Text of first third of letter: Scapegoating a minority Guy Stenhouse ("Only Kemi Badenoch can save the UK", The Herald, January 11), writes that "a considerable amount of evidence and common sense" supports the view that trans people are and remain the sex/gender they were assigned at birth. In the spirit of the good natured debate that Mr Stenhouse praises, he is mistaken. In reality (and despite the Nazis' attempt to destroy the early research in the infamous Bebelplatz book burning), there is over a century of clear scientific evidence of the existence of trans people and the reality of their gender identity.
Text of second third of letter: As for common sense, a few decades ago, it was common sense that gay people like me were mentally ill - after all, humans evolved to reproduce, didn't we? Common sense can be mistaken, especially about relatively emerging issues. Mr Stenhouse claims that a majority of the population quietly share his views on trans people. In fact, YouGov found in 2022 that 55% of people in the UK support trans people's right to identify as a different sex to that registered at birth, while only 25% oppose it. Amongst those who actually know a trans person, more than 70% are in support.
Text of final third of letter: Pollsters More in Common find this week that trans issues are in the top three concerns for just 2% of UK voters (probably trans people and their friends). They find that the cost of living and the NHS are overwhelmingly people's main concerns. People are not scunnered with politicians because the law recognises trans people. We see the richest getting richer while the rest of us find it increasingly difficult to make ends meet. Public services seem less and less sufficiently resourced. Contrary to his suggestion that he might, Mr Stenhouse will of course not have a hate crime incident recorded for his views. But it is a pity that he is giving support to one of the oldest lines in the book of those who want power but have no better answer - scapegoat a minority. Tim Hopkins, Edinburgh
Our former director has this letter in the Herald today:
14.01.2025 11:45 — 👍 57 🔁 23 💬 0 📌 1
