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.
Politics live: Results of teachers’ strike ballot in England and Wales expected today
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
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
Body of missing rabbi Zvi Kogan found in UAE – as Israeli PM says he was murdered in ‘antisemitic terror incident’
The COP29 climate talks have reached a last ditch deal on cash for developing countries, pulling the summit back from the brink of collapse after a group of countries stormed out of a negotiating room earlier.
The slew of deals finally signed off in the small hours of Sunday morning in Azerbaijan includes one that proved hardest of all – one about money.
Eventually the more than 190 countries in Baku agreed a target for richer polluting countries such as the UK, EU and Japan to drum up $300bn a year by 2035 to help poorer nations both curb and adapt to climate change.
It is a far cry from the $1.3trn experts say is needed, and from the $500bn that vulnerable countries like Uganda had said they would be willing to accept.
But in the end they were forced to, knowing they could not afford to live without it, nor wait until next year to try again, when a Donald Trump presidency would make things even harder.
Bolivia’s lead negotiator Diego Pacheco called it an “insult”, while the Marshall Islands’ Tina Stege said it was “not nearly enough, but it’s a start”.
UN climate chief Simon Stiell said: “This new finance goal is an insurance policy for humanity, amid worsening climate impacts hitting every country.
“No country got everything they wanted, and we leave Baku with a mountain of work still to do. So this is no time for victory laps.”
The funding deal was clinched more than 24 hours into overtime, and against what felt like all the odds.
The talks were rocked from the start by the incoming presidency of climate denier Mr Trump, the moment Argentina’s team were recalled back to Buenos Aires by their right-wing president and a controversial letter that sent shockwaves through the United Nations.
Pic: AP
The fraught two weeks of negotiations pitted the anger of developing countries who are footing the bill for more dangerous weather that they did little to cause, against the tight public finances of rich countries.
A relieved Juan Carlos Monterrey Gomez, climate envoy for Panama, said there is “light at the end of the tunnel”.
Just hours ago, the talks almost fell apart as furious vulnerable nations stormed out of negotiations in frustration over that elusive funding goal.
They were also angry with oil and gas producing countries, who stood accused of trying to dilute aspects of the deal on cutting fossil fuels.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Climate-vulnerable nations storm out of talks
The UN talks work on consensus, meaning everyone has to agree for a deal to fly.
A row over how to follow up on last year’s pledge to “transition away from fossil fuels” was left unresolved and punted into next year, following objections from Chile and Switzerland for being too weak.
A draft deal simply “reaffirmed” the commitment but did not dial up the pressure in the way the UK, EU, island states and many others here wanted.
Saudi Arabia fought the hardest against any step forward on cutting fossil fuels, the primary cause of climate change that is intensifying floods, drought and fires around the world.
Governments did manage to strike a deal on carbon markets at COP29, which has been 10 years in the making and will allow countries to trade emissions cuts.
‘Not everything we wanted’
👉 Tap here to follow the Sky News Daily wherever you get your podcasts 👈
The UK’s energy secretary, Ed Miliband, said the deal is “not everything we or others wanted”, but described it as a “step forward”.
“It’s a deal that will drive forward the clean energy transition, which is essential for jobs and growth in Britain and for protecting us all against the worsening climate crisis,” he added.
“Today’s agreement sends the signal that the clean energy transition is unstoppable.
“It is the biggest economic opportunity of the 21st century and through our championing of it we can help crowd in private investment.”
Protesters at the summit in Baku. Pic: AP
Read more:
Azerbaijan president hails oil and gas as ‘gift from God’
UN climate summits ‘no longer fit for purpose’
The Azerbaijan team leading COP29 said: “Every hour of the day, we have pulled people together. Every inch of the way, we have pushed for the highest common denominator.
“We have faced geopolitical headwinds and made every effort to be an honest broker for all sides.”
At least 20 people have been killed and 66 injured in Israeli strikes on central Beirut, Lebanese authorities have said.
Lebanon‘s health ministry said the death toll could rise as emergency workers dig through the rubble looking for survivors. DNA tests are being used to identify the victims, the ministry added.
The attack destroyed an eight-storey residential building and badly damaged several others around it in the Basta neighbourhood at 4am (2am UK time) on Saturday.
The central Basta neighbourhood in Beirut
The Israeli military did not warn residents to evacuate before the attack and has not commented on the casualties.
At least four bombs were dropped in the attack – the fourth targeting the city centre this week.
A separate drone strike in the southern port city of Tyre this morning killed two people and injured three, according to the state-run National News Agency.
The victims were Palestinian refugees from the nearby al Rashidieh camp who were out fishing, according to Mohammed Bikai, spokesperson for the Fatah Palestinian faction in the Tyre area.
Israel’s military warned residents today in parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs that they were near Hezbollah facilities, which the army would target in the near future. The warning, posted on X, told people to evacuate at least 500 metres away.
The army said that over the past day it had conducted intelligence-based strikes on Hezbollah targets in Dahiyeh, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where Hezbollah has a strong presence. It said it hit several command centres and weapons storage facilities.
Pic: AP
Israel has killed several Hezbollah leaders in air strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs.
Heavy fighting between Israel and Hezbollah is ongoing in southern Lebanon, as Israeli forces push deeper into the country since launching a major offensive in September.
According to the Lebanese health ministry, at least 3,670 people have been killed in Israeli attacks there, with more than 15,400 wounded.
It has displaced about 1.2 million people – a quarter of Lebanon’s population – while Israel says about 90 soldiers and nearly 50 civilians have been killed in northern Israel.
Read more:
No 10 indicates Netanyahu would be arrested
‘Dozens’ of Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrike
Meanwhile, six people, including three children and two women, were killed in the southern Gazan city of Khan Younis.
Some 44,176 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry.
The ministry does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count, but it has said that more than half of the fatalities are women and children.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking another 250 hostage.
US envoy Amos Hochstein was in the region this week to try to end more than 13 months of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, ignited last October by the war in Gaza.
Mr Hochstein indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday, before going to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and defence minister Israel Katz.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports8 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway