Twenty years ago today at 10.21pm my partner of almost 10 years died. He was 37 and I was 34. It was a shattering moment. But it wasn’t a shock. I can’t begin to understand what it must be like to be bereaved in sudden and shocking circumstances like the relatives of those murdered in […]
The aspiration debate: why inequality matters too
Aspiration is back at the top of the left’s political agenda. Apparently Labour lost because people have it in spades and the party didn’t reach out to them. And yet not so long ago it was poverty of aspiration that was all the talk. Onlookers could be forgiven for thinking that people should make their […]
Enniscorthy, equal marriage and the ’embrace of love’
There are moments when something immediately resonates. Such a moment happened to me earlier this week when I learned that in the midst of the referendum debate about equal marriage in Ireland a number of people had walked out during Saturday evening Mass at an Irish cathedral. The walk out happened because the bishop had […]
Why Generalissimo Cameron is the wrong response to child abuse
Another week, another brief media frenzy or two about child abuse and sexual exploitation. This week it was Oxford. Next time it might be Rotherham again. All too often we get a news spike when something happens to the perpetrators or the authorities; or when the home of an alleged celebrity culprit is raided. And […]
From Scotland With Love: a gift for all of us
From Scotland With Love is a tour de force. Yesterday I had the privilege of attending a screening of the film accompanied by King Creosote live at the Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow. I’d caught the tail end of it on television at Christmas and had been immediately drawn in by the fascinating archive images […]
Equal Marriage: A big step closer to One Scotland
Scotland awoke to historic change this morning. Equal Marriage is legal. It’s splashed across the headlines. From today couples already in Civil Partnerships will be able to convert them to marriages and from 31st December those not already in Civil Partnerships will be able to marry. These changes received broad support from across the political […]
Civil partnership conversions: let’s celebrate difference and sameness
On Wednesday this week couples in civil partnerships in England and Wales were able to convert their civil partnerships to marriages for the first time. Scotland follows suit next Tuesday, though as yet there are no provisions in Northern Ireland. It was a landmark moment, as Stonewall rightly point out, another step towards full equality. […]
Feminist t shirts, Ched Evans and male panels
Feminism first entered my lexicon as a student in the late 1970s. Since then pretty much every female friend I’ve had has defined herself as a feminist. I can’t really imagine having a female friend who isn’t a feminist. Yet I’ve never called myself a feminist. And I’m not about to wear a t shirt. […]
LGBT rights and the Commonwealth Games: Equality begins at home
The recent LGBTI Human Rights in the Commonwealth conference in Glasgow provided a welcome and vital focus on the plight of sexual minorities in across the Commonwealth. It’s right and timely to highlight the abuses facing those in many of the countries who will be attending the games. Not to do so would be more […]
Equal Marriage: The real vote of conscience today
Today was a historic day for LBGT equality in Scotland and I for one shed a tear as the final vote came. Years of campaigning have led to this change, not just for equal marriage but for the rights, acceptance and inclusion of LGBT people in all spheres of life. And so equal marriage is […]