Keir Starmer vows to make it easier for people to change their gender

Keir Starmer vows to make it easier for people to change their gender if he becomes Prime Minister as chaos continues after Scottish self-ID changes

• Keir Starmer made the vow at the Labour Campaign for LGBT+ rights on Tuesday
• It comes despite the disaster of Scotland’s self-ID policy introduced by the SNP

Sir Keir Starmer will make it easier for people to change gender if he becomes prime minister despite the disaster of Scotland’s self-ID policy.

The Labour leader vowed to improve the legal process for transgender people as he addressed an equal rights event in Parliament on Tuesday night.

The Labour Campaign for LGBT+ rights said afterwards: ‘Thank you to Keir Starmer for speaking at our LGBT+ History event tonight, including committing to making progress on gender recognition if we get into government.

‘Keir was right, we have made so much progress, but there is still so much more to do.’

The Labour leader vowed to improve the legal process for transgender people as he addressed an equal rights event in Parliament on Tuesday night

Senior Labour MP Ben Bradshaw said Sir Keir had received a ‘warm welcome’ as he ‘recommits to reforming the UK’s out-of-date gender recognition process’. 

In 2020, the Labour leader said the Gender Recognition Act (GRA) was ‘in desperate need of reform to introduce self-declaration for transgender people’.

And the following year he said ‘we’re committed to updating the GRA to introduce self-declaration for trans people’.

Just last month he told the BBC: ‘Our position is we want to modernise the legislation and to make sure that some of the indignities that are there in the process are taken out of the process.’

However, since then the attempt by Nicola Sturgeon’s government to introduce self-ID – removing the requirement for people to have a diagnosis of gender dysphoria or provide evidence of living in their acquired gender for two years – has been plunged into chaos. 

Transgender double rapist Isla Bryson was able to request to be sent to the female jail even without the SNP’s reforms becoming law.

Despite Bryson later being moved to a male prison, the scandal highlighted the perceived risks of allowing anyone – even sex offenders – to simply say they are women.

The First Minister is facing claims that her controversial legislation now risks jeopardising the independence movement. 

In another blow yesterday it emerged that a policing union leader has criticised the Scottish law, which is being blocked by the UK Government.

David Hamilton, chairman of the Scottish Police Federation, said officers were not asked about a requirement that they would have to carry out a risk assessment whenever someone on the sex offenders’ register applies to change gender.

He told 1919 Magazine: ‘It was utterly irresponsible of the Scottish Parliament to foist this additional workload on Police Scotland at such a late stage in proceedings.

‘I don’t know what magic money tree they think we have, because these additional responsibilities will come with a costly price-tag. 

‘It is frankly unbelievable nobody consulted policing on the cost or practicalities of these well-intentioned but ill-thought-out amendments.’

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