IAN Murray has been accused of perpetrating an “affront to devolution” after he refused to lift the veto on Scottish gender reform – despite the blocked bill having the support the Scottish Labour.
The Scottish Secretary was criticised after he appeared before Westminster’s Scottish Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning, using the opportunity to rule out lifting the Tory-imposed veto on the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The bill passed in December 2022 with support from MSPs in all parties at Holyrood – and Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar whipped his group to vote to pass the legislation.
However, then-Scottish secretary Alister Jack used a “Section 35 order” – a power created under the 1998 Scotland Act but never before used – to prevent it from becoming law.
Murray, Labour’s Scottish Secretary since the July General Election, has taken Jack’s side over his own party’s.
He claimed that his Tory predecessor had used the Section 35 order to ask “the courts to determine whether or not it was lawful to use Section 35 of the Scotland Act in order to determine whether or not a question of cross-border issues arose”.
While Murray did not say he believed the Tories had been right to use the order, he insisted Labour would not revoke it.
He told MPs on the Scottish Affairs Committee: “Was it the right thing to do in terms of the previous government using it? I have said clearly we won't lift the Section 35 order that was put in place on that basis.
“And it's probably a question for the previous government in terms of whether or not they should have used it, but it's a political question for them, not a legal question for us.”
Maggie Chapman, the Greens’ equalities spokesperson, said: “Ian Murray’s refusal to undo the Tory veto on gender reform is utterly shameful, and serves as a reminder of the contempt Westminster governments have for devolution and equality.
“A clear majority of MSPs across Holyrood supported this bill. It had a huge level of crossparty support and was backed by almost every reputable equalities organisation. It was one of the most scrutinised bills in the history of our parliament.
“Self-identification is normal and is used in countries around the world. It is a small change in a clearly devolved area, and one that would give people the respect they deserve to live authentically as the people they are. The Tories chose to undermine our decision and now Labour is doing the same.
“It is an affront to devolution and it is actively harming the lives of trans people who have already waited far too long for the recognition that our Parliament voted for.
“Trans people make up a small percentage of our population, yet they are continuously targeted by a cynical culture war from reactionary right wing politicians. It has real world consequences, fuelling prejudice and the rolling back of rights and access to healthcare.”
The bill would have “demedicalised” a trans person’s identification process, allowing them to self-declare their gender. Support for this was an explicit part of Scottish Labour’s 2021 manifesto, but it was stripped out of their 2024 General Election manifesto.
Scottish Labour have been approached for comment.
