Gender Recognition Reform - a constitutional battle
The legislatoin - which was designed to make it easier for people in Scotland to change their legal gender - is now at the heart of a constitutional clash.
We have a major political first on our hands. Never before has the UK government decided to block a bill passed in Scotland - until now. The legislation was designed to make it easier for people to change their legal gender. UK ministers say the law would conflict with equality protections applying across Great Britain. Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon called the move a "full-frontal attack" on the Scottish Parliament and vowed to oppose it. And so this decision turns a dispute about the process for legally changing gender into a significant constitutional clash between the Scottish and UK governments.
For 5 Minutes On, the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's Chief Political Correspondent, Nick Eardley, and the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ's LGBT and Identity Correspondent, Lauren Moss, discuss the many issues this raises and where things may go from here.
Image Credit: Jane Barlow - PA
