And the Definitely Not Woman of the Year prize goes to Angela Constance - Susan Dalgety
Yes, it’s that time of year again. The long, dark days between Christmas Day and Hogmanay when cold Brussels sprouts and cheddar cheese with cranberries are considered normal fare and endless hours are spent buying stuff – any stuff – online, knowing that most, if not all, of it will be returned.
A dead-end sort of a week, but I am here to liven it up with my now traditional Edinburgh and Lothian Woman of the Year award. Only this year, there is a twist because I have introduced a second category, the Definitely Not Woman of the Year prize.
There can be no more worthy winner of this booby prize than Almond Valley MSP and Justice Secretary, Angela Constance, who goes into 2026 facing an official investigation as to whether she broke the ministerial code.
Independent advisers to the First Minister have decided there must be proper scrutiny of Constance’s recent remarks concerning Professor Alexis Jay and grooming gangs.
Opposition MSPs claim the justice secretary misled parliament, which is a sacking offence. The First Minister John Swinney says he is ‘content’ she is innocent, but it will be the panel of independent advisers who will decide her fate.
If they find she did mislead parliament, Constance is toast and deservedly so. The protection of our children from sexual abuse and exploitation is paramount.
As Justice Secretary, it is surely her most important job and to play politics with this issue, as she appears to have done, is unforgiveable.
Also indefensible is the Scottish Government’s refusal to pay its bills, which brings me neatly to the winners of the 2025 Woman of the Year award.
For the second year running, the trophy (which is still in the back of an Evri van halfway up the M8) goes to For Women Scotland (FWS).
In April this year, the trio – Susan, Marion and Trina – won a historic judgment against the Scottish Govern-ment when the Supreme Court ruled that the word "sex" in the Equality Act 2010 refers to biological sex only.
The Scottish Government were also ordered to pay FWS’s legal costs, which total around £400,000, money largely raised through small donations from an army of women across the country.
Eight months later and the Scottish Government has still not paid what it owes. It seems that unlike us mere mortals who are threatened with bankruptcy if we go a fiver over our overdraft limit, the government is free to ignore its debts.
I have no doubt that eventually Swinney and co will have to stump up, but in the meantime, they are making life very difficult for For Women Scotland. Don’t you just hate bad losers?
In another break with tradition, I have introduced a runner-up category for Woman of the Year, which is shared between Edinburgh engineer Maria Kelly and Fife nurse Sandie Peggie, two women who have endured very public employment tribunals to argue for their right to single-sex spaces at work.
Both are appealing their tribunals’ decisions, so their ordeal will continue in 2026. Thank you Maria and Sandie for standing up for most women who do not want to share a toilet with men.