Scottish Labour’s social justice chief has called for the UK and Scottish Governments to publish their legal advice on Holyrood’s controversial gender reforms.
Pam Duncan-Glancy said it would be “helpful” if the documents were put into the public domain.
Her comments came after Tory Scottish Secretary Alister Jack blocked the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) legislation from receiving Royal Assent.
The Bill, passed by MSPs in December, makes it easier for trans people to change gender, but Jack said the plans could impact on the UK-wide Equality Act.
Labour supported the SNP/Green Government Bill, although a small number of the party’s MSPs either voted against or did not vote.
Duncan-Glancy, her party’s social justice and social security spokeswoman, was a strong supporter of GRR as the proposals made their way through Parliament.
She told the Record the UK Government blocking the law was the “wrong approach” and called for the dispute to be resolved “as quickly as possible”.
She said: “That means, I think, setting out clearly in guidance what it means in practice.”
“This isn’t a matter of whether the legislation is the right thing to do or not. It’s how we take it forward.”
She added: “Whatever the way forward is, it has to be done with trans people right at the centre of that.”
“I am gutted, I am genuinely gutted. I can’t believe we are where we are. I am so frustrated.”
She took a swipe at the UK Government: “I don’t think we can consider the Tories a good faith actor on equalities and human rights in general.”
“The UK Government are not good faith actors in this at all, but there are statutory bodies, such as the Equality and Human Rights Commission, such as the Scottish Human Rights Commission, who have been working on this for a long, long time.”
She said the life plans trans people had made based on the GRR passing were on hold:
“Some of those plans could include things like marriage.
“It’s certainly plausible that that’s one of the things that trans people would have looked at and thought ‘now I can finally get this recognised, now I can be married as the person I know myself to be'.”
Asked if she believed, in the interests of transparency, that the legal advice of both governments should be published, she said:
“I think it would be helpful.”
She also said she hopes the row will not drag on: “The Tories will always want something like this to drag on for years because it will distract from their incompetence. They want the culture war.”
The GRR Bill reduces the age at which someone can apply for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) from 18 to 16.
Scottish Labour backed this change, but UK party leader Keir Starmer recently said he was opposed.
She provided a diplomatic response to Starmer’s comments:
“I support the age of 16 and I’ve said that throughout the Bill process. Keir Starmer has got his own view, it’s different to mine, but that’s okay because the UK party are able to have their own views.”
“I’m disappointed it’s still a matter for discussion, but for the UK party to have their own view is fine.”
She was also asked if she agreed with Labour MSP Monica Lennon who said Starmer had undermined the Scottish party:
“I think our position is clear. People know what our view on this is. It’s for the UK party to set out their own view.”
Other key GRR provisions include scrapping the requirement for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria and reducing the length of time a trans person needs to wait to obtain a GRC.
The Scottish Government said they do not publish legal advice.
The UK Government has been contacted.
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