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 can’t stand Labour atm but admittedly did vote for them pre Corbyn days a few times

Cant stand them now though, for this and some other policies

I was a Labour voter, but my MP, for whom I have voted in the last few elections and who I previously that highly of, said something so breathtakingly dismissive of and offensive to women both in terms of our right to self define and of what we face because of our bodies that I will never vote for that person again unless they publicly and unequivocally disavow their statements and condem the genderist movement behind them.

She's not in need of (Scottish) Labour right? So why lash out at Starmer?

She needs Scottish voters to feel that they need to break free of Westminster as a whole, not just the Tories. By the time the next independence referendum comes around, Labour may well be in power.

I’m not a fan of the Tories by any means. Never voted for them, can’t see that I would in the future. But (and it’s a big but) sometimes it is prudent to accept the help of a person (or group) you seriously dislike. That’s how I feel about the current government. And the time Esther McVey (my MP at the time) helped me sort a student loan issue.

It is also worth remembering that this issue cuts across political divides probably even more than Brexit. Damn near everyone knows women and girls are at risk from predatory men. Even your garden-variety misogynists (available anywhere from UKIP to the Communist Party of Britain) are often protective of “their” women from other men. So some people who agree with us on this one issue will be people we don’t like. It doesn’t mean we’re wrong, nor that we have to like them. We can just like their effect on this one issue - sunlight for the discussion, and refusal to allow rapists unfettered access to women’s protected spaces.

My mantra on this is “Hitler probably thought the sky was blue”. I think the sky is blue. Hitler thinking the same doesn’t make me question the colour of the sky, nor does it make me his ally. Some things are just facts, and even genocidal maniacs will agree with me.

Abhannmor · Today 19:16
The irony , given the GRA was a Tory idea?

No, Labour, 2004, Tony Blair.

From wikepedia;
all Labour Party, Liberal Democrat, Plaid Cymru and Scottish National Party votes were in favour of the bill; all Ulster Unionist and Democratic Unionist Party votes were against.[7][8] Conservative Party MPs were split on the issue, and the party leadership did not issue a whip mandating MPs to take a particular stance on the bill, instead allowing its MPs a free vote.[9] 25 Conservative MPs voted in favour and 22 against the bill at its second reading, and 20 voted in favour and 39 voted against the bill at its third reading.

Sunak is playing into Sturgeons hands. She'll use this to push another referendum.

Yes, as has been pointed out.

Off she can go and do that.

I’m so relieved!

YESSSSS! 👩😄Such good news. It's a stupid idea anyway!

Meanwhile,

incase anyone here would be interested in signing it, this is a petition against teaching ‘gender identity’ ideology to children in their RSE lessons at school.
RSE lessons are often outsourced to organisations entrenched in promoting it. This can be subtle or overt.

Unfortunately no one noticed this petition until very recently when it started to pick up signatures quickly.

It ends on the 18th so it would be good to help it as much as possible.
⬇️

petition.parliament.uk/petitions/618970

I did actually make that up. If anything it flatters him!

And sadly there will always be takers for that kind of jingoistic manipulation... on all sides.

My mistake @ScrollingLeaves . Must be confusing the GRA with something else that required Tory votes to pass.

Can't sign the petition not being a UK citizen. But will pass it on.

Abhannmor · Today 10:37
My mistake @ScrollingLeaves . Must be confusing the GRA with something else that required Tory votes to pass.

Can't sign the petition not being a UK citizen. But will pass it on.

Thanks, Abhannmor.

Theresa May wanted to reform the GRA to make a gender recognition certificate easier to get.

I am not sure how the The Equalities Act 2010 crossed over with the May general election won by Cameron.

The European Court of Human Rights started the whole mess I think.

But to make a law that creates a false fact out of a lie was a dreadful mistake.

Can't sign the petition not being a UK citizen. But will pass it on.

Just for general reference, citizenship is not necessary. You just have to be resident in the UK, Abhannmor

I am not sure how the The Equalities Act 2010 crossed over with the May general election won by Cameron

I think it might have been in the "wash-up" of legislation - ie rushing through legislation to get it through before the election. The Bribery Act was another one.

The EQA was passed in the wash-up. It might even have been the last Act of the Labour government. Certainly it just about made it over the line.

lieselotte · Today 14:38
I am not sure how the The Equalities Act 2010 crossed over with the May general election won by Cameron

I think it might have been in the "wash-up" of legislation - ie rushing through legislation to get it through before the election. The Bribery Act was another one.

This afternoon live
in Parliament someone speaking stated that the Equality Act was set up by labour.

It was a Labour Act

labour.org.uk/latest/what-is-the-equality-act-of-2010-and-why-does-it-matter/

www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/equality-act-2010/what-equality-act