos describe as ‘cut through’. Over the past week, a tribunal in Dundee has heard jaw-dropping evidence about how the nurse was treated when she questioned the presence of Dr Beth Upton, a trans woman, in a female-only space. Even BBC Scotland, normally decidedly squeamish about covering anything that might upset touchy trans activists, has carried daily reports on the case brought by Peggie against both her employers, NHS Fife, and Upton.
To give you a flavour of proceedings so far, on Monday, Upton – a doctor, remember – said biological sex was a ‘nebulous’ term. This is a case that was always going to attract attention and divide opinion. On one side there are those who agree Peggie should not have been expected to undress in front of someone male. On the other are those who think Upton was being bullied when Peggie said the presence of a man in a changing room made her uneasy.
The facts of this tribunal – including NHS Fife’s decision to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds of public cash defending itself – are extraordinary. More extraordinary, still, is the refusal of some of Scotland’s most senior politicians to acknowledge that anything unusual might be going on.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon is a full-blown ‘trans women are women’ activist whose dogmatic adherence to gender ideology shaped the government and party she led. There was no place in cabinet or in the upper echelons of the SNP for anyone who didn’t share her faith. Many of Sturgeon’s colleagues toed the line for reasons of ambition rather than belief.
But Sturgeon is long gone, brought down two years ago, in part by the public backlash to her cherished reform of the Gender Recognition Act to allow trans people to self-ID. (The new law was later blocked by then Conservative Scottish Secretary Alister Jack on the grounds that it was unworkable.)
Sturgeon’s successor, Humza Yousaf, preferred not to talk about trans issues. What had, under Sturgeon, been a central part of the SNP’s mission, was ignored. But neglect didn’t make it go away.
The same rules apply to the current First Minister, John Swinney. He might wish that the whole damned mess caused by Sturgeon’s monomania would vanish but it will not. Voters do not think it right for male criminals to be sent to women’s prisons. Nor do they reckon it fair for men to be allowed to punch women in boxing matches or race them in marathons. And they most certainly don’t think men should be in women’s changing rooms.
Labour’s Anas Sarwar is as hopeless as Swinney when it comes to this matter. In common, it seems with all of their fellow travellers, these two men of the ‘centre left’ have abandoned women, leaving opposition to gender ideology to parties of the right.
In time, the tribunal will rule on Sandie Peggie’s claims, but I daresay many will, based on the facts already to hand, have made up their minds about whether she was treated fairly. The best outcome of the tribunal for Swinney would be a victory for Peggie. This would, if he had the courage, give him the opportunity – and some cover against attacks from ideologues in SNP ranks – to strip the influence of gender ideology from public bodies.
Last year, a tribunal found a support worker at Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre had been bullied out of her job in an ideological witch-hunt directed by her trans woman boss. Neither Swinney nor Sarwar felt compelled to speak about this outrage. Their silence still resonates and their failure even to acknowledge what’s going on in NHS Fife adds to the din.
Scotland’s leaders remain terrified to speak up lest they feel the wrath of trans rights activists. This is no way to go on.
There will be elections to the Scottish parliament in May 2026. Polls show Reform UK is making inroads. Both Nigel Farage’s party and the Scottish Tories, under the leadership of Russell Findlay, will make opposition to gender ideology key to their campaigns.
I would not be surprised – and this is purely speculation – if a women’s party emerges and stands candidates in Scotland’s eight electoral regions, from which 56 of the country’s 129 MSPs are elected under a proportional representation system. I could easily imagine such a party achieving 7 or 8 per cent in the vote, enough to send a member to Holyrood from each region.
Faced, as they most certainly will be, with loud opposition to the demands of trans activists, John Swinney and Anas Sarwar can always try the tired old tactic of suggesting that those who don’t adhere to the mantra ‘trans women are women’ are terrible right-wing reactionaries. If they are wise, however, they will consider the public reaction to the case of Sandie Peggie. Politicians from every major party know voters care about this issue. And they all know it’s not going to go away. Yet Scotland’s leaders remain terrified to speak up lest they feel the wrath of activists. This is no way to go on.
It’s time for the ‘progressive’ men of Scottish politics to start speaking up for biological women. It’s the right thing to do – and they stand to pay a heavy price at the polls next year if they remain silent.
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