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John Swinney and most of his Holyrood candidates have been condemned for backing the ‘unhinged ideology’ of an ‘extreme’ SNP trans rights group.
The First Minister and 61 other hopefuls have signed a pledge to fight for trans ‘bodily autonomy’ and ban ‘conversion practices’ if elected in May.
Critics said in practice that meant support for irreversible surgery, prescribing life-changing drugs on demand and the silencing of worried parents and therapists.
Drafted by the Out for Independence (OFI) faction, the pledge claims gay and trans people are being scapegoated by other parties in a ‘culture war’, partly to deflect from Brexit.
OFI, which calls itself ‘the official LGBTQIA+ wing of the SNP’, this month called the UK Supreme Court ruling on sex-based women’s rights ‘harmful’.
The Sunday Times reported that as well as Mr Swinney, the OFI pledge had been signed by Health Secretary Neil Gray, equalities minister Kaukab Stewart and Westminster leader Stephen Flynn, who hopes to switch to Holyrood next month.
Susan Smith and Marion Calder of For Women Scotland
Trans rights campaigners outside Queen Elizabeth House in Edinburgh
More than two-thirds of the SNP’s constituency candidates have signed, as have nine regional list candidates.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Rachael Hamilton said: ‘There is a real danger that Holyrood will be filled with MSPs after the election who will once again bombard the parliament’s agenda with their fringe obsessions.’
For Women Scotland, the feminist campaigners who secured the Supreme Court ruling, said the SNP had ‘learnt nothing’ from its gender debacle under Nicola Sturgeon.
Conversion practices are usually thought of as bigoted attempts to ‘fix’ same-sex attraction.
But FWS founder Marion Calder said a sweeping ban could be a ‘Trojan horse’ for stopping teachers, parents and therapists merely discussing with young people why they might be transgender, locking them into an ‘affirmative pathway’ towards more radical measures.
She said: ‘It is clear that the SNP have learnt nothing from the past five years, and it is very disappointing to see so many sign up to the demands of this extreme pressure group.’
Asked for comment, the SNP referred to its manifesto, which says conversion practices are ‘harmful, abhorrent and abusive actions intended to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity’.
Out for Independence was asked for comment.
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