Erskine

Bernard Jenkin | Issue 5 | Magazine, Uncategorised

From the Archive

TheChamber

The Scottish draft Bill on gender recognition throws up uncertainties and would weaken women’s sex-based rights in the UK. Political dialogue is urgently needed

When the Labour government retained equal opportunities as a reserved power in the Scotland Act 1998, I was opposition constitutional affairs spokesman. I supported this on the grounds that the “imposition of draconian anti-discrimination laws has to be handled with great care, because it is all too easy to substitute one type of intolerance of minorities for another”. Holyrood, the Scottish parliament, now threatens to undermine this principle. The draft Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill would weaken women’s sex-based rights across the UK.  Devolved powers are legislative powers that the UK Parliament controlled in the past, but are now devolved to the legislatures in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. These include matters such as education and health. Reserved powers, as specified in the Scotland Act, for example, remain exclusively with the UK Parliament in Westminster.   Human rights are a devolved competence. The powers to pass a gender recognition act are therefore no...

Subscribe to The Mace

Join the member community shaping British politics and stay ahead of what's really happening in the world of politics and public affairs, with expert analysis, breaking news, and insider insights from Westminster and Brussels. The Mace is the leading news source and resource for the government affairs industry, offering required reading and lobby intelligence for professionals.

To see what you are missing out on by not subscribing to The Mace, click here to download our full membership info-pack. This includes having no paywall on op-ed content or profiles/interviews, allowing professional profiles to be read with maximum impact and visibility by government, special advisers, MPs, peers, civil servants, and policy and political decision-makers.



The Corridor – Blues Brother

Mace | October 4, 2020

The ascension of Davie to the top job at the Beeb in June aroused a considerable degree of suspicion among the corporation’s not insubstantial number of lefties on

Long Table: Peter Mandelson’s Cosy Country Life in Lockdown 

Mace | October 4, 2020

Tucked away in Wiltshire, Peter Mandelson read his way through lockdown, when he wasn't zooming into the Lords

Pepys: A Tsar is Born

Mace | October 4, 2020

Since the first UK tsar was appointed, a veritable explosion has followed – but what exactly are the rules regarding such headline-garnering appointments?

The Spike: The Hard Nose of Harry Cole

Rosa Herxheimer | October 4, 2020

In the grand tradition of lobby journalists, The Sun’s swashbuckling new political editor is not afraid to rub people up the wrong way.

The Courtier: Simon Case from Court to Cabinet

Olenka Hamilton | October 4, 2020

Can the man who positioned the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as the royal family’s greatest asset now rescue the beleaguered civil service?

Wonk Warriors: The Think Tanks that Run the Show

Ferdie Rous | October 4, 2020

Ferdie Rous looks at the brightest and best think tanks operating in Westminster and looks at how Covid gave think tanks a revamp

Digital Confidential: Flood the Zone

Damian Collins MP | October 3, 2020

In his first column on politics and digital technology, Damian Collins MP writes about flood zones, the deep state and why Silicon Valley is evasive over fake news

The Unconventional Diplomat – Vanessa Neumann

Mace | October 3, 2020

I signed up for diplomacy, but got politics, says Venezuela's British Ambassador

Unspun: Mess with Government Comms at your Peril

Ed Amory | October 3, 2020

Those undertaking Dominic Cummings’ shake-up of government communications should not underestimate the persuasive power of Downing Street’s Nudge Unit

Diary: The Hack is Back

Peter Cardwell | October 3, 2020

Peter Cardwell is enjoying his retirement from SpAd life