The first SNP Minister to have ever resigned over Scottish Government policy has spoken of the support she has received from women across Scotland for voting against its radical gender reform plans.
Ash Regan stepped down as Minister for Community Safety so she would not have to vote for the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill against her conscience. Although the proposals proceeded to the second stage by 88 to 33 votes, seven SNP MSPs voted against the Bill and two abstained, the party’s largest rebellion during its 15 years in power.
The proposed legislation makes it much easier to change legal sex by removing the need for medical evidence and reducing the two-year waiting period to three months. It even extends ‘sex swaps’ to 16-year-olds.
‘Deep concerns’
Speaking to the press for the first time since resigning, Regan said that the vote on the Bill should have been free for SNP MSPs, explaining that “it’s really important that I am able to speak up on issues that are crucial and important for women”.
She stated that her “conscience would not allow me to vote for a Bill where I could not be 100 per cent certain that women and girls would not be in danger”.
my conscience would not allow me to vote for a Bill where I could not be 100 per cent certain that women and girls would not be in danger
Regan added: “And many people have written to me over the last few days, and women across Scotland, many many women across Scotland, have deep concerns about this and I believe that their voices deserve to be heard.”
Conscience
Harry Potter author JK Rowling thanked Regan for her stance, tweeting: “This is what a principled politician looks like. @AshtenRegan will rightly be seen as a heroine when future generations of Scottish women look back at the profoundly misogynistic legislation currently being pushed through by the Sturgeon government.”
SNP MSP Ruth Maguire, who also voted against the proposals, told The Herald newspaper that her decision to rebel against the party whip also reflected her conscience.
She said: “As a parliamentarian, with a responsibility to all of my constituents, I have not been assured that the proposed legislation has adequate safeguards in place that will ensure the protection of women and girls and not erode the hard-fought rights we currently have.”
Public opinion
The Scottish Government is pushing ahead with the Bill despite recent polling confirming the scale of public opposition.
Of the 1,018 voters in Scotland surveyed by Panelbase in October, 62 per cent opposed decreasing the minimum age to 16, with only 19 per cent in favour. Only a quarter supported the reduced waiting period.
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