The conservative British government plans to block a new Scottish law that would give trans people the right to self-determination. The progressive bill, which the Scottish Parliament passed by a large majority, runs counter to the views of the government in London. The Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon denounces how in her eyes trans people are used as a ‘political weapon’.

Scottish Transgender Law is much more progressive than the law that applies to the whole of the United Kingdom. With the new law, there is no longer any need for a medical diagnosis to change the sex on the passport, moreover, the age will go from 18 to 16 years. The Conservatives, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, oppose the law, as they believe it threatens the safety of women. This reasoning is an old anti-trans argument that LGBT + organizations indicate is unreal and not based on anything.

It is rare for the UK Government to veto Scottish legislation, but it is striking that it is used precisely for transgender rights. The debate around the right of self-determination is fierce in the United Kingdom, with the Conservative Party being the biggest opponent of this right. Earlier, the minister of Emancipation already indicated that there are plans to revoke the recognition of trans people from countries where this right of self-determination applies.

LGBT + organization Stonewall regrets the Prime Minister’s move and accuses him of “playing with the lives of trans people like a political football”. Scottish Prime Minister Sturgeon uses the same kind of rhetoric and believes that the British government uses trans people as a “political weapon”.

In addition, she calls the blockade of the British government “indefensible, unscrupulous and scandalous.” Sturgeon classifies it as a” political move “over the backs of trans individuals,”one of the most vulnerable and stigmatized groups in our society”.