A SENIOR former UK Government official has said they're “nervous” about how the blocking of gender legislation would go down with soft-Unionist Scots.
Speaking to Politico, the official stressed that the “comms need to be calm” and ensure that the move is a legal rather than a political one.
However, some Scottish Tory MSPs have broken ranks to back the bill in Holyrood, including Jamie Greene.
He penned a letter to Rishi Sunak saying that blocking the legislation would be a “gift” to the independence movement.
Meanwhile writing in The Herald, former Scottish Tory adviser Andy Maciver said that blocking the bill would be an act of “constitutional vandalism” and would “hand Scottish nationalists another tranche of soft Unionists on a silver platter”.
Elsewhere, the Tory Reform Group said last night that vetoing the bill was a “deeply concerning development”, warning that “transgender and non-binary lives across the country are at risk of being used to play political games”.
The bill intends to make it easier for trans people to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate by removing the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, lowering the age threshold for applications and reducing the time applicants need to live in their acquired gender.
During the amendments stage, a change was made to the rules to allow 16 and 17-year-olds, which requires them to live in their acquired gender for six months while for over 18s it is only three.
Labour leader Keir Starmer has already sparked backlash after contradicting his MSPs during a Sunday broadcast media round.
He was accused of promoting Tory myths about the bill when he said he had “concerns” over some of the legislation.
A judicial review could potentially be launched against the Secretary of State’s ruling.
