Meeting of the Parliament 10 December 2024
No.
Meanwhile, the SNP rushed through the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill before Christmas two years ago, with “feminist to her fingertips” Nicola Sturgeon dismissing women’s valid concerns. More valuable resources were wasted trying to defend the flawed legislation in the Supreme Court.
Last month, lawyers acting for the SNP Government were on their feet again in the Supreme Court. This time, they were arguing that men could get pregnant, become lesbians and access women-only spaces. Even though John Swinney said that he disagreed, and even though Kaukab Stewart recognised last week that single-sex spaces are a right under the Equality Act 2010, costly King’s counsels argued the opposite in the Supreme Court literally days later.
In a thoroughly depressing development, the Scottish Government’s case was supported by Amnesty International, which argued against the importance of biological sex, despite its being used to deny women their fundamental rights in countries such as Afghanistan.
The balance of rights seems to have tipped so far against women and girls under the SNP that the Scottish Government believes not only that sex can be appropriated but that the very definition of a woman is contentious ground.
All of that shows that the SNP Government has struggled to understand the parameters of devolved competence. It has failed to manage the complex balance of rights between competing interests, and it has lacked leadership on the serious challenges that we face in Scotland.
Too often, the SNP says one thing but does another. The Scottish Government has many of the levers that it needs to protect and promote the rights of the Scottish people, even without new legislation. We are calling for urgent, meaningful and commonsense action now. The SNP needs to stop focusing on fringe issues and find ways to address the very real challenges that impact Scots every day.
I move, as an amendment to motion S6M-15782, to leave out from “that this year” to end and insert:
“the important work of bodies, organisations and charities in Scotland, across the UK and around the world that act to uphold human rights and protect those who are vulnerable; acknowledges the steps to advance rights in Scotland, including the commencement of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024; notes, however, concerns among civil society regarding the Scottish Government’s engagement over the draft Disability Equality Plan, as well as other measures to improve and progress human rights in Scotland, which, it believes, the Scottish Government has not delivered; highlights a report from the Scottish Human Rights Commission published in November 2024, which emphasises the ‘significant’ human rights challenges for people in rural and remote areas of Scotland; recognises that a number of women’s groups continue to have serious concerns about the Scottish Government’s approach to the rights and safety of women and children; calls on the Scottish Government to work in a careful and considered way with public bodies and the third sector, in light of recent criticism over the way that it has engaged on policy matters, and urges it to take urgent and meaningful action on issues affecting human rights, including Scotland’s national housing emergency and access to vital public services such as health and social care.”
15:43Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.