A GROUP of campaigners has protested Scottish Labour’s support of gender recognition reform by gaining access to the building which hosts the party’s headquarters.
Photographs posted on Twitter show at least 10 people outside of the building on Bath Street in Glasgow.
They can be seen holding signs and placards condemning Labour’s qualified support of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, which is currently going through the Scottish Parliament.
The group also appeared to gain access inside of the building, which accommodates the offices of Scottish Labour as well as many other organisations.
The building is rented out by the commercial property agent Ryden. A spokesperson for Ryden told The National: “We are aware a building was entered last night by people who are not tenants of the building.
“We are in contact with the existing tenants to advise on building security, as is standard procedure.”
The protesters stuck up posters and stickers in the building, including on the door of the women’s bathroom, which claim that Labour “isn’t working for women” and that women are “not men’s shields”.
A video also shows that a cut-out silhouette of a person was brought into the building, with the campaigners claiming that it represented a male sex offender who would be placed within a women’s prison.
In the video a member of the group said: “Hi Scottish Labour, we’re here in your headquarters in Bath Street and big Katie here is looking to vote Labour because she hears that you’re really good to lassies like her.”
The Scottish Government has repeatedly made clear that decisions on the housing of transgender people in prisons will be made on a case-by-case basis.
There are currently 16 transgender people in the entirety of the Scottish prison system.
Scottish Labour has previously been accused of attempting to water down the bill with a series of amendments, one of which would have required transgender people to have a countersignatory when making their statutory declaration to change gender.
It is expected that the legislation will pass through the Scottish Parliament before the end of the year as it has majority support among MSPs.
Scottish Labour declined to comment.
