THE majority of Scottish Labour MSPs who voted in favour of Holyrood’s gender reforms have remained silent on the Supreme Court ruling on the definition of a woman.
On Wednesday April 19, Supreme Court justices ruled that the definition of “woman” under the Equality Act 2010 was based on biological sex.
In the wake of the judgement, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar was roundly criticised for claiming he had “always” opposed gender reform – despite voting in favour of self-identification in the Scottish Parliament in 2022.
Sarwar’s statement even featured a community note fact-checking his comments on Twitter/X, pointing out that he voted in favour of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.
The Scottish Greens urged the silent Labour politicians to show the same “resolve and commitment” as they did when the Holyrood legislation was passed.
Scottish Labour MSPs were whipped to back the reforms, with only four out of the 22 parliamentarians either abstaining or not voting when it came to the final stage.
Of the 18 who did back the reforms, only Sarwar and Lothian list MSP Foysol Choudhury have spoken about the ruling on their social media pages.
Choudry wrote simply: “Important clarification from the Supreme Court today. The Scottish Government now must act in accordance with this decision.”
The other 16, including those who have been vocal in supporting transgender rights in the past, have remained silent, but have posted about other issues, such as the death of Pope Francis on Monday.
Monica Lennon, Central Scotland MSP, tweeted in 2023 that Holyrood passed the gender reforms because “trans people deserve to live with dignity”.
Over the years, the MSP has shared many messages supportive of the trans community, including writing: "The UK Government cannot be trusted with trans rights, women’s rights or with devolution. Justice will prevail."
In 2021, she pledged: "On Trans Day of Visibility we should all join in the fight for full equality for all trans and non-binary people. I pledge to try to be a better trans ally. Today is a day for allies and advocates to show up and show support."
However, as of Easter Monday, Lennon had posted her condolences on the death of Pope Francis, but nothing on the Supreme Court ruling.
West Scotland MSP Paul O’Kane, who also has previously tweeted about transgender rights and Trans Day of Remembrance, neglected to comment on the ruling on his social media pages despite being active on other issues.
Paul Sweeney, another Glasgow list MSP, who posted about his vote in favour of the GRR Bill in October 22 and that “trans rights are human rights”, has been discussing the death of Pope Francis and a variety of other topics, but not the Supreme Court ruling.
Deputy leader Jackie Baillie has also remained silent. Despite voting for the GRR, she has previously asked the Scottish Government to make a statement on nurse Sandie Peggie’s ongoing employment tribunal against NHS Fife.
“The SNP Government's decision not to have a parliamentary statement on the right to single-sex spaces within NHS Fife is concerning. They should reconsider,” she wrote in February.
The other MSPs who have been active on Twitter/X, posting and retweeting, include Neil Bibby, Sarah Boyack, Katy Clark, Rhoda Grant, Mark Griffin, Daniel Johnson, Colin Smyth, and Martin Whitfield.
Mercedes Villalba, North East Scotland MSP, does not have an active Twitter/X account but has not posted about the Supreme Court ruling on either of her Facebook or Instagram pages.
Richard Leonard, who has not posted on Twitter/X since January, also did not make any mention of the issue on Bluesky. Both MSPs have posted about other topics in the days following the judgement.
Alex Rowley MSP has not posted on either Twitter/X or Facebook since April 3.
“When Gender Recognition Reform passed it did so with the support of MSPs from across the Chamber, including the Labour front bench,” Chapman said.
“Some very powerful speeches and interventions came from those Labour MSPs.
“Human rights should be at the heart of the Scotland we are working to build, regardless of which party we belong to.
“I urge every Labour MSP who backed GRR to show the same resolve and commitment as they did then, and to ensure that they stand with their trans constituents and resist all attempts to remove their rights.”
The National asked Scottish Labour for a response to the lack of public comment from MSPs who previously voted in favour of the GRR bill.
In response, a Scottish Labour spokesperson said: “Scottish Labour has always called for the protection of single-sex spaces on the basis of biological sex, as provided in the Equality Act.
“This court ruling should of course be respected, and as Lord Hodge said this must not be read as a triumph of one or more groups at the expense of another.
“Now that we have this clarity, the SNP Government must now provide clear guidance for Scottish public services so they can implement the Equality Act properly and uphold the rights and dignity of all.”
