Nicola Sturgeon left red-faced as she's forced to drop new education minister who mocked trans students
3 min read
Nicola Sturgeon has been forced to drop her new education minister just a day after handing her the job as controversial comments she made about transgender students resurfaced.
Gillian Martin’s name was removed from a list of new ministerial appointments after it was revealed she had made disparaging comments about transgender students during her time as a college lecturer.
In a now deleted blog post from 2007, Ms Martin said that new initiatives to promote transgender rights could lead to images of “hairy-knuckled, lipstick-wearing transitional laydees” appearing on campuses.
Ms Martin also complained about “political correctness” in colleges, saying that staff “frothed at the mouth with excitement if anyone in a wheelchair does anything that can be remotely described as an achievement.”
And in the same blog the Aberdeenshire East MSP took a swipe at “vote w***e, muppet” politicians who voted to suppress teacher’s pay.
In an embarrassing climbdown the First Minister was today forced to halt Ms Martin from taking on responsibility for higher education, after Holyrood's Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats moved to block the appointment.
In a statement to MSPs, the Ms Sturgeon announced that she would not be seeking parliament’s approval to appoint Ms Martin to the brief.
“It is with regret that I won’t be asking the parliament to approve the appointment of Gillian Martin as a minister," she said.
“Over the course of this morning, information about the content on a blog written by her more than ten years ago has been brought to my attention. I was not previously aware of all of the comments that I am now aware of.”
“I have to say that this content, however ill-advised it may be, does not reflect the views of the person that I know in Gillian Martin.
“However, the content does merit my consideration and therefore I will not ask parliament to approve this appointment until I’ve had the chance to reflect further.”
Her comments came after Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard went on the attack at First Minister's Questions, where he said the appointment showed a lack of judgement by the SNP leader.
“The First Minister knew about these comments and yet still proposed to put Gillian Martin in charge of further and higher education and in the end this is not just about the judgement of Gillian Martin, First Minister this is about your judgement isn’t it?,” he said.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said she was “pleased” that the Scottish Government had decided to withdraw the appointment.
In a tweet before her sacking the Aberdeenshire East MSP said: “In 2007 I wrote a blog that I deeply regret. It used language that was inappropriate and offensive. I expressed myself in a way that did not reflect my view then and certainly does not reflect my view now.
“That is entirely my fault and I am sorry for it. That’s why, when this blog was last raised publicly two years ago, I apologised and I am more than happy to unreservedly apologise again today.”
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