Telegraph: Rishi Sunak set to block Nicola Sturgeon's trans law tonight

[ResisterRex]

This is the reporting from their live blog:

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/01/16/rishi-sunak-strikes-nurses-news-latest-keir-starmer-brexit/

"Rishi Sunak is to block Nicola Sturgeon's controversial gender reforms after receiving clear legal advice that they would undermine women's rights, the UK Government is set to announce tonight.

The Telegraph understands that Alister Jack, the Scottish Secretary, is set to tell the First Minister on Monday evening that he will issue a Section 35 veto to prevent the law, which was passed at Holyrood in December, from coming into force.
The move is certain to spark yet another bitter constitutional row between Ms Sturgeon's SNP administration in Edinburgh and the UK Government.
Ahead of the announcement, the First Minister said a block would amount to using trans people as a "political weapon". The Scottish Government is almost certain to seek to overturn the veto in the Scottish Courts.
However, UK Government lawyers have advised that the Bill, which would allow people as young as 16 to self-identify their legal gender, "cuts across" UK-wide legislation on equalities.
Mr Jack is expected to write to Ms Sturgeon, the Commons speaker and Holyrood's Presiding Officer informing them of his decision to invoke Section 35 of the Scotland Act.
The measure, seen as a "nuclear option", has never been used before in the history of devolution.
He is then due to formally lay the Order in the Commons tomorrow, and expand on his reasons for doing so. It is expected that Mr Jack will address the Commons in a statement on Tuesday."

I thought I read it in the Guardian

The Guardian is now widely regarded as about as reliable as the Daily Mail.

If they said a snow storm was coming I'd go out and buy some factor 50.

This is important because it means people concerned about women‘a rights are finally getting a voice.

This side of the debate has been silenced by screams of ‘transphobe’ and ‘bigot’ for too long - simply for expressing concern about women’s legitimate rights. Only incredible powerful women, e.g. JKR, have felt in any way able to speak out.

This is clearly now changing, which I’m personally really grateful for.

ya dancer 💃

Of course if you’re a Labour supporter it’s important to dismiss as much as possible

But I’m happy to see someone has the backbone to face it politically

Not many do

@watchfulwishes the SNP and Greens have a clear majority, the government using this mechanism is provoking a constitutional problem

I voted yes-yes in the 1997 devolution referendum. It doesn’t matter what kind of agreement the SNP and Greens have at Holyrood: this bill is not what devolution is about. Sturgeon knows this full well; she’s cynically using it to create the appearance of a constitutional crisis, when in fact it’s a matter of the Scottish Government (remember pre-2007 when it was the Scottish Executive?) needing to stick to what they were elected to do.

Or the implications of this bill were not explained properly and they think it’s just about toilets and changing rooms . ITS NOT . There are already very dangerous prisoners in Ireland being moved to womens jails just on self ID . Plus this will open up private hormone treatment and surgery at age 16 . It will happen .

Yep not a great source at all, very biased

The quote was pretty clear, but as I say I can not find it (I read news all day so get muddled!) so I can't argue the toss.

The DM has their own spin, as does the Guardian - but they both have well-connected political journalists.

I agree . Starmer has said their must be reform in this area , but refuses to say what . Surely now he has had long enough time to think about it ? Tell us in black and white what you will do .? Stop with the word salad.

Although...

Now regretting not throwing the rest of you under the bus.

There are some local and lucrative scholarships/career opportunities that would be available to me if I was trans.

If the above ever comes to pass, well, it won't bother me having an 'm' on my passport instead of an 'f'.

Maybe we could ALL enjoy those opportunities if it does ever pass?😁

BBC news now.

Sex registered...

And then a transwoman moaning that, in a time of pandemic, he is still unable to get his certificate at the age of 23.

Then a commonsense roundup of the issues... Single sex spaces matter and it is daft to claim to be one sex in Scotland and another in England.

Then onto Devolution. Women and transpeople alike being used as political pawns by Little Nicky. Because the basic truth is that her actions are unprecedented and are forcing a reaction. She is the cause, Sunak the reaction.

A full frontal attack on Scotland's ability to rule itself is her being deliberately obtuse - as we have all said for months.

Even if your source was right about the Polls suggesting that this isn't a vote-winner @watchfulwishes - I don't think they take into account how difficult it is to state opposition.

The shouting-down of your point of view and calling 'bigot'/'transphobe' doesn't change minds (or votes) but it really does change what you say to pollsters.

Absolutely! You didn’t think Sturgeon actually cared about the deluded demands of a teeny tiny percentage of her electorate?

She has one thought in her head, only one, and that is “What is the path to a Scottish exit from the Union?”

She saw a chance to force through a Scottish bill she knew would undermine English and Welsh laws, and she used it to put the Tories on the spot: either block her and let her present it as an English attack on Scottish democracy, or let it go through and let Sturgeon boast that she can change the law in England and override Westminster.

I do think she’s proved she’s an idiot though, this doesn’t look to anyone like an English attack on Scottish democracy, it looks like England rescuing Scottish women from the dictatorial whims of a fanatic and incompetent leader.

Sturgeon is the last “divide to rule” leader if the Trump-Johnson-Sturgeon era. Scotland needs to give her the boot, replace her with someone who actually wants good things for Scotland, and then we can all move on from the last shitty decade.

I agree Sturgeon knows what she is doing WRT this bill and the Tory response.

I hope you’re right and it backfires on Sturgeon and she goes

How much is due to promises made to other parties? Greens in particular. I might have misheard that part but just wondering

Looks like the order may have been made? Can't find it on the Parliament site though (which can send you round and round so I might have missed it), or gov.uk:

twitter.com/bbcphilipsim/status/1615042568118751232?s=46&t=vGKP2-Ja-KEMroCewgMjxQ

Although I don't have access to any data, I could give credence to suggestions that Sunak's actions aren't necessarily a vote winner - after all, most people are far more concerned about cost of living, climate change, immigration, Brexit, etc. However, by that same token I could imagine that Sunak's actions aren't a vote loser either.

Won't the order have to be laid? Will happen tomorrow presumably.

Well said . This is it in a nutshell . When I asked on Twitter why strong Scottish women had let this go through , the answer was the independence vote was dangled again.

I don’t think it will win him votes necessarily but if Starmer does not stop making statements about 99% of women don’t have a penis , then he will lose votes . Not sure atm where they will go though .

This is what they are gambling on I think - that any loss on the independence/overruling SP side of the equation is more than compensated for on the other side. However there is an issue in England that the Tories are left explaining something quite technical - about how this change in Scotland could affect someone in SE England - rather than focusing on the CoL crisis or ambulance delays etc etc.

There's nothing technical to explain about:

Male says some words
Gets paper allowing him into women's spaces
Everyone has to play along

I'm quite sure the good people of SE England will cope with understanding this concept.

Nicoliar refused to meet women's groups who were quite rightly concerned about the safety of women and girls but she quite happily took directions from TRA lobby groups. She is only in power because of those twerps in the Green party and she is dancing to their Transfandango! Time she was booted out of Holyrood.

That is a lot to explain to people who rate this issue about 178th on their priority list.

There is what you think about this issue and what the political situation is aorund this issue.

It is not a priority issue for most people.

It is not about them not being able to understand - it is about most people do not care about this issue the way you do.

It really doesn't take political willpower -- they're just playing to their core voters who love to get one over the scottish and anything they perceive as woke. Not saying it's not the right thing to do in this case, but it's utterly cynical stuff from the tories.