MSP Maggie Chapman has issued a statement after surviving a Tory-led vote to remove her from a key Holyrood committee role.
On Tuesday, the Green member faced a Conservative motion seeking to remove her from the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee, of which she is the deputy convener, over remarks about the Supreme Court.
After the top UK court ruled that sex was biological under the 2010 Equality Act, Chapman told a trans rights protest that the decision reflected “bigotry, prejudice, and hatred”.
The comments sparked a backlash from Scotland’s legal profession, with both the Law Society and the Faculty of Advocates speaking out against Chapman.
On Tuesday, citing the faculty’s intervention, the Tories sought to pass a motion which would have put Chapman’s membership on the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee to a full Scottish Parliament vote.
Conservative MSP Tess White moved the motion, which was backed by her fellow Tory MSP Pam Gosal as well as Labour’s Paul O’Kane. However, the committee’s three SNP MSPs – Marie McNair, Evelyn Tweed, and convener Karen Adam – and Chapman herself all voted it down.
After the victory in the vote, which means she will remain in post on the committee, Chapman said she was “grateful” to have held on. “I am also very grateful to the many trans and non-binary people and allies who have been in touch with me over the last two weeks to tell me their stories,” she went on.
“The focus should not be on me, it should be on the outcomes of the ruling and the serious threat that is being posed to the rights of trans and non-binary people.
"I have never questioned the court’s right to make the ruling that it did. But that does not mean that I must agree with it. I don’t, and I am very concerned about the impact it will have and is already having.
“Over recent years a toxic culture war has seen trans people and their loved ones being targeted and demonised by too many politicians and large parts of the media.
“I will always stand up and advocate for trans and non-binary people. Not just because it is the right thing to do, but because it is also my job to stand up for my constituents.
“Some of my constituents are trans or non-binary. Others have trans or non-binary children, parents, siblings, friends. They deserve representation as who they are. I will not stop being a vocal trans ally.”
White hit out at the SNP MSPs on the committee who had voted her motion down, saying that had “put political allegiance before Parliament”.
The Tory MSP added: “Maggie Chapman voted to save her own skin. A disgraceful outcome which sets an alarming precedent for our parliament and the rule of law.”
Her colleague Gosal added: “It is absolutely shocking that SNP MSPs voted to keep Maggie Chapman on the Equalities Committee. The Bute House Agreement may have ended a year ago, however the SNP and Greens still go hand-in-hand…”
