Scottish government abandons plans on gender recognition after court ruling

[IwantToRetire]

The Scottish government has said it will abandon its plans to change legislation on gender recognition, the high watermark of Nicola Sturgeon’s progressive agenda, as it moved to reassure the trans community that “you are valued”.

In a statement to MSPs on Tuesday afternoon, the social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said Holyrood “fully accepts” the judgment of the supreme court, which ruled against Scottish ministers last Wednesday in the culmination of a long-running legal action brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland.

Somerville said the Scottish government would now amend guidance on this legislation to take account of the ruling.

Somerville added that gender recognition was a “fundamental piece of equality legislation”, that the Scottish government would oppose any repeal of the 2004 act and was ready to “engage constructively” with UK Labour on its own proposals.

Extracts from https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/apr/22/scottish-government-gender-recognition-law

It’s good news of course, but the Guardian is using confusing and inaccurate language here:

Somerville was pressed on how the supreme court judgment would affect public sector guidance on trans inclusion in Scotland, where an ongoing employment tribunal brought by a female nurse who did not want to share changing room with a transgender female doctor has highlighted concerns.

Dr Upton is not a transgender female doctor. Dr U is a transwoman, a male with a transgender identity. Language has been so badly mangled by this ideology - seems like a deliberate strategy to confuse the public. When I see the words transgender female, I picture a transman. Not a transwoman.

Agree, but the link popped up on my feed.

I am hoping that if not today, someone better informed will write about this and the implication for women in Scotland, and the current Government in Scotland!