SNP’s trans rift widens as Black ‘rips into women’
‘She does not speak for the SNP’
NATIONALIST splits on gender reforms deepened yesterday as a fresh row broke out between senior party figures.
In a video posted on social media, MP Mhairi Black used explicit language to attack concerns over selfidentification, sparking a furious response from party members.
Joan McAlpine MSP and Inverclyde councillor Chris McEleny hit back, insisting Miss Black’s views on the Gender Recognition Act are not those of everyone in the party.
In the video, Miss Black read out several tweets. One, from a woman named Pam, said: ‘I will never accept that I have to share intimate spaces with men, even if they are harmless it violates my rights to privacy as a woman.’
In response Miss Black said: ‘Because Pam, you don’t have the right to be in a room alone wherever you go. That’s just not how the world works.’ The video was shared by the SNP’s official Twitter page.
The concerns expressed by Pam have been widely shared by feminist groups who claim a move to allow people to selfidentity their gender could see men allowed access to intimate spaces such as refuges, bathrooms and changing rooms.
This is a fear shared by a number of SNP officials, including government ministers, MSPs and councillors.
Last night, a source said: ‘This video misrepresents the law and mocks women. It’s disgraceful and should not have been shared by SNP HQ Twitter account.
‘It’s very frustrating for those in the party who have been told they must keep quiet about concerns on this issue to see Mhairi apparently get HQ’s endorsement when she rips into women who are asking perfectly reasonable questions about men self-identifying as females.’
The latest row comes after ministers delayed plans to make it easier to ‘self-identify’ their gender following splits within the SNP amid concerns about the potential impact on single-sex spaces such as changing rooms and toilets.
A Gender Recognition Act had been due to be introduced, but has now been put on hold indefinitely. Instead, draft legislation will be published later this year which will then go out to a full public consultation before any final decision is made.
Ministers Kate Forbes, Ash Denham and Ivan McKee signed an open letter with 12 other MSPs, MPs and councillors, urging Miss Sturgeon not to ‘rush’ into an announcement.
Writing on Twitter yesterday, Miss McAlpine said: ‘Mhairi is a wonderful speaker. But she does not speak for the SNP.’ She added: ‘Let’s focus on getting independence.’
Mr McEleny said: ‘Mhairi is perfectly entitled to say what she wants, but the official party account shouldn’t be retweeting content.’
Last month, Social Security Secretary Shirley Anne Somerville told Holyrood she was ‘acutely aware of how divided opinion is’ on the issue.
She also acknowledged ‘there may be many people who are not happy with what I’m proposing, either because I’m not going fast enough in the proposals or because they don’t want us to do anything’.
The minister told MSPs the Government remains committed to reforming the rules so trans people can get a gender recognition certificate without ‘unnecessary stress’.
But she said she wanted to ‘build maximum consensus’ and address ‘valid concerns’ before formally tabling legislation. She said a draft Bill would be published this year, but would not be introduced to parliament until there has been a ‘full consultation on the precise details’.