Rishi Sunak may block Scottish transgender law from taking effect

The Tories’ Scottish Secretary Alister Jack had already said he may invoke section 35 of the Scotland Act, which gives him an effective veto on laws he believes impact on reserved matters.

And Mr Sunak has now said: “Lots of people have got concerns about this new Bill in Scotland, about the impact it will have on women’s and children’s safety. So I think it is completely reasonable for the UK Government to have a look at it.”

In short, the new Scottish law makes it easier to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate, which legally alters your status from male to female (or vice-versa).

Under the existing 2004 Gender Recognition Act, it was already possible to change your legal status without undergoing any surgery or hormone therapy.

However, applicants still had to meet a few criteria, including having to show they had lived in their new identity for two years, and obtaining a diagnosis of “gender dysphoria” from a medical professional (this is basically the psychological condition which makes people believe they are ‘born in the wrong body’).

Trans activists have long complained these criteria are too strict, and the law change in Scotland now means:

> No gender dysphoria diagnosis is needed;

> The lower age limit for applicants will be cut from 18 to 16;

> And the period applicants are required to live in their acquired gender is cut from two years to three months (or six months for 16 and 17-year-olds).

Having signalled a few years back that they would relax the law on switching gender, the Tories changed their minds and ditched their plans in 2020, to the surprise and dismay of activists.