Greens seek to punish vital charity

Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian Sue Webber

In my time on Edinburgh City Council I had to listen to some utter nonsense when Green councillors were on their highest, holier-than-thou horses, and more recently some truly dangerous stuff from their Holyrood colleagues.

But nothing has infuriated me quite as much a Green Party bid at today’s full council meeting to have funding stripped from Edinburgh Women’s Aid because they do not allow trans women – in other words, men – to access their group therapy sessions or refuges.

I won’t give the councillor more publicity by naming him, but it takes misogyny to new levels to even consider defunding an organisation because it won’t let males into discussions which help women traumatised by aggressive men recover from their darkest possible hour.

This not to say abused trans people do not deserve help, but any elected member seeking to punish such a vital charity because it does not fit with an extreme and increasingly discredited gender ideology is, in my view, unfit to hold office.

I know there will be more than a few in the other parties who will have sympathy with his intentions, and I’ll be interested to know how the Lib Dems under the direction of the ultra-politically correct Holyrood leader Alex Cole-Hamilton vote. But surely to goodness common sense will prevail and councillors will follow Councillor Jo Mowat’s lead and reject this afront to decency. This madness has got to stop.

Sue Webber is a Scottish Conservative MSP for Lothian