Nicola Sturgeon says society will look back with ‘shame’ at the vilification of trans people

Former first minister and staunch LGBTQ+ ally Nicola Sturgeon has issued a grave warning about how future generations will look back at the way trans folks are being treated in society, as she announces she is to step down as an MSP.

The ex-Scottish National Party leader – who resigned as FM in March 2023 after eight years in the position – has confirmed that she will not be seek re-election as an MSP at the upcoming Holyrood election in May 2026.

Nicola Sturgeon has been a Member of Scottish Parliament since 1999 and described representing the Glasgow Southside constituency as “an honour beyond words”.

Speaking to journalists outside the Scottish Parliament building in Edinburgh on Wednesday (12 March) about her decision to step down, the 54-year-old said her time in parliament had been an “incredible chapter” and a “privilege beyond words” but felt “the time is right for me at this stage in my life to close the book on that chapter and open a new one.”

Sturgeon defended her achievements, noting the Scottish Child Payment as a key example, and said she will remain committed to Scottish independence in her post-parliamentary career.

The former leader also defended legislation which saw her fiercely criticised by anti-trans voices: the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.

The bill passed in Holyrood in December 2022 in a 86-39 vote following years of consultation by the Scottish government and aimed to make it easier for trans Scots to get a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) by removing the highly medicalised process implementing a system of self-ID. As well as this, the bill would open up the process to 16 and 17-year-olds for the first time.

However, the government at Westminster invoked a never-before-used Section 35 order from the 1998 Scotland Act to block it from gaining royal assent – an unprecedented move in the history of devolution. 

Section 35 gives Westminster the power to intervene on bills “which the secretary of state has reasonable grounds to believe would be incompatible with any international obligations or the interest of defence or national security”.

Then Scotland minister Alister Jack cited “single-sex” spaces and “equal pay” protections as reasons for preventing the proposed law gaining royal assent. The UK government had concerns the legislation would have a “serious adverse impact, among other things, on the operation of the 2010 Equality Act,” he added at the time.

Critics insisted Sturgeon resign as first minister over the bill and its backlash, but she stated that it was not “short term pressure” that pushed her out of office but rather she felt she could no longer give the job her all.

“Trans people have been vilified in our society”

Commenting on the response to the bill, Sturgeon said she regretted “the inability to debate things civilly and respectfully”.

“What I regret about much of political discourse right now, and I take my share of responsibility for it, is the inability to debate things civilly and respectfully,” Sturgeon said.

She added: “On that issue, what I would say is we need to all, I think, be a bit more respectful in the debate that we have.

“I think we’ll look back as a society – I hope it’s sooner rather than later, but who knows how long it will take – and feel a sense of collective shame at the way in which trans people have been vilified in our society, and I think all of us should perhaps reflect on that.

“So I will never apologise for trying to make life better for one of the most stigmatised, discriminated against sections of our society.

“Many of the claims that are made about a Gender Recognition Bill – that remember, isn’t in force – I don’t think stand up to scrutiny, but of course others will have their say too.”

The blocking of the bill has had a lasting impact on trans rights in Scotland and the wider UK, with self-ID remaining a deeply controversial topic.

MSP Rachael Hamilton, deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives, criticised Sturgeon, saying whilst she wishes any departing MSP well “we cannot forget the deep divisions in our country that Nicola Sturgeon created, fostered and encouraged”.

Hamilton described her gender reform policies as “reckless” which “betrayed women”.