Data does not normally provoke demonstrations, but it did yesterday when the Scottish parliament debated a bill on the 2021 census. The legislation has been controversial because the inclusion of a non-binary “third sex” question was initially mooted.

The trans allies were not protesting against the legislation being passed but the conversations the Census Bill has enabled. They held placards saying “no debate”. This was ironic.

The Scottish parliament had just given cross-party support to a motion by the Labour MSP Jenny Marra which said that conversations about “women’s sex-based rights” were necessary and condemned violence and threats against women who wished to have them.

When the dry, one-page Census Bill was put before the culture, tourism, Europe and external affairs committee last year nobody