I read the papers so you don’t have to…
Tuesday 12 May 2026
The National (Scotland) 9 May 2026I had planned to do a big intro for this piece but then ended up spending 10 hours on Monday in A&E with my fiancé, who took a tumble while out for a walk in some fields.
Something I had noted before that, however, was that there were 19 pages of sport in this weekend’s Sunday Times. A total of 30 articles. How many, in this paper that cares about women and women’s sport, were about women’s sport and how many are by women?
Three were about women’s sport (football and tennis), and were written by men. There was one article written by a woman (massive GC, Alyson Rudd).
Previous editions
As I started the Trans Agenda on Substack, not all editions are here on Patreon just yet. I am in the process of moving them over.
Saturday 9 May – Sunday 10 May (number of articles mentioning or about trans people)
Search terms used on Pressreader.com – trans OR gender OR transgender OR biological
Search terms used on The Times epaper – Paper searched manually and search for ‘transgender’, ‘gender’ and ‘biological’.
Total count: 20
Average per day: 10
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Times 2
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Guardian 0
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The Observer 0
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Sunday Life 0
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Belfast Telegraph 0
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Mail 6 (English 2, Scottish 4, Irish 0)
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The Telegraph 3
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The National 5
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The Herald 4
Times (2)
It’s no surprise the young have turned Green, by Janice Turner, 10 May
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Passing mention, which is surprising given it’s Janice Turner: “They’d put in the effort because finally a party had spoken to them. It is assumed the reason half of 18 to 24-year-olds now favour the Greens is because the party reflects their views on “progressive” issues such as climate change, trans rights and Gaza. But it’s more complicated. If no mainstream party addresses your material needs, why not vote according to your beliefs, and pleasant qualities, like kindness and hope.”
I said to my agent, I never want to do this again, Alan Cumming on The Traitors, trans rights and what really happened at the Baftas, Sunday Times magazine, by Julia Llewellyn, 10 May
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Sunday Times magazine 10 May 2026Mail [inc Scottish & Irish editions] (6) (English 2, Scottish 4, Irish 0)
Frankie isn’t going to Hollywood as model trashes Trump’s US, by Richard Eden, 9 May (English)
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Model Frankie Herbert said some truthful things about America and Trump, including, “My trans friends, immigrant friends, like, are not safe…there’s children being held in detention centres.” Given that Herbert’s ‘family seat’ is Highclere Castle, better known as Downtown Abbey, her uncle is the Earl of Carnarvon and her step-dad the Duke of Norfolk, Eden isn’t happy. He rambles on about some other posh people, throws in a few Royals, all while calling Herbert’s comments a ‘diatribe’.
Vote Reform, get SNP! Tories lose out after Farage splits Union vote, by Michael Blackley, 9 May (Scottish)
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Quote from Conservative Scottish Leader Russell Findlay, “When people look at our track record they will see a party that was absolutely laser-focused on being an effective opposition to the SNP, curtailing some of their worst excesses such as gender self-ID, standing up for hard-working Scots.” The Tories, along with every other party, initially supported self-ID until the right-wing money started flowing in.
Oh, I’m an MSP! Now get me a work visa, by John Paul Breslin, 10 May (Scottish)
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I am in awe of the courage of all the trans people who stood at the recent local elections in England, Scotland and Wales. They would have known that, if they won, they would face constant attacks from a media that can’t get enough of Nigel Farage and the Fascists. Yet, they stood anyway. That’s real bravery.
That’s what this article is the start of. It targets Q Manivannan, the non-binary Green MSP who was elected via the regional lists. The Mail have reportedly got their hands on a message Manivannan sent to party colleagues regarding a work visa, suggesting a leak somewhere in the party that they should address immediately.
After securing a seat at Holyrood, they said, “My name is Dr Q Manivannan, I am a transgender Tamil immigrant, my pronouns are they/them. I am to some in this country everything that the hateful despise and I am standing here as your MSP now with care.’” In reporting these comments, the Mail misgender them in the very next paragraph.
You can read a statement on all this from the Scottish Greens below, under The National.
If these relics are the answer, Starmer’s asking the wrong question, by Tom Harris, 10 May (English)
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Tom Harris is a former Labour Minister. He is writing here about Keir Starmer bringing back Harriet Harman and Gordon Brown, as the Prime Minister attempts to save his own ass. Harris writes, “Wes Streeting, however, could take the party by the scruff of the neck. He is, by a country mile, the most able candidate – a pragmatic Health Secretary, tough on the unions and honest about his mistakes, such as working for trans rights charity Stonewall. He would broaden Labour’s appeal beyond its soft-Left support, which is why party members view him with deep suspicion.” Within 48 hours of returning, Harman was sending out a tweet that was meant to be a DM.
Lord knows there is plenty to divide us, but on one key issue the message is crystal clear: Solve the illegal immigration crisis – or face political oblivion, by Sarah Vine, 10 May (Scottish)
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Passing mention: “Vast numbers of undocumented arrivals, often from countries with cultures very different from ours, are clearly what keeps them awake at night, far more than trans rights or VAT on public schools or Palestine or any other hobby-horse obsession.”
Swinney lacks the backbone to say NO when Greens come knocking with outrageous demands, by Euan McColm, 10 May (Scottish)
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More unhinged ranting, which seems to be McColm’s only output. He wastes no time in making what will no doubt be the first of many digs at one of the two trans MSPs who were elected to Holyrood on Thursday.
He writes, “TAKE Kate Nevens, elected as a Green MSP for the Lothians. Might Mr Swinney be persuaded to adopt her suggestion that – I kid you not – all prisons should be abolished and criminals released? If not that, perhaps he may be willing to – as trans-identifying new Glasgow MSP Iris Duane wishes – permit biological males to use female single-sex facilities at Holyrood in return for Green votes at Budget time? The 15-strong group of Green MSPs is packed with cranks whose luxury views range from the impractical to the deranged.”
Telegraph (3)
Le woke: UK students go gender-neutral in French GCSE exams, by Cameron Henderon, 10 May
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Sex Matters are angry at pronouns again with Helen Joyce, now also apparently an expert on French GCSEs, quoted. She says, “It may seem baffling how quickly schools have been captured by gender ideology in recent years. One key reason is that Stonewall-linked external providers such as Pearson have promoted a pro-trans agenda to students, teachers and school leaders, often in material and resources parents were never expected to see.”” Pearson left Stonewall two years ago and say that “Gender-neutral pronouns are not required as part of Pearson Edexcel GCSE French, German, or Spanish”.
The most concerning part of this article on yet more confected nonsense, however, is the quote at the very end from the Department for Education that says, “Our expectations are clear: gender identity is an area of significant debate. Schools should not endorse any particular view or teach it as fact, including the idea all people have a gender identity.” There is suggestion, however, this is an old quote and I haven’t had the chance to check on that.
New trans MSP does not have visa to stay permanently in UK, by Simon Johnson and Jacob Freedland, 10 May
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Basically the same as the Mail’s hit piece but with added baseless accusations of antisemitism. They write, “Critics claim leader Zack Polanski’s failure to get to grips with anti-Semitism within the party’s ranks was putting some voters off. The Telegraph has seen posts by Manivannan in which the student bragged about “unfollowing” the Auschwitz museum on social media and supported the vandalism of posters of Israeli hostages taken by Oct 7. Responding to a post in 2024 by the museum asking for more support on X, Manivannan said: “Just unfollowed you”. A spokesman for the Scottish Greens said the “unfollowing” tweet was a response to statements by the museum which were viewed as downplaying the suffering in Gaza.” The ‘journalists’ also refused to use a single pronoun for Manivannan in this 500-word article (I counted, words and pronouns).
New roles for Harman and Brown face criticism, by Nick Gutteridge and Patrick Sawer, 10 May
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As expected, the cult are not happy about Keir Starmer appointing Harriet Harman as his new adviser on violence against women and girls, because she once said trans women are women. Gutteridge and Sawyer write, “Earlier yesterday, JK Rowling also criticised the appointment, pointing to comments the Labour grandee made in 2022, saying trans women were women. Ms Rowling suggested Lady Harman was a poor choice for the role, posting that “you cannot defend what you are afraid to define”.”
The National (5)
Ewing fails in bid for election as independent, by NO BYLINE, 9 May
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A nice little piece about Fergus Ewing (7,840) losing to the SNP’s Emma Roddick (11,162) in a seat Ewing held since 1999. Standing as an Independent, Ewing resigned from the SNP “saying he felt unable to stand by the party’s pledges to dual the A9 and A96, which was a key issue for his constituents. He also opposed the SNP’s Gender Recognition Reform policies and referred to the Scottish Greens as “extremists” and “winebar revolutionaries” when objecting to the party’s powersharing agreement with the SNP.” Roddick served as Minister for Equalities under Humza Yusuf.
More progressive voices set to be heard in Holyrood, by James Walker, 9 May
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Passing mention about the election, along with Q Manivannan’s statement.
First two transgender MSPs elected, by NO BYLINE, 10 May
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A straight news report. Nothing to see here, except two amazing new MSPs, Q Manivannan and Iris Duane.
If you’ve made it this far, you already read Manivannan’s comments on being elected. Duane, meanwhile, said, “We have beaten Labour and, most importantly we have defeated the politics of division and hate from Reform.
“This is a historic result for our city and for Scotland. I know that some will focus on the fact that I am the first black MSP and one of the first openly trans MSPs, but that’s not what this election was about.
“Scotland needs radical change, and that is what the people of Glasgow have elected us to deliver.”
Greens hit back in row over MSP’s visa status, by NO BYLINE, 10 May
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In reaction to the claims being made in the articles above about Q Manivannan, the Scottish Greens issued a statement. “The Scottish Greens are proud of our record election result and to have Q elected to represent Edinburgh and Lothians East. The Scottish Parliament rightly and explicitly chose to permit everyone with the right to live here to stand in elections, including new Scots on visas.
“Q is on a valid visa with the right to work and live in Scotland, and is a Commonwealth citizen.
“The UK’s visa system is needlessly expensive and hostile, and we are determined to replace it with one that welcomes people with care rather than throwing up hurdles and barriers.”
Concerns over women’s Representation realised, by Abbi Garton-Crosbie, 10 May
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The number of women elected to the Scottish Parliament dropped from a record high of 58 in 2021 to 56 in 2026. The Greens were the only party to end up with more women elected than men, and they got some trans people in as well. “Out of 73 constituency seats available, 42 male MSPs were elected and 31 female MSPs. Of the remaining 56 regional seats, there were 30 male MSPs elected, 25 female MSPs and one transgender non-binary MSP.”
The Herald (4)
Holyrood dynasty ends as Ewing ousted, by NO BYLINE, 9 May
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“In addition, he has criticised the government on various issues, ranging from gender recognition reforms to the delays on dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness. Last year, he claimed the party had “chosen over the past four years to self-destruct, with its damaging deal with the Greens, its obsession over gender recognition, the ill-fated deposit return scheme and, by turning its back on hardworking oil and gas workers”.
SNP heavyweights are unseated by rampant Greens who win first constituency MSPS, by Rebecca McCurdy, 9 May
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Passing mention: “The party also made history by electing two transgender candidates – Iris Duane and Q Manivannan.” Also includes Manivannan’s statement.
The class of 2026 Meet the new radical activists, crofters and the former MPS who will govern Scotland, by The Herald Political Team, 10 May
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Mentions for the first two trans MSPs to be elected. This is a straight report, highlighting previous achievements. Duane is even afforded female pronouns, while Manivannan is referred to by name and as Dr.
What fuelled Greens’ surge – and what are their tax plans?, by Kathleen Nutt, 10 May
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Passing mention: “Ms [Gillian] Mackay [Scottish Greens co-leader] said voters who backed the SNP under Nicola Sturgeon’s leadership were now switching to the Greens as the SNP tacked more towards the political centre ground on issues such as trans rights and climate change.
END
As I started the Trans Agenda on Substack, not all editions are here on Patreon just yet. I am in the process of moving them over.