Out for Independence notes the publication of the SNP manifesto yesterday. As we have recently been setting out a number of priorities that we believe the next Scottish Government must act on in the coming term, we would like to highlight some of the pledges in the manifesto.

First of all, we wholeheartedly welcome the commitment to ban conversion practices intended to change or suppress an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity within the first year of the next Scottish Parliament, and to support victims and survivors of conversion practices. This has been OFI’s long-standing position. We maintain that the legislation must cover all settings (domestic, religious, ‘therapeutic’), cover expression, and avoid providing any ‘consent’ loophole that would allow people to continue to be pressured into conversion practices, and we look forward to engaging with the legislative process after May to ensure those conditions are all met.

It is clear at this point that action by the Scottish Government is the only way conversion practices will ever be banned in Scotland. The UK Government has done nothing in the last two years despite statements to the contrary and its leading figures, like Wes Streeting, have expressed sympathy for groups that support conversion practices. By claiming otherwise, Scottish Labour is unacceptably misleading the LGBTQIA+ community and the electorate as to its intentions.

We welcome the renewed commitment to a Human Rights Bill incorporating international human rights conventions on economic, social and cultural rights, protecting the rights of disabled people, and eliminating all forms of discrimination against women and racial discrimination into Scots law. The Scottish Government has previously proposed that such a bill should place a duty on public authorities to protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people. We look forward to engaging with the legislative process accordingly.

We welcome the manifesto’s commitments to upholding and protecting the human rights of trans people as far as possible within the Scottish Government’s powers and doing everything possible to ensure that trans people’s identities are recognised and respected, as well as to safeguarding LGBTQIA+ inclusive education and improving access to inclusive healthcare. We acknowledge the difficult legal context given the UK Government’s willingness to subvert Scottish democracy to undermine LGBTQIA+ rights and the harmful Supreme Court ruling issued a year ago yesterday, and we are glad that the manifesto does not retreat from our commitments to inclusion or misconstrue the Equality Act as far too many politicians have been doing.

However, these pledges must be accompanied by concrete action. The waiting lists for Gender Identity Clinics are unacceptable, and last year’s Supreme Court ruling has only caused chaos and fear for trans people.

In particular, we need quick action on the following:

• We must implement the policy passed by members at the 2024 SNP Conference to end the requirement for a formal diagnosis of gender dysphoria to access gender-affirming healthcare, in line with peer nations like Canada. This would be a boon to trans people who face endless waiting lists and unnecessary pathologisation, while also freeing up much-needed NHS resources.
• In light of the recent consultation on updating school premises regulations, we must legislate to protect transgender children’s access to school toilets that align with their gender, sparing them from physical health problems, bullying and sexual assault.

We welcome the commitment to redoubled action on HIV. Scotland is in a position to be the first country in the world to eradicate HIV transmission by 2030, and we cannot drop the ball now. Rolling out opt-out HIV testing in A&Es across Scotland has been a long-standing OFI policy priority and we are pleased to see it continued, and expanding PrEP access outside of sexual health services is sorely needed. As a reminder, it is party policy, passed by members at August 2023’s National Council, that we must urgently expand HIV testing in Scotland, including by funding a National HIV Testing Week campaign. We also encourage the next Scottish Government to engage with the recent recommendations by the third sector, including by investigating a national at-home testing service.

We welcome the commitment to consult on decriminalising abortion in line with the recommendations of last year’s Abortion Law review, and to bring forward a Misogyny Bill to ensure harassment and abuse based on misogyny is outlawed in Scotland. At a time when the likes of Nigel Farage feel emboldened to praise dangerous figures like Andrew Tate and attack our abortion rights, we need to act decisively to protect the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people. With regards to the Misogyny Bill, OFI’s position is that this should replace our current flawed provisions covering sex in the Hate Crime and Public Order Act and avoid language related on sex assigned at birth, and we look forward to engaging with the legislative process on these points.

Finally, we welcome the manifesto commitment to rapidly expanding IVF provision, which will give hope to same-sex couples across Scotland who have been hoping to start a family.There is a danger in this election that a Labour government cynically opposed to LGBTQIA+ rights and backed by the extremists of Reform could come to power at Holyrood. Out for Independence strongly believes that we instead need an SNP Scottish Government committed to standing up to the divisive politics of the Westminster parties, protecting human rights and ultimately, achieving Scottish independence. We will do our part to elect that government in May, and we will do everything in our power to help it achieve those objectives.