Tag Archives: Scotland

Religion + Belief

UK News | Muslims

Anti-Muslim incidents in the U.K. explode in the wake of New Zealand attacks

  • Tell MAMA, a U.K.-based organization that monitors anti-Muslim incidents, revealed that it received reports of 95 incidents of hate crimes against Muslims in the week following the Christchurch attacks, an increase of 593% over the previous week.
  • The incidents included verbal harassment, threats, online abuse, vandalism, and violent assaults across Great Britain.
  • Counter-terrorism police launched an investigation after receiving reports of attacks on five mosques over the course of a single day.

Read

“Anti-Muslim hate crimes soar in UK after Christchurch shootings” (The Guardian | March 2019)

“Birmingham mosque attacks probed by counter-terrorism officers” (CNN | March 2019)

“How do UK Muslims feel after series of Islamophobic attacks?” (Al Jazeera | March 2019)

Connect

Tell MAMA

Class + Socioeconomics

U.K. News | Middle & Working Classes

Scotland works to correct massive land ownership inequality through pro-community initiatives
  • The Land Reform Bill of 2015 promotes community ownership and settlement in Scotland’s rural regions, establishing a new land registry and the Scottish Land Fund to help community groups purchase land.
  • A 2014 government report found that half of Scotland’s privately held land is owned by 0.008% of the population.
  • Scotland’s land inequality has been driven by aristocratic inheritance, violent land hoarding in the 1800s, and massive contemporary real estate investments by the wealthy.

Read more:
“Scotland moves against wealthy gentry dominating land” (Reuters)
“‘New dawn’ as MSPs approve land reform proposals” (BBC)
“New £10m community buy-out fund revealed as MSPs debate land reform” (Scottish Housing News)
“A new dawn for land reform in Scotland?” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Murdo MacLeod/The Guardian)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

U.K. News | LGB

Scotland becomes first country to have out sexual minorities comprise majority of political party leaders
  • Kezia Dugdale, leader of the Scottish Labour party, came out quietly in an interview with the Fabian Review, mentioning her relationship with another woman.
  • Dugdale joins the leaders of the Scottish Conservative, Scottish Green, and UKIP Scotland parties as an out politician.
  • At 34, Dugdale is also the youngest leader of the Labour party and discussed how her relative youth has affected perceptions of her leadership capabilities.

Read more:
“The long road: interview with Kezia Dugdale” (Fabian Review)
“The Scottish Labour Leader Just Came Out And No One Batted An Eyelid” (BuzzFeed News)
“Kezia Dugdale: Scottish Labour leader announces she is in a same-sex relationship” (The Independent)

(Image Credit: Mark Runnacles/Getty Images, via BuzzFeed News)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Report from Equality Network finds nearly half of UK bisexual people have experienced biphobia when attempting to access services in the UK. More from The Scotsman.