"We are living through yet another constitutional showdown between the Scottish and UK Governments.... The immediate issue is the Gender Recognition Reform Bill "
"...we should more systematically address those wider issues in Scotland – of how we listen to, respect and understand each other – while recognising the many silences and omissions which have marked our public life and public institutions to this day. The UK Government and Parliament have many questions to answer but they cannot be the benchmark against which we judge what is and is not a successful, thriving democracy, either here in Scotland or across the UK.
Politics, politicians and democracy should aid the complexities and fluid ways in which people live and define themselves in the modern world. The GRR Bill has been an imperfect attempt to do so from which all sides need to learn profound lessons. If we do not, we more than likely will be back here again in the near-future fighting 'culture wars' and having vulnerable minorities stigmatised and vilified by the populist right."