SCECLB228 Individual

Senedd Cymru | Welsh Parliament

Y Pwyllgor Biliau Diwygio | Reform Bill Committee

Bil Senedd Cymru (Rhestrau Ymgeiswyr Etholiadol)| Senedd Cymru (Electoral Candidate Lists) Bill

Ymateb gan Unigolyn | Evidence from Individual

What are your views on the general principles of the Bill and the need for legislation to deliver the Welsh Government’s stated policy objective (to make the Senedd a more effective legislature by ensuring it is broadly representative of the gender make-up of the population)?

I do not agree with self-identification. The category of 'woman' should be reserved for biological females. Men-who-think-they-are women should not be able to 'self-identify' into the female category. Therefore, I would reject the bill on that grounds.

What are your views on the system of enforcement and potential sanctions for non-compliance proposed in the Bill?

Are there any potential barriers to the implementation of the Bill’s provisions? If so, what are they, and are they adequately taken into account in the Bill and the accompanying Explanatory Memorandum and Regulatory Impact Assessment?

Are any unintended consequences likely to arise from the Bill?

Yes. The Bill makes a mockery of the biological category of 'woman' by allowing men-who-think-they-are women to 'self-identify' into the female category, thereby denying biological women (real women/actual women) the opportunity that the bill is supposed to be presenting. Therefore, I would reject the bill on that grounds.

What are your views on the Welsh Government’s assessment of the financial and other impacts of the Bill?

What are your views on the balance between the information contained on the face of the Bill and what is left to subordinate legislation? Are the powers for Welsh Ministers to make subordinate legislation appropriate?

The Welsh government does not have the authority to change the definition of 'woman' to 'anyone who thinks they are a woman'. So the Bill will go the same way as the GRR Bill in Scotland and be struck down, thankfully, by saner heads in Westminster.

Do you have any views on matters relating to the legislative competence of the Senedd including compatibility with the European Convention on Human Rights?

See previous answer.

Do you have any views on matters related to the quality of the legislation, or to the constitutional or other implications of the Bill?

Poorly written: self-id into the category of 'woman' is an affront to real women and means the bill will not achieve what it sets out to achieve. When will the Senedd realise that sex is a immutable binary in humans?