REFORM UK have been accused of aiming to “lock deaf people out of democracy” after one of the party’s MSPs suggested they would try to ban the use of sign language in Scottish elections.
Max Bannerman, a Reform MSP who represents the Highlands and Islands at Holyrood, claimed on Tuesday that he would be “introducing a bill to the Scottish Parliament to ensure that future Scottish elections are fought in Gaelic, Scots, and English only”.
It came after Reform UK faced criticism for a Westminster bid to criminalise the use of any language except for English and Welsh in elections across the UK.
The party claimed that their amendment to the Representation of the People Bill had only been intended to cover England and Wales, despite it specifically mentioning jail terms in Scotland on two separate occasions.
Defending his Westminster leaders' “administrative mess-up” (as a Reform spokesperson called it), Bannerman had said: “As a Highlander who is a keen supporter of the Gaelic language and Scotland’s rich cultural heritage, I can guarantee that Reform UK is committed to protecting the linguistic heritage of Britain.
“This amendment was drafted for application in England and Wales, not Scotland and Northern Ireland. It was about preserving the integrity of elections and ensuring that they are fought in domestic languages, not Urdu or Bengali. This is not about diminishing Scotland’s identity or heritage.
“That’s why I’m exploring introducing a Bill to the Scottish Parliament to ensure that future Scottish elections are fought in Gaelic, Scots and English only.”
However, the SNP said that Bannerman’s proposed bill would therefore ban all other languages from election campaigns, including British Sign Language (BSL), and “lock deaf people out of democracy”.
The SNP's Karen Adam – who in 2021 became the first MSP to take their oath in BSL in honour of her father – said: “As the daughter of a deaf BSL user, I find it astonishing that British Sign Language appears to have been overlooked yet again.
“BSL is not an afterthought. It is a language recognised in Scots law and, for many deaf people, it is their first or preferred language.
"If you’re proposing legislation about the languages people can use to engage in our democracy, how do you fail to consider the language used by Scotland’s deaf community?
“Whether it was Reform’s Westminster amendment, which meant BSL election materials could have been caught by criminal sanctions, now Mr Bannerman’s amended proposal for Scotland, the same question remains: where is BSL?
“This isn’t a minor drafting point. It reflects a worrying failure to think about accessibility and inclusion from the outset. Deaf people should not have to remind politicians that they exist every time legislation is proposed.
“We should be working to remove barriers to democratic participation, not creating fresh uncertainty or leaving Deaf people wondering whether they have once again been forgotten.
“I invite Mr Bannerman to make his position absolutely clear. Will he confirm that British Sign Language should have the same protection and recognition in any future proposals as English, Scots and Gaelic? If not, he owes Scotland’s Deaf community an explanation.”
Reform UK have been approached for comment.
