Sunak government threatens to block Scotland’s Gender Recognition Act | transgender

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Rishi Sunak’s government is threatening to block a new law that would make Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a system of self-identification for people who wish to change sex.

In a major escalation that brings tensions over transgender rights into the constitutional arena, Westminster has made clear it will consider a “nuclear option” to prevent the bill from gaining royal assent, a move that would anger supporters of the changes and nationalists.

The Scottish government has vowed to “vigorously challenge” any such interference.

The first minister and leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon, called Sunak and his government “democracy deniers” after the High Court ruled in October that Holyrood could not hold another referendum on independence without approval from Westminster. The ruling has boosted opinion polls for independence over the past month.

The Scottish government hailed what it described as a “historic day for equality” after a Thursday afternoon vote in which it overwhelmingly backed plans to make changing their sex easier and less intrusive for individuals, and to expand the streamlined system for obtaining a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) for 16- and 17-year-olds.

But just after the 86-39 vote, which followed three days of intense and sometimes emotional debate at Holyrood, the Scottish Secretary, Alastair Jacques, said: In particular the issues of safety for women and children.

“We will look closely at that, as well as the implications of the Equality Act 2010 and other UK-wide legislation, in the coming weeks – including the Article 35 order halting the bill from being submitted for royal assent if required.”

While gender recognition is a devolved matter, equality legislation – which the new law will interact with – is held at Westminster.

Jack’s intervention follows briefings by the UK government in the run-up to the vote that the new law would create “legal chaos” and result in “gender tourism” across the border with England.

Section 35 of the Code of Scotland allows the Scots Secretary to issue an order preventing the Lord Chief of Holyrood from bringing forward a bill for royal assent if they have reasonable grounds to believe that it would have an adverse effect on the working of the law as it applied to reserved matters.

Such a move would almost certainly be challenged by the Scottish government, either via judicial review or with direct reference to the High Court, prompting the second legal battle between the two governments in recent months.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The Bill as passed is the province of legislation, and has been overwhelmingly supported, with all-party support. Any attempt by the UK Government to undermine the democratic will of the Scottish Parliament will be vigorously opposed by the Scottish Government.”

Law officers in Westminster government will consider the implications of the bill before making any decision on the next step, as Jack’s threat to block the royal assent is seen as not inevitable but very possible.

“This is the nuclear option, if you will,” said a British government source. “The ideal, of course, is that we can make it clear to the Scottish government all the constitutional issues that the bill creates as it is, and they can amend it before it is fully enacted. But we look very seriously at every possibility.”

Immediately after the vote, a spokesperson for the EHRC called on the UK government to clarify whether Scottish refugee centers would be recognized in the rest of the UK.

The constitutional dimension will amplify tensions around the bill, which has seen the SNP’s biggest revolt in the party’s 15 years in power. As a sign of the tensions, the debate was disrupted minutes before the final vote by protesters on the public balcony.

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Nine SSP members voted against their government, including Ash Regan, a former minister who resigned in protest at an earlier vote, but the bill passed comfortably with support from the Scottish Greens, Labor and the Scottish Liberal Democrats. Two Labor members—who had been flogged for voting in favor—revolted, while three Conservatives, who were allowed a free vote, supported him.

The Bill passed in private extended session, six years after it was first put forward by Sturgeon, who was a consistent and passionate supporter of the change. The bill followed two of the largest public consultations in the history of the Scottish Parliament.

When proposing the final version of the Bill to Parliament, the Minister for Social Justice, Shona Robison, insisted that applying for a GRC under the new regime would remain a “substantial and important legal process”, with enhanced safeguards during the passage of the law. She said the bill ” It does not change public policy… around the provision of single-sex spaces and services.”

She told the MSPs, “Trans rights are not in competition with women’s rights, and as is often the case, we can make things better for everyone when those who experience discrimination act as allies rather than opponents.”

But Scottish Conservative Equality spokeswoman Rachel Hamilton told Robson that her government had not brought the people of Scotland with them, and that “in a rush to make the process a little easier for trans people, the government is making it easier for trans men to attack women.”

During the Phase Three adjustment process, which spanned two marathon sessions that ended after midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday this week, Holyrood saw an unprecedented level of collaboration between the parties as members moved to address concerns about abusive males taking advantage of the new system.

Vic Valentine, director of Scottish Trans, said the “simple but important” changes will allow trans people to live with the “dignity and appreciation that everyone deserves”.

They added: “Trans people across Scotland today will be delighted and relieved that this law has been passed, after so many years of difficult public debate in which I often felt people were talking about us and not about us.”

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