UK government blocks Scotland’s gender reform bill in constitutional first
The UK government has blocked Scotland’s gender reform bill in an unprecedented intervention which Nicola Sturgeon has described as a “full-frontal attack” on the Scottish parliament.
Downing Street has the power to stop legislation from Holyrood receiving Royal Assent – the final stage of any new bill – if it believes it will have an adverse impact on UK-wide law.
Scotland Secretary Alister Jack has confirmed that he will lay a section 35 order at Westminster on Tuesday to prevent the legislation being sent to the King for royal assent.
In a statement, he said: “I have not taken this decision lightly.”
In the 25 years since devolution, no British government has taken this step – until now.
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In a tweet posted in response to Mr Jack’s announcement, the first minister said: “This is a full-frontal attack on our democratically-elected Scottish parliament and its ability to make its own decisions on devolved matters.
“The Scottish government will defend the legislation and stand up for Scotland’s parliament.
“If this Westminster veto succeeds, it will be first of many.”
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill was passed by a majority of MSPs last month, with Ms Sturgeon hailing at as a “historic day for equality”.
The new legislation would lower the age people can apply to change their gender to 16, remove the need for a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria for a gender recognition certificate (GRC), and reduce the time an applicant needs to live in their acquired gender.
But while the bill has been welcomed by equality campaigners, UK ministers fear it may lead to gender tourism and that people who change gender in Scotland would have a different legal gender when they are in the rest of the UK.
Critics of the legislation are also concerned that organisations offering single-sex spaces would have to adopt different policies.
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Scotland’s gender bill explained
Announcing the move to block the gender reform bill, Mr Jack said: “I have decided to make an order under section 35 of the Scotland Act 1998, preventing the Scottish parliament’s Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill from proceeding to royal assent.
“After thorough and careful consideration of all the relevant advice and the policy implications, I am concerned that this legislation would have an adverse impact on the operation of Great Britain-wide equalities legislation.
“Transgender people who are going through the process to change their legal sex deserve our respect, support and understanding. My decision today is about the legislation’s consequences for the operation of GB-wide equalities protections and other reserved matters.
“I have not taken this decision lightly.
“The bill would have a significant impact on, amongst other things, GB-wide equalities matters in Scotland, England and Wales. I have concluded, therefore, that this is the necessary and correct course of action.
“If the Scottish government chooses to bring an amended bill back for reconsideration in the Scottish parliament, I hope we can work together to find a constructive way forward that both respects devolution and the operation of UK parliament legislation.
“I have written today to the first minister and the Scottish parliament’s presiding officer informing them of my decision.”
Blocking of gender bill a ‘constitutional nightmare’
For many equality campaigners, this move is insulting and heart-breaking.
After years of painstaking work, they see tonight’s decision as a painful step back for a group of people who already face a barrage of societal, emotional and bureaucratic hurdles to live their lives.
Ministers in Westminster, however, believe they had little choice but to block the law.
One senior UK government source told me the Holyrood legislation was a “phenomenal mess” which could cause problems across the country regarding pensions, benefits, schools and prisons.
A second senior source described it as a “constitutional nightmare”.
Those involved are keen to point out they followed legal advice and the decision was not ideological but administrative.
UK government officials are confident a majority of Scots are on their side. Private government polling suggests 52% of 2019 SNP voters back the move. That figure is significantly higher when considering the whole electorate.
Tonight’s carefully-worded statement from the Scottish secretary is evidence that he realises the sensitivity of this issue.
Alister Jack said that transgender people “deserve our respect, support and understanding”, that he has “not taken this decision lightly” and that he will be “constructive” if the Scottish government put forward an amended bill.
Nonetheless the move is unprecedented: a ‘section 35 order’ (which will prevent the legislation getting royal assent) has never before been issued in the 25-year history of devolution.
The wider concern in Whitehall is that Nicola Sturgeon’s government will use this decision as evidence that Scottish democracy is broken and use it as a powerful argument to bolster the case for independence.
For Rishi Sunak, a prime minister keen to de-escalate, and de-dramatise Scotland’s constitutional debate, this move is likely to do the opposite.
Earlier today, Ms Sturgeon said “it would be an outrage” if the UK government were to block the bill.
In a briefing on NHS pressures, she accused UK ministers of “using trans people as a political weapon”.
“In my view there are no grounds to challenge this legislation,” she told reporters.
“It is within the competence of the Scottish parliament, it doesn’t affect the operation of the Equality Act and it was passed by an overwhelming majority of the Scottish parliament after very lengthy and very intense scrutiny by MSPs of all parties represented in the parliament.
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Rishi Sunak says that the UK government will decide on the
The first minister said the move to block the legislation would create a “very, very slippery slope indeed”, adding that it could “normalise” and “embolden” the UK government to do the same in other areas.
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish government would “robustly and rigorously and with a very, very high degree of confidence” defend the bill.
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Will Labour back gender reforms bill?
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously said it was “completely reasonable” for the UK government to consider blocking the reforms.
At the weekend, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer voiced his concerns with the legislation, saying 16 was too young for such a decision to be made.
The bill was backed by the Scottish Labour Party, with the exception of two MSPs who resigned their frontbench positions to vote against it.
Nancy Kelley, chief executive of Stonewall, a leading transgender rights charity in the UK, accused the PM of using trans people’s lives as “a political football”.
In a statement following the UK government’s announcement, Ms Kelley said: “This is the nuclear option.
“It is the only time that section 35 of the Scotland Act has been used since 1998, in an unprecedented move which significantly undermines the devolution settlement and will unlock constitutional and diplomatic strife.”
But Scottish Conservatives’ equalities spokesperson Rachael Hamilton said the UK government was left with “little option” but to make a section 35 order after Scottish ministers rushed through the legislation “at breakneck speed”.
World
Asianmarkets bounce back after Trump pauses higher tariffs for most countries – despite increasing those on China to 125%
Asian markets have reacted positively after Donald Trump paused his so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on most of America’s trading partners for 90 days, despite the US president increasing those on China to 125%.
There have been fears of a global recession and stock markets around the world had plummeted after Mr Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs on Wednesday 2 April.
However, Japan’s Nikkei share average was up 8.2% by 3.50am BST, while the broader Topix had risen 7.5%.
Similarly, the S&P 500 stock index had jumped 9.5% and global markets bounced back following Mr Trump’s announcement on Wednesday that the increased tariffs on nearly all trading partners would now be paused.
Tariffs latest: Trump gives reasons for pausing some tariffs
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump said the “90-day pause” was for the “more than 75 countries” who had not retaliated against his tariffs “in any way”.
He added that during this period they would still have to pay a “substantially lowered” 10% tariff, which is “effective immediately”.
It is lower than the 20% tariff that Mr Trump had set for goods from the European Union, 24% on imports from Japan and 25% on products from South Korea.
The UK was already going to face a blanket 10% tariff under the new system.
Mr Trump said the increased 125% tariff on imported goods from China was “effective immediately”.
He added: “At some point, hopefully in the near future, China will realise that the days of ripping off the USA, and other countries, is no longer sustainable or acceptable.”
Hours after Mr Trump announced the pause on tariffs for most countries, a White House official clarified that this did not apply to the 25% duties imposed on some US imports from Mexico and Canada.
The tariffs were first announced in February and Mexico and Canada were not included in the “Liberation Day” announcements.
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Donald Trump says China ‘wants to make a deal’
Hours before the 125% tariff on China was revealed, Beijing said it was increasing tariffs on US goods by 50%.
It meant tariffs of 84% would be enforced on US goods – up from the 34% China had previously planned.
Mr Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office. Pic: Reuters
China ‘want to make a deal’
Asked why he posted “BE COOL” on Truth Social hours before announcing his tariff pause, Mr Trump told reporters at the White House: “I thought that people were jumping a little bit out of line.”
“They were getting yippy, you know, were getting a little bit yippy, a little bit afraid,” he added.
Mr Trump continued: “China wants to make a deal, they just don’t know how to go about it.
“[They’re] quite the proud people, and President Xi is a proud man. I know him very well, and they don’t know quite how to go about it, but they’ll figure it out.
“They’re in the process of figuring out, but they want to make a deal.”
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White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the walk back was part of a grand negotiating strategy by Mr Trump.
“President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” she said, adding that the news media “clearly failed to see what President Trump is doing here”.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also insisted Mr Trump had strengthened his hand through his tariffs.
“President Trump created maximum negotiating leverage for himself,” he said.
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Mr Bessent said Mr Trump decided to raise tariffs on China because Beijing hadn’t reached out to the US and instead increased its own levies on US goods.
Downing Street said that the UK will “coolly and calmly” continue its negotiations with the US.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said: “A trade war is in nobody’s interests. We don’t want any tariffs at all, so for jobs and livelihoods across the UK, we will coolly and calmly continue to negotiate in Britain’s interests.”
Along the thin strip of beach and woodland known as the Vistula Spit which marks the northernmost demarcation between Poland and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, there is not much in the way of a border.
Just some torn wire fencing and a few rotten posts which seem to stagger drunkenly into the shallows of the Baltic Sea.
Beneath a sign barring entry, we find a couple of empty bottles of Russian cognac and vodka.
It doesn’t feel like the edge of NATO territory.
This doesn’t feel like the edge of NATO territory
“I don’t see much protection. It’s not good,” says Krzysztof from Katowice, who has come to inspect the border himself.
“We have to have some kind of scare tactic, something to show that we are trying to strengthen our army,” says Grzegorz, who lives nearby.
“At the same time I think I would not base the defence of our country solely on our army. I am convinced that Europe or America, if anything were to happen, will help us 100%.”
Poland is investing massively in its defence, with military spending set to hit 4.7% of GDP in 2025, more than any other NATO country.
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said he will introduce voluntary military training for men of any age, and women too should they wish, so the army has a competent reserve force in the event of war.
Border between EU and the Russian Federation
He is investing $2.5bn in stronger border fortifications between Russia and Belarus, a project called East Shield which will include anti-tank obstacles, bunkers and potentially minefields too.
Along with its Baltic neighbours, Poland is withdrawing from the Ottawa convention against the use of land mines. It hasn’t committed to using them, but it wants to have that option.
We’ve been granted access to one of the cornerstones of Polish, and European defence, which is a couple of hours drive from the Vistula spit at the Redowicze military base.
Aegis Ashore Poland
Aegis Ashore Poland, together with its sister site in Romania, are the land-based arms of NATO’s missile defence shield over Europe, which is run by the US navy.
They are symbols of the US commitment to NATO and to the protection of Europe.
The control room at Aegis Ashore Poland
And despite changes at the top of the Pentagon it is “business as usual”, says Captain Michael Dwan who oversees air and missile defence within the US Sixth Fleet.
“Our mission to work with NATO forces has been unchanged. And so our commitment from the United States perspective and what capability we bring to ballistic missile defence and the defence of NATO is championed here in Poland.”
The control room at Aegis Ashore Poland
As far as Russia is concerned, NATO’s two missile defence bases in Romania and Poland represent a NATO threat on their doorstep and are therefore a “priority target for potential neutralisation”, per Russia’s foreign ministry.
NATO says the installations are purely defensive and their SM-3 interceptor missiles are not armed and are not intended to carry warheads. Russia counters they could easily be adapted to threaten Russia.
Not the case, Captain Dwan says.
Aegis Ashore Poland
Aegis Ashore Poland
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“It’s not a matter of moving offensive weapons here into the facility, the hardware and the infrastructure is simply not installed.
“It would take months or years to change the mission of this site and a significant amount of money and capability and design.”
With so much marked “secret” on the site, it seems amazing to be granted the access.
But for NATO, transparency is part of deterrence. They want potential adversaries to know how sophisticated their radar and interception systems are.
They know that if they carried warheads on site, that would make them a target so they don’t.
Deterrence also depends on whether potential adversaries believe in the US’s commitment to NATO and to Europe’s defence.
On an operational level, as far as the troops are concerned, that commitment may still be iron-clad.
But as far as its commander-in-chief goes, there is still – as with so much around Donald Trump’s presidency – a great deal of uncertainty.
In the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon President Trump suggested he might bundle a potential US troop drawdown in Europe together with the issue of EU trade and tariffs.
“Nice to wrap it up in one package,” he said, “it’s nice and clean”.
Probably not the way Europe sees it, not with a resurgent Russia on their doorstep, economic tailwinds breeding animosity and the notion of Pax Americana crumbling at their feet.
The defence secretary will urge “coalition of the willing” nations to increase pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine as plans to support peace ramp up.
John Healey and French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu will lead about 30 defence ministers in Brussels on Thursday as they discuss operational plans for a multinational peacekeeping force in Ukraine as part of the “coalition of the willing”.
They will look at each nation’s capabilities and how they could be best used to support Ukraine’s long-term defence and security as part of what the Ministry of Defence called a “reassurance force”.
UK and French military chiefs discussed planning with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his military chiefs in Kyiv last weekend.
Peace negotiations are ongoing between the US and Russia, however, US officials appear to be growing increasingly impatient with the lack of progress after Donald Trump publicly suggested a month ago Vladimir Putin wants to end the war.
Read more: Who’s in and who’s out of the coalition of the willing?
Leaders of nations part of the coalition of the willing at a summit in Paris on 27 March. Pic: AP
Last Tuesday, the Kremlin described the latest US peace proposal as unacceptable in its current form because it does not solve the “root causes” of the conflict.
Mr Putin wants to dismantle Ukraine as an independent, functioning state and has demanded Kyiv recognise Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and other partly occupied areas and pull its forces out, as well as a pledge for Ukraine to never join NATO and to demilitarise.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday Mr Trump is not “going to fall into the trap of endless negotiations” with Moscow.
Read more:
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Zelenskyy makes dig at US over response to Russian attack
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Children killed in Russian missile strike
Despite the apparent impasse in talks, the coalition of the willing – which does not include the US – is continuing with its plans for when peace is agreed.
Mr Healey is expected to tell his fellow defence ministers: “We cannot jeopardise the peace by forgetting about the war, so we must put even more pressure on Putin and step up our support for Ukraine – both in today’s fight and the push for peace.
“Our commitment is to put Ukraine in the strongest position to protect Ukraine’s sovereignty and deter future Russian aggression.”
On Friday, the defence secretary and his German counterpart, Boris Pistorius, will chair the 27th meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group at NATO’s headquarters in Brussels.
The group is an alliance of about 50 countries – all 32 NATO member states, including the US, and about 20 other countries – that has been supporting Ukraine by sending military equipment since Russia invaded in April 2022.
A Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting – including the US defence secretary – in March. Pic: AP
Mr Healey and Mr Pistorius will “drive forward additional military support” as Russia continues to attack Ukraine.
The latest development in the war has seen Mr Zelenskyy say Ukraine has intelligence there are at least 155 Chinese citizens fighting for the Russian military.
On Tuesday, Mr Zelenskyy released a video of a Chinese soldier taken by Ukrainian forces, with another captured by Ukrainian forces, he said.
Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian denied claims there were “many more” Chinese citizens fighting alongside Russians in Ukraine.
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