(UK) Sunak government threatens to block Scottish gender recognition law
Source: The Guardian
Sunak government threatens to block Scottish gender recognition law
UK ministers considering ‘nuclear option’ after MSPs overwhelmingly back bill on transgender rights
Libby Brooks and Peter Walker
Thu 22 Dec 2022 18.58 GMT
Rishi Sunak’s government is threatening to block a new law that would make Scotland the first part of the UK to introduce a self-identification system for people who want to change gender.
In a significant escalation that brings tensions around transgender rights into the constitutional arena, Westminster made clear it would consider a “nuclear option” of blocking the bill from going for royal assent, a move that would enrage supporters of the changes and nationalists.
The Scottish government pledged to “vigorously contest” any such intervention.
The first minister and SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, called Sunak and his cabinet “democracy deniers” after the supreme court ruled in October that Holyrood could not legally hold another independence referendum without Westminster’s approval. The ruling has resulted in a polling boost for independence over the last month.
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/22/sunak-government-threatens-to-block-scottish-gender-recognition-law