Staff at Scottish Parliament to be banned from wearing rainbow badges and lanyards

The Scottish Parliament is to ban its staff from wearing rainbow lanyards and badges.

Staff must all now wear only their purple parliament-issued lanyard at all times, as personalisedlanyards could make members of the public think they are biased. This comes after complaints women who were against the government’s gender reforms were having their lanyards and badge sin the colour soft he suffragettes removed by parliament staff.

In an email to parliament staff, it said: “Wearing personalised lanyards and pins and badges showing support for social movements and towards campaigns or organisations has led some organisations and individuals to consider that staff cannot be impartial when supporting the parliament to debate government policy, proposed new laws and current significant societal issues.

“This decision will help to minimise the risk of perceived bias and avoid any perception that wearing such items may be influencing our decisionmaking.”

A spokesman for the parliament confirmed this includes rainbow lanyards, which typically indicate someone’s support for the LGBT+ community.

Conservative MSP Tess White said parliament staff “subjectively” taking lanyards off members of the public is leading to the “exclusion of women”. Since parliament reopened to the public after lock down, security staff have confiscated 26 items at the public entrance, including five badges. Speaking during a debate while wearing a green, white and purple suffragette lanyard, she said: “From badges to suffrage colours, it seems parliamentary staff are with growing frequency subjectively enforcing the visitor code of conduct. It is one rule for some but not others. In the seat of Scottish democracy, the policy of so-called inclusion is leading to the exclusion of women. This is a worrying and dangerous precedent which is unacceptable and must not continue.”

This new rule will come into effect on March 28, which is the last day before the easter recess.

Staff will still be permitted to wear a badge displaying their pronouns, and poppy badges as Poppy Scotland is the only charity endorsed by the scottish Parliament Corporate Body.