ANDY Wightman has confirmed that he will stand as an independent at the next Holyrood election. The MSP, who quit the Greens at the end of last year, announced on Saturday night that he was moving to Lochaber and would run on the Highland and Island regional list. He said a focus of his election campaign would be a “Land for the People Bill to reform Scotland’s antiquated land laws and democratise the ownership and use of land and property . Wightman said Holyrood needed more independent voices . He plans on starting a crowdfunder in the next few days before formally launching his campaign.
Letters
Andy Wightman has resigned from the Scottish Greens after being threatened with disciplinary action over the vote on the Forensic Medical Services Bill ANDY Wightman has been the Green Party’s most effective parliamentarian so his loss should produce serious heart-searching (Wightman quits Greens over lack of debate on gender row, December 19). It is also a prompt to many of us who have views on the trans debate, but who have chosen not to engage with it, to step forward. In my case not because I wanted to avoid controversy but because in a world of huge social and economic inequality and widespread injustice, it seems a very marginal issue. However in the face of so much aggressive witch-hunting, perhaps we need to show some solidarity.
Time for Holyrood to grow up on trans issues thetimes.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thetimes.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.