Catriona Stewart

What’s behind Scottish Labour’s gender U-turn?

(Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

At long last, Scottish Labour has clearly and decisively set out its position on gender self-identification. Party leader Anas Sarwar and his deputy Jackie Baillie have now robustly stated the case that Scottish Labour supports single-sex spaces based on biological sex. Good, clear, precise messaging of the type entirely absent from the SNP leadership – and long overdue.

Yet that clatter you hear is the sound of jaws dropping violently at the audacity. Shock at this astonishing volte face by Sarwar will be most keenly felt by two of his MSPs, Claire Baker and Carol Mochan, who were forced to resign their frontbench posts in the Scottish parliament when they declined to support the Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

Sarwar, in an interview with the Holyrood Sources podcast, has said that, knowing what he now knows, his party would not have supported changes to legislation designed to allow people who identify as trans to self-declare their gender. What

Written by
Catriona Stewart

Catriona Stewart is a freelance journalist, broadcaster and political commentator in Scotland and vice-chair of Women in Journalism Scotland. She is a former Herald columnist.

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in