Tory attorney general won’t rule out changing Equality Act to attack trans rights
British attorney general Suella Braverman says schools have no legal requirement to support trans pupils. (Anadolu Agency via Getty/ Wiktor Szymanowicz)
Tory MP and attorney general for England and Wales Suella Braverman has suggested that Westminster could block Scotland’s vital reform of the Gender Recognition Act.
While long-promised and life-saving reforms to gender recognition law have basically been scrapped by Downing Street, the Scottish government is pushing ahead with reforms to the Gender Recognition Act to make it easier for trans people to get a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), the document that can then be used to update the gender marker on a birth certificate.
But in an interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Braverman suggested plans to interfere with Holyrood’s reforms.
She said: “I think there are incredibly serious implications of what the Scottish government is proposing, and I will be considering whether there are constitutional issues.
“Effectively the Scottish parliament, if this is enacted, will be approving a form of self-identification. And we will have a two-tier system within the United Kingdom.
“I can’t foresee how that is workable, whereby north of the border, you may be able to self-identify but a bit south of the border that might not be recognised. What effects does that have on our public institutions, our state? It is incredibly worrying and causes a huge amount of uncertainty.”
Braverman rattled off a number of anti-trans talking points, saying she believes that a “rights culture” has “spun out of control” in the UK, and that a “collective frenzy” over trans rights means that the “basics of biology” have been “turned upside down”.
She even hit out at the 2010 Equality Act, which includes being trans as a characteristic protected from discrimination, claiming it was “posing a lot of practical problems for authorities, schools, sporting bodies, prisons and the NHS”.
Asked if she was considering changes to the Equality Act or withdrawing from the European Convention on Human Rights, she said that “all options are always on the table”.
Braverman described young people coming out as trans as a “social contagion”, and added that teachers fear a “takeover” of trans rights in schools.
“We cannot be living in a society whereby people are terrified of pointing out the basic facts of biology, for fear of losing their job, and that is happening within schools,” she said.
“I know it to be a fact. I’ve heard from people who want to remain anonymous because they are very scared of the repercussions.
“And I think we are seeing a cultural creep whereby a minority group, which has been very well organised – and there are very activist charities lobbying for this minority group – have accumulated an influence, which I believe is disproportionate, and is dictating what the majority should be doing.”
Attorney General Suella Braverman is especially concerned about grandmas being confronted with pronouns at the bank
Bizarrely, in the same interview, attorney general Suella Braverman raised the issue of Halifax bank giving staff name badges that include their preferred pronouns.
She said: “What is the impact on the old lady in Fareham, who actually depends on that bank to get her cash?
“I think Halifax’s position is flippant and doesn’t take account of the real-world impacts on many members of our society.”
