Scottish Labour accused of backing gender self-ID law

The Scottish manifesto pledged to ensure that new gender recognition laws north of the border were compliant with the UK Equality Act, including “the rights and protections it affords women.”

However, feminist campaigners said the absence of any medical diagnosis meant that the plan was “completely and utterly self-ID”.

Mr Sarwar whipped Labour MSPs to support Ms Sturgeon’s Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill and all but a few voted for it when it was passed by Holyrood in Dec 2022.

However, there was a huge public backlash after trans predator Isla Bryson was sent initially to a women’s prison after being convicted of two rapes.

Although Bryson had not legally changed gender, Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidance at the time stated that trans criminals should be sent to the jail that matched their self-identified gender that they were living in prior to their conviction.

Rishi Sunak’s Government then stepped in to veto the Bill over concerns that it undermined UK-wide women’s rights, including the sanctity of safe spaces.

Marion Calder, the director of For Women Scotland (FWS), said: “It appears that Scottish Labour has not learnt anything from the past several years and are determined to pursue self-ID, which has been opposed by the general public.

“This is self-ID – it is either a medical condition or it is not. Labour say they are for the many, not the few, but women are the many and they are not listening to them.”

Meghan Gallacher, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, said: “Scottish Labour have clearly learned nothing from the Isla Bryson controversy. 

“By inexplicably doubling down on their gender self-ID policy, they are putting the safety of women and girls at risk and arrogantly dismissing the vast majority of Scots who oppose it.”

Sir Keir Starmer had pledged to introduce a similar system but last year declared that a woman is an “adult female” and he did not believe that the self-ID policy was “the right way forward”.

He said that Labour had had the “chance to reflect” on what happened in Scotland. The UK manifesto then retained the requirement for a medical diagnosis.