Swinney accuses Tories of 'sowing division' after call to ditch ‘gender ideology’

John Swinney has been challenged to “do the right thing” and scrap the “gender ideology” pursued by the Scottish Government – with Conservatives claiming the policy is “causing so much harm to our country”.

Scottish Tory leader Russell Findlay made the appeal to the First Minister at Holyrood as he cited an employment tribunal brought by nurse Sandie Peggie after she had to share a female changing room with a transgender doctor.

Findlay said the “dedicated” nurse now faces being sacked by bosses at NHS Fife for raising her “concerns about a man using a women’s changing room”.

More broadly, he said the “nonsense” of the SNP’s “gender self-ID policy and legislation” is costing Scotland’s public sector “too much time, energy and money”.

Swinney hit back, accusing the Conservative of “sowing division” as he said the law prevents him from commenting on the tribunal brought by Ms Peggie against NHS Fife and transgender medic Dr Beth Upton.

With the tribunal ongoing, though adjourned until July, he said there is a legal requirement that he and his ministers “must not seek to influence judicial decisions”.

He told MSPs: “If I was to comment on this case I would be in danger of breaking the law. I believe in the rule of law and nobody will persuade me to break the rule of law in this Parliament.”

Swinney did say the Equality Act allows for trans people to be excluded from single or separate-sex facilities, adding these decisions should be “made on a case-by-case basis” and that managers must “balance the needs of the trans person” to use such a facility “against the needs of other members of staff”.

But Findlay, who raised the issue during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, said: “This madness isn’t just happening within the NHS, it is in schools, it is in prisons, it is in rape crisis centres.”

He said there are “female pupils too scared to use shared toilets over fear of sexual intimidation or assault”, while there is a “male prisoner serving life for murder in a women’s prison and able to get an operation to reduce his Adam’s apple”.

Findlay added: “Scotland’s public services waste too much time, energy and money on this nonsense, all because of SNP gender self-ID policy and legislation.”

He raised the issue after Swinney said on Wednesday he does not regret voting for gender recognition reforms which would allow trans people to self-identify in their preferred gender.

While the Scottish Government’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill was passed by MSPs in 2022 – with Labour, Liberal Democrats and the Greens also voting for it – it was never enacted after the then Conservative UK government blocked it.

More recently, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar has U-turned on his support for the legislation.

In the wake of that, Findlay challenged the First Minister to “do the right thing and bin his gender ideology that is causing so much harm to our country”.

He added: “The SNP focus on the issue of gender has harmed Scotland’s public services, they have put their ideology before the rights of women and girls.”

Speaking to journalists after FMQs, Swinney was asked about comments from Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, who has said she “unequivocally” backs the protection of single-sex spaces.

He said: “I support the law which provides for that – the Equality Act 2010,” adding he is “saying the same thing” as Forbes.