Declan

@blench.bsky.social

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Birgitte Nyborg fan account. [SNP councillor and staffer. Freelance translator. Glasgow. He/him]

Council notes with deep concern the laying before Parliament on 21 May 2026 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's updated Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. While gender reassignment remains a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, meaning trans people are legally protected from discrimination and harassment in all settings, leading trans rights organisations have condemned the updated Code as leaving "trans people in the UK today with fewer rights than they had prior to last year's Supreme Court ruling," and as having "weakened protections for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole." Council further notes that the Good Law Project has argued the Code treats trans people as a third sex, suggesting they be directed to separate spaces while entirely ignoring the harm this causes and the requirements of human rights law. Council applauds opposition to the Code of Practice from trade unions such as Unison and the Fire Brigade Union, and their calls for the Equality Act itself to be amended. It notes Early Day Motion 240, in the name of Nadia Whittome, which calls for the Code of Practice to be disapproved, and applauds the MPs who have put their name to it. Council expresses concern that implementation of the Code of Practice as drafted risks undermining the UK's obligations arising under the European Convention on Human Rights as part of our membership of the Council of Europe, established in Goodwin v United Kingdom in 2002. Council notes that the UK has dropped from 1st place in 2015 to to 22nd place in ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Map, countries which have enacted explicit anti-LGBTI+ legislation. The UK is now the second-worst performer for LGBTI+ rights in all of Western Europe and Scandinavia, having held first place just a decade ago. For laws relating specifically to the recognition of trans people's gender identity, the UK now ranks among the worst in the whole of Europe.
Table of my results: 78% woke / 22% chud; 58% techbro / 42% neo-luddite; 83% hopepilled / 17% doomer; 95% Davos / 5% Dubai. Your closest match: Mark Carney [photo of Carney] Prime Minister of Canada 2025-present.
A close up of black and yellow trainers
Two stills from Netflix series The Diplomat with subtitles: the first of Hal saying “true things sound true” and the second of President Penn dryly retorting “thank you, Lao Tzu” with a look of disdain on her face
Screenshot of Statement of Persons Nominated for Glasgow Southside constituency: ABDULLAH Arzoo Waqqar (Independent), BRUCE Holly (Scottish Green Party), BUTT Kamran (Scottish Common Party), HUSSAIN Rashid (Scottish Labour Party), HUTTON Ross (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), MILLAR Gordon (Reform UK), PARK Rachel Mary Byrne (Scottish Liberal Democrats), STEWART Kaukab (Scottish National Party (SNP))
Holding up a copy of Halowe’en Party by Agatha Christie, the cover is black and orange. Out of focus in the background is part of my living room - terracotta walls, white ceiling and cornice, standing lamp and green plant in the corner.
Empty desk in the Scottish Parliament bearing Anas Sarwar’s name plate. A note sellotaped to the chair reads “Back soon, waiting to be told what to say”. On the wall behind the desk, above the window, is a picture of Sarwar with Peter Mandelson.
John Swinney at yellow SNP lectern with saltire backdrop
President Trump, who did not even inform the U.S. Senate ahead of the attack on Venezuela, and Vladimir Putin, who is waging war against Ukraine in an especially brutal and bloody manner, are carving out their respective spheres of influence. In doing so, they trample international law underfoot and quite obviously allow each other the space to act this way. It is also a warning from Trump to Denmark and Greenland, signaling what he is prepared to do if he does not get what he wants voluntarily. Maduro is a dictator, and it would be best for Venezuela to be freed from this man. However, such liberation must come from within. Legitimizing the actions of the United States in this manner buries any remaining credibility of the West. Europe has not a minute to lose in finally putting a common foreign policy and a robust security policy on track. Every country in Europe must understand this clearly: either we Europeans sit at the global table, or we end on the menu.
IN: Better shoes, paying for decent journalism, Esperanto, berries, Swinney FM, Shirley Ann DFM, Màiri McAllan health OUT: Spotify, wrappeds of all brands, aubergine, pandering to those we ought not to pander to, Reeves
Excerpt of motion reading: Council deplores comments made last week by Nigel Farage MP, describing multilingualism in Glaswegian schools as “cultural smashing”. Council recognises this is an attempt to sow division within Glasgow schools based on the ethnicity, nationality and language of our schoolchildren and that this is a racist attack on them. Council reiterates its pride in the multilingualism of Glaswegian children and in all those who work within our education department to create an environment where all children can thrive and benefit from sharing in many different cultures; recognises that many languages other than English are spoken natively by families in our city, both those originating in the UK such as Scots, Gaelic and British Sign Language (BSL), and originating elsewhere; that the right to a family life includes deciding which language is the home language; that for many children in our city, in Gaelic Medium Education and in BSL education, English is not the language of instruction; and that all children educated in Glasgow are equally Glaswegian, whatever their native language.
Selfie of eight people standing in front of some new flats being built, with Kaukab Stewart MSP in the middle, smiling to the camera and holding up Kaukab/SNP-branded clipboards and Kaukab leaflets before heading out canvassing.
Screenshot from BBC News confirming "Votes cast in next year's Scottish parliament election will be counted the day after polls close, rather than overnight. The electoral management board for Scotland said the measure would reduce costs and increase public engagement."