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Out for Independence

@outforindy.bsky.social
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The official LGBTQIA+ wing of @snp.org 🎗️💛 Campaigning for a fair, equal, independent Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Enquiries: info@outforindy.scot 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

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Equality Network @lgbtiscotland.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Take part in LGBT Youth Scotland's Life In Scotland research project - open until the 5th October! They're looking to hear from LGBTQ+ young people aged 13-25 about their experiences and their ideas for change, to improve LGBT+ lives in Scotland Find out more here: lgbtyouth.org.uk/life-in-scot...
'Want to help shape the future for LGBTQ+ people in Scotland? 13-25? LGBTQ+? Take the survey now!' At the bottom is the LGBT Youth Scotland logo, and 'Life in Scotland for LGBTQ+ Young People'
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Delegates' choice is open until tomorrow at 16:00!
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Terrence Higgins Trust @tht.org.uk · 21/09/2026
It's a win! Today, Minister for Public Health Maree Todd has committed to a new HIV Action Plan for Scotland. The Scottish Government plan will be vital in driving forward the steps needed to end new transmissions of HIV by 2030 and support people living with HIV in Scotland to thrive.
Scottish Parliament with banner announcing a new HIV Action Plan for Scotland, aiming to end new HIV cases by 2030.Call for a new HIV Action Plan to end new HIV transmissions in Scotland by 2030; described as a historic opportunity.
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Declan @blench.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
I've ranked all of these very highly in delegates' choice and very much hope to see them all, in particular the first two, on the agenda next month.
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Michael G @indymichaelg.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Proud to be supporting many @outforindy.bsky.social resolutions this delegates choice and equally proud they're supporting many of mine.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Delegates to SNP Conference on 15-17 October should receive an email today allowing you to rank the resolutions submitted by members. This will help shape the final agenda. We warmly encourage all OFI members and sympathisers to take a few minutes to rank these resolutions as highly as you can.
Delegates’ choice recommendations:

Restore the Equality Act:
Calls for restoring the Equality Act to its original meaning, undoing the damage done by the Supreme Court and Labour’s EHRC, to protect trans people from discrimination and violence.

A Scottish Conversion Practices Ban:
Condemns Westminster Labour’s inadequate, loophole-filled bill on conversion practices and calls for a more effective Scottish ban.

Decriminalisation of Prostitution:
Calls for removing criminal penalties from sex work, allowing the Scottish Government to protect sex workers from harm while still tackling dangerous behaviour.

Abortion Law Reform:
Calls for removing criminal penalties from women who undergo abortions, in line with both international human rights standards and the law in the rest of the UK.

Responsible Social Media Use:
Calls for removing the SNP and Scottish Government from Elon Musk’s X, which routinely and deliberately promotes illegal abusive content and far-right propaganda.

Fair Access to Rehabilitation:
Calls for improving access to rehabilitation for disabled people and people with long-term conditions. 

Tackling Gambling Harms:
Calls for using all available powers to reduce the harm gambling does to communities and demands the devolution of gambling regulation.

Accessible Buses:
Calls for making publicly controlled, franchised and publicly subsidised bus services more accessible for disabled people.
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Left Foot Forward @left-foot-forward.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Delegates at #TUC26 have voted to condemn the EHRC code of practice and to back self-ID for trans people
leftfootforward.org
TUC votes to condemn EHRC code of practice and back self-ID for trans people
Delegates backed a motion branding the EHRC guidance 'discriminatory and unworkable'
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
It is utterly deplorable that a housing project in Glasgow was deliberately set on fire because of racist misinformation spread online. Those responsible will be fully pursued and will face justice. Let's unite against racism and lies that seek to break our communities apart.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Thank you to @kaukabstewart.bsky.social, our former Equalities Minister, for this powerful intervention. www.thenational.scot/politics/265...
thenational.scot
Scottish Government's failure to ban conversion practices is a dereliction of duty
THE Scottish Government’s failure to introduce its long‑promised bill to end conversion practices is more than a legislative delay – it is a…
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 06/09/2026
Thank you to @neilmackay.bsky.social for this very good piece. There is a resolution on this topic, backed by Out for Indy, on the provisional agenda for the SNP National Conference in October, and we hope members will support it.
21. ABORTION LAW REFORM
Conference recognises and affirms the rights to safe and timely abortion care.

Conference reaffirms its support for its positions adopted at annual national conference in
2024 that the right to abortion should be enshrined in the constitution of an independent
Scotland and in 2023 that access must be equitable across Scotland with services available
up to the legal limit of 24 weeks.

Conference recognises the work of the Abortion Law Reform Expert Group, initiated by the
SNP Scottish Government in 2024, in developing proposals for reforming Scotland's
outdated abortion laws.

Conference notes with concern that at present, Scotland is the only part of the UK that has
not modernised its abortion laws to remove legal penalties from women under the 1967
Abortion Act and that, as a result, Scotland is not meeting international health and human
rights standards for access to health care.

Conference notes that women in Scotland have faced police investigation for suspected
abortions after experiencing miscarriage due to these outdated laws, adding to the trauma of pregnancy loss.

Conference therefore resolves that Scotland's abortion law should be reformed to:
1. Follow the recommendations of the Expert Group;
2. Remove criminal penalties from women who terminate their pregnancies; and
3. Create a health-based framework for abortion care rooted in human rights and equality of
access, not criminal law.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Solidarity with all Welsh trans people facing this horrifying situation. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 We hope the Welsh government will resolve this. Nothing like this can be allowed to happen again - in Wales or anywhere else.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Out for Indy's response to this week's Programme for Government. 🚨🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
Out for Independence response to the Programme for Government: 

e are disappointed with the Programme for Government’s lack of commitment to pushing ahead with a Scottish ban on conversion practices. 

While we acknowledge the Scottish Government is engaging with the UK Government in good faith and has left the option for a Scottish bill open should they fail to deliver, the fact is the Labour Party has already proven itself untrustworthy when it comes to LGBTQIA+ rights. Their proposals are simply totally inadequate and will allow this abuse to continue.

We will keep pushing for a Scottish bill that will genuinely end conversion practices, to ensure the work of survivors and activists will not have been in vain.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
Our statement on the entry into force of the new EHRC Code of Practice. 🏳️‍⚧️
The new EHRC Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations has gone into effect on 5 August. This is a black day for the trans community. The Code is a deeply harmful, ideologically transphobic document that will push trans people out of public spaces and put them in danger. Its implementation will only make many ordinary people’s lives smaller and more uncertain. 

Even the Labour Government’s own impact assessment of the Code is clear that it will lead to increased harassment of both trans people and cisgender people who don’t appear to conform to gender stereotypes, and place trans women at disproportionate risk of violence and sexual assault. The Labour politicians who ploughed ahead with this Code despite clear warnings and cross-party condemnation have proven they are unfit for public life. 

Whether in the UK or in an independent Scotland, the law must change. The text of the Equality Act must be amended to include a definition of sex which is inclusive of trans and non-binary people, which would override the Supreme Court judgement and allow us to get rid of this Code. 

As nationalists and members of the LGBTQIA+ community, Out for Indy will keep pushing the SNP to be part of this fight. Westminster parties may be happy to offer managed decline, but we in the independence movement have a responsibility to offer a vision of a better, safer and fairer Scotland. We will not be trusted if we cannot explain the values and fundamental rights on which that better nation is to be built. Westminster commits an injustice against a vulnerable minority, we do not have the right to stand by idly.

Unlike most political parties, we can proudly say that SNP MPs were united in their opposition to the Code. They did not shirk their responsibilities as nationalists, and nor can the rest of us. Holding the UK Government to account for the consequences of their policies and pushing to repair the harm done to the trans community is the only way forward for ou…
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Our statement on yesterday's tragic events at Berlin Pride. 🏳️‍🌈🇩🇪
Out for Independence statement (English/German) on yesterday's events at Berlin Pride:

We are devastated to see the tragic events from yesterday's Berlin Pride. What should have been a day for people to come together and celebrate diversity and openness became yet another site of violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.

Our thoughts are with the victims, their families, and Berlin and Germany's LGBTQIA+ community.

—

Wir sind tief bestürzt über das tragische Ereignis beim gestrigen Berliner CSD. Was ein Tag hätte sein sollen, an dem Menschen zusammenkommen, um Vielfalt und Offenheit zu feiern, ist zum Schauplatz eines Angriffs auf die LGBTQIA+ Community geworden.

Unsere Gedanken sind bei den Opfern, ihren Familien und der Berliner und deutschen LGBTQIA+ Community.
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Equality Network @lgbtiscotland.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Scotland is the only part of the UK that hasn't introduced draft legislation to end conversion practices – we need our own comprehensive law to end the harm they cause as soon as possible. Our analysis on why a Scottish bill would be best for our community: www.equality-network.org/our-work/pol...
Graphic with a pink to blue gradient background. It says "Scotland is the only part of the UK that has not introduced draft legislation to end conversion practices –  we need our own comprehensive law to end the harm they cause as soon as possible." The Equality Network and Scottish Trans logos are at the bottom.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Thank you to Brendan O'Hara for also signing EDM 240. With that, every SNP MP is now on record as opposing the EHRC Draft Code of Practice. We thank them for their solidarity with the trans community.
Screenshot of the House of Commons website showing that Brendan O'Hara, SNP MP for Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber, signed EDM 240 on 8 July 2026
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you to @scotnational.bsky.social for publishing our column on the threat posed by the EHRC guidance and how the SNP can respond to it. www.thenational.scot/politics/262...
thenational.scot
Westminster is testing our tolerance for rolling back human rights
WESTMINSTER’S culture war circus is back in town. The UK Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have put forward a draft Code of…
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Thank you to @scotnational.bsky.social for publishing our column on the threat posed by the EHRC guidance and how the SNP can respond to it. www.thenational.scot/politics/262...
thenational.scot
Westminster is testing our tolerance for rolling back human rights
WESTMINSTER’S culture war circus is back in town. The UK Government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission have put forward a draft Code of…
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Steph Paton @stephpaton.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
The real struggle for LGBTQ+ liberation is not the sanitised and breezy march toward progress that is painted by politicians. www.thenational.scot/politics/262...
thenational.scot
Labour’s boasts on LGBTQ+ history don’t match today’s reality
The real history of LGBTQ+ rights in the UK is a very different one from that promoted by political parties
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
Edinburgh Council has passed a motion across party lines calling on the UK Government to withdraw the EHRC Code of Practice and take legislative action to protect trans people's human rights. We would like to highlight this moving speech by Cllr and SNP group leader @lesleymacinnessnp.bsky.social.
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Declan @blench.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
On that last repost, there was also a motion against the EHRC Code of Practice at Glasgow's full council yesterday, proposed by me and seconded by Cllr McGill (ward 21). Unfortunately it was too far down the order paper for us to get to it but I will try to bring it back.
Council notes with deep concern the laying before Parliament on 21 May 2026 of the Equality and Human Rights Commission's updated Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations. While gender reassignment remains a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010, meaning trans people are legally protected from discrimination and harassment in all settings, leading trans rights organisations have condemned the updated Code as leaving "trans people in the UK today with fewer rights than they had prior to last year's Supreme Court ruling," and as having "weakened protections for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole." Council further notes that the Good Law Project has argued the Code treats trans people as a third sex, suggesting they be directed to separate spaces while entirely ignoring the harm this causes and the requirements of human rights law.
Council applauds opposition to the Code of Practice from trade unions such as Unison and the Fire Brigade Union, and their calls for the Equality Act itself to be amended. It notes Early Day Motion 240, in the name of Nadia Whittome, which calls for the Code of Practice to be disapproved, and applauds the MPs who have put their name to it.
Council expresses concern that implementation of the Code of Practice as drafted risks undermining the UK's obligations arising under the European Convention on Human Rights as part of our membership of the Council of Europe, established in Goodwin v United Kingdom in 2002.
Council notes that the UK has dropped from 1st place in 2015 to to 22nd place in ILGA-Europe's Rainbow Map, countries which have enacted explicit anti-LGBTI+ legislation. The UK is now the second-worst performer for LGBTI+ rights in all of Western Europe and Scandinavia, having held first place just a decade ago. For laws relating specifically to the recognition of trans people's gender identity, the UK now ranks among the worst in the whole of Europe. Council notes that the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers interpreted the Equality Act 2010 as currently written, and does not remove the legal protections against discrimination for those with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment: trans people remain protected from direct discrimination and harassment under the Act. Council further notes that, since the ruling is one of statutory interpretation rather than constitutional settlement, the UK Government retains the power to amend the Equality Act 2010 to ensure that trans people can fully access the rights and recognitions they enjoyed between the Act's passage and the Supreme Court's judgment and calls upon it to do so.

Council is equally alarmed by the warning from UN human rights experts that the ruling risks entrenching legal uncertainty and undermining the rights of transgender persons across all aspects of life.

Council therefore resolves:
1. To ask the Leader of the Council to write urgently to the Prime Minister and the Minister for Women and Equalities calling for an amendment to the Equality Act 2010 to fully restore and entrench the rights of transgender people; to take into further account the concerns of trans people and LGBTQI+ organisations before laying a commencement regulation; and to call on the Government to develop a cross-departmental Trans Inclusion Strategy that affirms the dignity, privacy, and legal recognition of trans people across all public services.2. To ask the City Convener for Equalities and Communities to write to all bodies within the Council family reaffirming Glasgow City Council's unequivocal commitment to the rights, safety, and dignity of transgender people; making clear that where the Code permits discretion, that discretion should be exercised in the most inclusive manner possible; that no trans person should be left without access to safe, appropriate facilities; that trans people must not routinely be subject to intrusive questioning, surveillance, or exclusion on the basis of appearance; and that any policy changes must be developed in partnership with trans people and the organisations that represent them.
3. To instruct the Chief Executive to undertake a review of all Council policies and services to identify where trans-inclusive practice can be strengthened within the law in recognition of the protected characteristic of gender reassignment, with a report back to the Wellbeing, Equalities, Communities, Culture and Engagement City Policy Committee within six months.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
We were very pleased to see that the City of Edinburgh Council voted to support a motion to condemn the EHRC’s draft Code of Practice yesterday, 34 votes to 19. Read more about this on our website here: www.scottishtrans.org/edinburgh-co...
Graphic which reads "Edinburgh Council Supports motion to condemn EHRC's Code of Practice" above the Equality Network and Scottish Trans logos
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 26/06/2026
🚨STATEMENT🚨 Please read Out for Indy's statement on the UK Government's draft bill on conversion practices.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
In one of her first official acts as an MP, Lara has now signed EDM 240 to disapprove the EHRC Draft Code of Practice. We would like to thank her for following through on her pledge, and to express solidarity with her in light of the abuse she's received from online trolls since her swearing in.
Screenshot of the House of Commons website showing that Lara Bird, SNP MP for Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, signed EDM 240 on 24 June 2026
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Today I met members of Edinburgh’s Muslim community and heard directly from those affected by the appalling attacks. No one in Scotland should ever fear being targeted because of who they are. My government will always stand against those who seek to divide us.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
🚨STATEMENT🚨 Please read Out for Indy's statement on the resignation of Keir Starmer.
Out for Independence statement on the resignation of Keir Starmer as Prime Minister of the UK:

Keir Starmer promised change from a failed Tory government, but instead presided over attacks on trans people as bad as anything coming out of Trump’s America. 
He was complicit in the undermining of Scottish democracy over the blocking of the Gender Recognition (Reform) Bill. His government’s changes to asylum and immigration rules have put LGBTQIA+ refugees, among others, at ever greater risk. 

In the face of a coordinated far-right onslaught that has seen people assaulted in the streets and burned out of their homes by mobs, Labour under him told the public at every turn that the hatemongers had legitimate concerns and those who opposed them were the real extremists. 

He claimed to be concerned with safety, but under him, supporters of abusive conversion practices and defenders of sexual abusers were welcomed into the halls of power. He spoke of dignity and respect, and then stopped at nothing to exclude trans people from public life, justified the most horrific slaughter in Gaza, and planned attacks on disabled people so egregious they broke his own party in half. 

To put it in terms he might recognise, the damage he has done is incalculable. He leaves this country more unequal, more unsafe and more intolerant than he found it.

Keir Starmer was another product of a failed, self-righteous Westminster politics that offers nothing but division. We are not sorry to see him go. We will continue to fight for the only thing that will stop the revolving door of liars and failures - a fresh start for Scotland with independence.
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SNP Ukraine Solidarity Caucus 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇦✊️ @snp4ukraine.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
For queer Ukrainians, the fight against Russian imperialism isn't just one of national liberation- it's also a fight against criminalisation and murder at the hands of the Putin regime
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
My statement on the abhorrent anti-Muslim violence in Edinburgh.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
🚨 STATEMENT 🚨 Please read Out for Indy's response to the recent events in Edinburgh.
Out for Independence response to the recent attacks in Edinburgh:

We are deeply appalled and disgusted at the racist incident that took place in Edinburgh on Friday 19th June. 

What was supposed to be a day for the LGBTQIA+ community and our allies to come together has been once again overshadowed by the atmosphere of racist hate. 

Many people of colour have warned that the growing rise of racism may result in blood being spilled on the streets. Unfortunately this has now come to pass. These messages did not come from nowhere - these came from the mouths of Nigel Farage and Reform, Rupert Lowe, and Tommy Robinson. They sow the seeds of hate under the false pretense of ‘legitimate concerns’, while not actually tackling any real issues that hurt our communities. 

It is also telling that we don't see the same people out on the streets protesting against this violent incident, when they were willing to a couple of months ago when the attacker was a person of colour. 

Let us be clear - racism has no place in Scotland. Violence has no place in Scotland. Today, we stand united with people of colour, the Muslim and migrant communities.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
The Court of Session has ruled today that the Scottish Prison Service’s policy of conducting a risk assessment for each trans prisoner and then deciding whether to place them on the men’s or women’s prison estate, is unlawful. Read our initial thoughts here: www.scottishtrans.org/statement-on...
Graphic which reads "Statement on Scottish Prisons Ruling" above the Equality Network and Scottish Trans logos
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Congratulations to our new MP Lara Bird for a great result in Arbroath & Broughty Ferry. She has run a fantastic campaign & will be an excellent local champion for the SNP at Westminster.
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The SNP @snp.org · 18/06/2026
Four hours left to make your vote count. If you want SNP voices standing up for Scotland, you have to vote for it. Aberdeen South: Richard Thomson Arbroath and Broughty Ferry: Lara Bird Vote SNP today and remember your ID.
Campaign poster urging voters to cast their ballots in Aberdeen South and Arbroath and Broughty Ferry with only 4 hours left to vote for SNP candidates.
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 18/06/2026
Polls are now open. You have until 10pm to vote for Richard Thomson in Aberdeen South and Lara Bird in Arbroath and Broughty Ferry. Only the SNP will always stand up for Scotland, and ensure our energy wealth benefits people in Scotland, not Westminster. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Mise @misebanbha.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
..So we’re lobbying MPs hard to reject it. And we will keep fighting to change the unworkable, unjust legislation. Our movement has never just sat down and accepted unjust laws. We fight them!”
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Mise @misebanbha.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
“I am so proud of our support for our trans community and it will not change, no matter how much some try to shout us down or bully us out of it. I’m in no doubt about this: the Supreme Court ruling was wrong. And the recent EHRC guidance is wrong all over again...
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
The Early Day Motion to reject the Code is now the most signed motion of this Parliament and has the most support of any EDM since 2021.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
More than 17000 people have contacted their MPs asking them to sign the motion and reject the harmful Code – have you? Take less than five minutes to write today – or if you have already, why not ask three of your friends to as well?: tinyurl.com/stopthecode
tinyurl.com
Email your MP to reject the Code of Practice and support EDM 240
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 16/06/2026
This is a welcoming country and the behaviour of the far right has no place on our streets.
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Jamie Hepburn @jamiehepburn.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
A real pleasure to be out with this team in Arbroath knocking on doors in support of @snp.org candidate in this Thursday’s Arbroath and Broughty Ferry by-election Lara Bird. Lara will be an excellent MP for the area.
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Thank you to @davedooganmp.bsky.social for signing EDM 240 to block the harmful EHRC Draft Code of Practice. It is rare for party leaders in the House of Commons to sign Early Day Motions, so we thank him for making an exception to show solidarity with trans people in Scotland and outwith.
Screenshot of the House of Commons website showing that Dave Doogan, SNP MP for Angus and Perthshire Glens, signed EDM 240 on 15 June 2026
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Trans+ Solidarity Alliance @transsolidarity.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
🆕 Alongside colleagues, we have written to the Prime Minister setting out the damage he is doing to our community. We have made clear that this is a political choice. The UK must pick another path, and the responsibility here lies with government. Read more: transactual.org.uk/blog/2026/06...
Dear Prime Minister,
We have all written to this government numerous times in the past year to warn you about the devastating impact of your approach to LGBTQ+ policy on the ability of trans people to participate in public life with dignity. This Government failed to act at any point to secure and defend trans people's fundamental rights and protections, and the current situation has become completely untenable for a rights-respecting nation.
The Supreme Court's job is to interpret statute, it is for our political representatives to set out a coherent vision for what the law should be and to make the law better. Even before the For Women Scotland judgment, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has acted in a way that has shredded our community's trust in regulators and institutions. This is not good enough.
The Code of Practice now before Parliament is set to crystallise an interpretation of the law that is fundamentally in conflict with the UK's human rights obligations. Many MPs have already spoken out about the unjust and unworkable situation the code would create, and more than a hundred have already used the limited available scrutiny process to oppose it.
We urge you to listen to these concerns. The Code does not provide clarity; it exacerbates confusion, conflict, and risk. We have consistently argued that a Code of Practice must pass three tests to be workable: it must protect trans people's ability to participate fully in society, support organisations that wish to remain inclusive, and comply with the UK's domestic and international human rights obligations. This Code fails on all counts.
Prime Minister, the everyday harms this causes will be wide-ranging. This will be viewed as Labour's legacy on LGBTQ+ rights for a generation.

You still have the opportunity to intervene - scrap this harmful guidance and change the law to fix the mess we find ourselves in.The government's own Equality Impact assessment outlines these consequences starkly, warning of discrimination, physical danger, and limiting trans people's access to vital services. Beyond just our trans communities, the assessment warns of the dangers of appearance-based gender policing on the safety of the public at large.
This Code of Practice could absolutely have been better within the current legal framework, and its current raft is dangerous and unacceptable. This is, however, also a symptom of the broader legislative probler acing our community and requiring action from our governmen
Last year's Supreme Court ruling turned Parliament's intentions for UK equality law on its head. It interpreted the Equality Act in a way that is clearly in direct opposition to decades of deliberate policymaking and well-documented intent. It has turned decades-old settled policy on how trans people should be treated into a mess of contradictory, harmful and incoherent rules.
The current Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy MP, said this in response to a proposed amendment to prevent trans people accessing services in line with our gender identities when debating the Gender Recognition Act before it was passed more than twenty years ago:
“the Government entirely reject the implication of the new clause that transsexuals might set out to cause offence to others. That is not the Government's experience, and we therefore reject the new clause. The Government also believe that separate facilities for minority groups are objectionable, and we urge the House to reject the proposal."
Yet now your Government is set to approve a Code that not only condones that approach but encourages it as the norm across Britain. The Supreme Court said that their ruling would not be disadvantageous to or remove protection from trans people with or without a GRC", but the government's own impact assessment now makes clear that widespread harm is happening.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Alongside TransActual and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, we have written to the prime minister to express our deep concerns with the new Code of Practice and urged the government to legislate now to protect trans people’s rights, dignity and inclusion. www.scottishtrans.org/jointpmletter/
Graphic with a pink to blue gradient background. It says '‘The choice before you is clear: intervene now, or accept responsibility for the consequences.’' 'Read our joint letter to the Prime Minister on the Code of Practice, urging the government to act now to protect trans rights.' At the bottom there are the Scottish Trans, Trans Actual and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance logos.
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Enough is enough. When politicians use hateful language, they create conditions for hatred to grow. This is the Reform party I warned about, and they should be ashamed for inciting racial division in Scotland. I will always stand up for the inclusive country we are. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Sending an email only takes a few minutes. Once you've done it, please ask 3 friends to do the same. We must keep pressure up on the issue, in a way that can help. Every person who emails is vital, and every MP who formally objects makes a difference.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
Alongside TransActual and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, we've created a template to help you tell your MP how you feel about this horrific guidance, and ask them to reject it and support EDM 240 if they haven't already. equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
130 MPs have now signed EDM 240 calling for the code to be disapproved. This is now the most supported EDM since the Covid crisis five years ago. Thank you to all the MPs who have signed and shown solidarity with the trans community.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
"I think it does actually mean a lot to trans people like me that these MPs have come forward and said, in the face of a Supreme Court judgment, in the face of a piece of government approved statutory guidance: No, we don't think this is right. We think the law should work in a different way."
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Out for Independence @outforindy.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
Join us on Saturday for our 2026 Annual Conference, featuring Edinburgh South Western MSP @simitakumar.bsky.social and Councillor Lesley Macinnes! Any queries about the event or tickets, please get in touch at info@outforindy.scot Register on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/out-for-in...
A graphic advertising the details of Out for Independence’s 2026 Conference in Edinburgh, including a picture of the guest speakers, Simita Kumar MSP and Councillor Lesley Macinnes.

Details include:
13th June
10:00-15:00
Training and Conference Venue
Edinburgh
EH1 1SU
*5 minute walk from Waverley Station
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John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · 10/06/2026
The scenes we saw in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Ayr last night are unacceptable. Scotland is a welcoming nation and those who choose to make their lives here are valued members of our communities. Racism, hatred and intimidation have no place in Scotland. We must stand against it.
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Scottish Trans @scottishtrans.bsky.social · 09/06/2026
In just one week, over 12,000 people across the UK have used our template to write to their MPs, to ask them to reject the EHRC’s harmful code of practice. Join them today: equalrecognition.eaction.org.uk/rejectthecode
Graphic with a pink to blue gradient background. It says "In just one week,      12,000+ people have written to their MP and asked them to reject the EHRC’s harmful Code of Practice." On the left side is a picture of a hand holding a megaphone. At the bottom there are the Scottish Trans, Trans Actual and Trans+ Solidarity Alliance logos.
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