Keir Starmer has opened up a split with Scottish Labour over the Gender Recognition Reform bill. The UK Labour leader said he had "concerns" over Scotland's gender recognition law because he considers 16 to be too young to change gender. He also said that he was worried that the legislation may break the Equalities Act.
The Scottish Government passed legislation last month which will allow people to obtain a gender recognition certificate without the need for a medical diagnosis. This process is known as “self-identification”.
Scottish Labour voted with the SNP in favour of the law. The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill also lowers the minimum age for applicants to 16. It drops the time required for an applicant to live in their acquired gender from two years to three months but with a three-month reflection period.
