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."

Undemocratic? One of the foundations of democracy is truth - there hasn't been much truth from NS's mouth.

Thank god he's doing SOMETHING useful.

Now sort our our public services you moron!

@watchfulwishes you said:

"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."

Then it's:

"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's not a lot to explain. And if it's not a priority and people don't care, then it won't matter come election time, will it?

As for who cares about it, clearly you do. Enough to make up some bollocks about polling you then somehow couldn't find, then spend all this time on this thread. Hmmm.

I'm very interested too. Presumably the opposition party will be forced to reveal it's hand.

Politically this is very very interesting.

Shame that women and children have been used as pawns by the SNP.

To be clear, it seems uncontroversial to me that when most people are genuinely made to consider the direct implications of genderism upon themselves, they're likely to go "WTF! What a load of testicles!" but for most of the time and most of the population, they aren't confronted with genderism. And there are (rightly) all these other priorities such as keeping a roof over your head and not starving.

So arguably Sunak could be on a vote-winner and/or Sturgeon/Starmer/et al could be on a vote-loser... it's just that realistically, not enough people are going to be aware enough to move the needle much.

It does because SNP can so easily spin the Westminster are ruling us line for political gain.

Starmer said he was waiting to see what the legal advice was. So he is going to have to say something

Thank fuck for that.

They don't care... yet.

Because they assume there are adults in the room. They assume that no one would seriously be putting intact males in women's prisons, or stopping rape support groups committing to providing female only spaces, or allowing fully grown men to compete as women in sport, or forcing therapists to affirm a child's gender confusion without any analysis of the wider context in which it is emerging.

This will blow that wide open.

I imagine that there are lots of scared women in Scotland secretly very relieved about this.

Why can’t Sturgeon imagine that? Why is she so intent on throwing women’s rights away?

Good!

Look, just because I am discussing something you don't like doesn't make it OK to have a general, personal go at me. I have not had a go at you, I would not do that.

FWIW I did re-find it, it was Tom Harwood from GB News - which I do not watch - so will have read somewhere else - who said that Frank Luntz was advising Sunak not to prioritise this issue. I do not know if hs sources are accurate.

This is a complicated political judgement being made by Sunak, involving the issue itself + devolution + voter priorities. What it is not, IMO, is a sign that Sunak gives a shit about women's issues. This whole issues is being cynically used by the Tories.

Tories are just not as captured as SNP, Greens and likely Labour

It’s much easier for them to take a reasonable stance

They don’t need to be cynical just straightforward

Starmer is indeed going to have to work out what to say and that will not be totally straightforward.

This!

Really hope Rishi stands up for women and that everyone vocally backs him!

Thank goodness this is happening. I'm absolutely disgusted with NS stance on this. What is she thinking?!

It's not because you said something I don't like. I'm not 9. It's because you're being disingenuous.

This whole issues is being cynically used by the Tories.

And the SNP.

@watchfulwishes Tom harwood is very pro LGBTQIA+ and is pro self ID so not a neutral voice in this.

I am not being disingenuous, I am talking about the politics around the issue. WTF is disingenuous about that?

Is it because I do not think Sunak is the great saviour of womenkind?

If Sunak is going to do this, I think it's quite risky for him. Because of that, I think he must actually care about it?

I have lost the plot what my local (Tory) MP thinks about it because he has contorted his speech into something baffling. I think he genuinely can't see my concerns - but wants to be seen to address them?

He's putting it in all in a box of LGBT rights, so I expect will be ready to accuse Sunak of many types of prejudice - if Sunak really is going to block this. Still thinking, I will believe when I see it...

Yes both, I agree.

Good.

Because they assume there are adults in the room.

Just point them to Maggie Chapmans interview on LBC tonight (Speaking to Tom Swarbuck).

It will ap become clear.

Fruit loop but dangerous one.

If Sunak is going to do this, I think it's quite risky for him. Because of that, I think he must actually care about it?

I agree with you. The SNP and Labour are far more cynical about all this