Our Statement on the Scottish GRR Bill Vote

We are deeply disappointed by the outcome of the vote in the Scottish Parliament yesterday. The vote saw MSPs, including all Scottish Lib Dems, vote for Nicola Sturgeon’s vision of an “unhinged” form of sex self-ID which, according to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls Reem Alsalem, “presents potential risks to the safety of women”.

It was particularly disappointing for us to see Lib Dem MSPs vote down a raft of sensible amendments that would have supported safeguards for young people, women in prison, freedom of speech, and even to a commitment to monitoring the effects of the Bill and the rates of detransition.

We were surprised by the absence of curiosity shown by our MSPs about the rapidly growing body of evidence of issues being faced on the ground by women, service users and service providers. Many examples of such issues, which arise from the lack of clarity regarding this area of law, were raised in the debates. It is clear to us that these problems will be exacerbated by this Bill.

We were also surprised to see our MSPs have such confidence in their belief that there will be no issues with the way the reformed GRA will interact with the broader equalities framework across the UK. Indeed, the legal nuance and detail of this continues to be the subject of significant disagreement even among the country’s leading legal experts and there are Constitutional issues at play that may yet see the Bill being overturned.

While today’s vote is a significant blow, it was not unexpected and we remain resolute as a group. We will be staying where we are and will continue to fight to restore our party’s commitment to evidence, freedom of belief and of expression, and human rights.