Support gender switches at 16, Labour urged by Scottish leader
Starmer must use his influence if he becomes PM to enshrine move in law, says Sarwar
SIR KEIR STARMER should pass a law to allow 16-year-olds to change their gender if he wins the next election, the Scottish Labour leader has suggested.
Anas Sarwar said his party must “learn the lesson from Scotland” and pursue gender reforms “over a longer period of time” while reassuring women and protecting single-sex spaces based on biological sex.
But he said while he and Sir Keir agree on “substance of the issue” on transgender rights, he has a “different view” on the age teenagers should be allowed to change their gender in law.
In January, Mr Sarwar instructed Labour MSPs at Holyrood to vote for Nicola Sturgeon’s controversial Gender Recognition Reform Bill, which would have allowed 16-year-olds to obtain a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) to change their gender in law.
The Bill passed in the Scottish Parliament but was blocked from receiving Royal Assent by UK government ministers, who argued the issue was a reserved matter for Westminster.
Sir Keir caused confusion when he told Labour MPs to abstain on Rishi Sunak’s decision to block the law, just days after his own party voted for it in Scotland. In an interview with The Sunday Telegraph for a documentary on the future of Scottish politics, published online today, Mr Sarwar suggested Sir Keir should resurrect the reforms if Labour wins the next election.
“I think there’s a way you can build a consensus where you can protect trans communities, give them greater dignities in the process of obtaining a GRC, while at the same time reassuring women and protecting single-sex spaces based on biological sex,” he said.
“There is a way forward here as long as you look to build the consensus. At this moment in time, I don’t see either of our governments trying to do that.
“My recommendation would be: learn the lesson from Scotland. Look to build a consensus, look to see what more you can do within the existing legislation to give greater protections and greater reassurance, and find that more consensual way forward over a longer period of time, rather than rushing to something that is going to just further divide people across the country.”
His diagnosis of the problem is in contrast to Sir Keir’s, who said last week the lesson from the gender row was that “if you can’t take the public with you on a journey of reform, then you’re probably not on the right journey”.
Since the two men publicly disagreed in January, both have sought to play down any division in the party.
But Mr Sarwar said that while he believes 16-year-olds should be allowed to change their gender, Sir Keir does not. “There isn’t a disagreement with
Keir and I on the substance of the issue,” he said. “Where Keir has a different view is around what the age in which that should come into play, in terms of the GRR Bill.”
Allowing 16-year-olds to change their gender is unpopular with the public, pollling suggests.
YouGov earlier this year showed 16 per cent of the public supported a change, while 71 per cent opposed. Among Labour voters, 24 per cent supported reform, and 67 per cent opposed it.
Sir Keir and his top team have repeatedly floundered when asked the question “What is a woman?” and Labour figures including Rosie Duffield, the Canterbury MP, have criticised the leader for failing to pledge protections for women.
Sir Keir has said there will be “no rolling back” of women’s rights under a Labour government and criticised campaigners for creating a “toxic divide” on trans issues.
While there are policy issues to be worked out between the two men, insiders say there has been a “reset” between them on transgender rights, and both are enjoying a poll bounce with the public and hope Scotland will help Labour win power at the next election.
Twenty years ago, Labour held more than two thirds of the Westminster seats in Scotland, but was reduced to fourth place with just one seat under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership in 2019.
Labour strategists think the party’s rebrand under Sir Keir and his decision to force out Richard Leonard, the Yorkshire-born former Scottish Labour leader, may improve its fortunes.
Mr Sarwar said he has rejected the offer of Douglas Ross, the Scottish Conservative leader, to form a de facto unionist coalition by encouraging Scots to vote tactically against the SNP at next year’s general election.
“I think the Tories are calling this a ‘vote smartly’ strategy. ‘Vote smartly, vote Labour’ seems to be the message,” he joked. “This sounds like the Scottish Conservatives are accepting they’re going to lose the next general election. I’m okay with that – I want them to lose the next general election.
“But the reality is at the next general election, we have an opportunity to get rid of the rotten, out-of-touch UK Tory government, but also to send the message to the SNP. You can do that by voting Scottish Labour.”
He is unfazed by polls that show close to half of the Scottish public still support independence – something the Labour Party has always rejected.
The SNP are offering independence “without any kind of clear indication of what that means, what that looks like or when will be achieved”, he said, adding that “Labour is offering change”.
Mr Sarwar, a trained dentist, added: “We have to more clearly define what that change looks like in practice for people.”
‘There is a way forward here as long as you look to build the consensus: learn the lesson from Scotland’