SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said it would be an “outrage” for Rishi Sunak to block Scotland’s gender “self-identification” law.
The bill pushed by the Scotland’s first minister – which passed at Holyrood last month – will allow trans people to obtain a gender recognition certificate (GRC) without the need for a medical diagnosis.
But multiple reports have suggested that the legal advice the Sunak government has received will provide the PM with the cover he needs to trigger Section 35 of the Scotland Act and block the law.
Ms Sturgeon insisted the bill passed at Holyrood did not clash with UK Equality Act – arguing that it was passed “after very lengthy and very intense scrutiny by MSPs”.
“If there is a decision to challenge, then in my view, it will be quite simply a political decision,” she told a press conference on Monday.
The SNP leader added: “And I think using trans people, already one of the most vulnerable stigmatised groups in our society as a political weapon, will be unconscionable and indefensible and really quite disgraceful.”
She warned Mr Sunak that blocking legislation passed in Scotland was a “very, very slippery slope”, adding: “I think the import and significance of this would go beyond the particular subject matter of the legislation.”
If Mr Sunak does decide to take the so-called “nuclear option” of blocking the law passed at Holyrood, he will become the first No 10 incumbent to use the blocking mechanism.
The Scotland Act, which established a devolved Scottish parliament, gives Westminster four weeks to consider bills passed by Holyrood that could have an “adverse effect on the operation of the law”.
According to the Financial Times, Mr Sunak – who said during a visit to Scotland last week that he was concerned by the gender law – is preparing to block the bill, with a decision coming as soon as Monday.
The newspaper reported that the legal advice given to the Tory states the bill passed by Edinburgh “cuts across” UK-wide legislation on equalities. Scotland secretary Alister Jack is describe as being “fully supportive” of an intervention by the PM.
Labour MSPs backed the reforms, which would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to apply for a GRC for the first time. But Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has aired concerns about the SNP-led legislation, telling the BBC on Sunday that he thought 16 was too young an age for people to decide to legally change their birth gender.
On Monday, Sir Keir suggested that both the SNP and the Tories were trying to use the gender recognition bill for political advantage by creating constitutional and culture war clashes.
“I am worried about the fact that I think this is being used by the SNP as a sort of devolution political football,” he told LBC. “And I think it’s being used by the [Sunak] government, or might be used, as a divisive football in relation to the particular issue.”
Mr Starmer said the Gender Recognition Act should be modernised, but said 18 would be a more appropriate age for people to make decisions. He also warned that any move to block Scottish legislation would be “a big step for a government to take”.
Scottish Tories are thought to be worried about a major constitutional row. Scottish Tory MSP Jamie Greene wrote to Mr Sunak to warn him that an intervention would “a gift to proponents of independence who may accuse us of tearing up the devolution settlement”.
Labour peer Baroness Chakrabarti backed the principles behind the gender ID bill. But the ex-Liberty chief warned that the Sunak government “may have a point” on how it impacts upon UK-wide equalities legislation.
“Whilst I am sympathetic to the change that is made to make the rights of trans people in Scotland I think we may have a clash between the position in the UK-wide legislation and the position in Scotland,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
She said it “may mean – even though I suspect political mischief on the part of the Conservative government and culture wars – they may have a point”.
But the SNP’s new Westminster leader Stephen Flynn said it would be an “outrage” if London did choose to intervene, saying it would amount to the UK parliament “overstepping massively”.
Meanwhile, Mr Sunak is reportedly set to ban all conversion therapy this week, opting to go further than his recent predecessor Boris Johnson.
Mr Johnson vowed to ban homosexual conversion therapy when prime minister, but decided not to do the same for transgender conversion therapy.
Ministers are reportedly set to announce that they plan to implement a ban on both forms of conversion and will make legal changes to enforce the position.
