The Scottish Green Party has expelled a group of members for signing a declaration affirming that “sex is a biological reality” in what critics are calling a purge of gender ideology dissenters. The party’s Conduct and Complaints Committee (CCC) took immediate action against 13 individuals accusing them of breaching the party’s code of conduct and making the party unsafe for transgender and non-binary members.
Among those expelled are longtime activists and former party leaders including Robin Harper who served as co-convener from 2004 to 2008. The signatories had endorsed a declaration asserting women’s sex-based rights and right to discuss policies affecting them without harassment or intimidation.
But the party’s Rainbow Greens LGBTQI+ group accused them of undermining party policy and exhibiting prejudice. A party document recorded Green MSP Ross Greer stating that expulsion was necessary “to ensure the safety of all trans and non-binary members.”
The controversy reflects a growing rift within the party over gender issues. Co-leader Patrick Harvie has been a vocal critic of the Cass Review a scientific report on healthcare for children with gender dysphoria that led to the suspension of puberty blockers in England and Scotland. Harvie’s stance contributed to the collapse of the party’s power-sharing deal with the SNP.
Critics have slammed the expulsions as an attack on free speech and scientific fact. “So you are now expelled from the Scottish Greens for stating science,” tweeted Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser.
The purge of gender-critical members has drawn comparisons to authoritarian crackdowns on dissent. Expelled members argue they merely sought to defend women’s rights and question the party’s increasingly dogmatic stance on transgender issues.
As the debate over gender identity and women’s rights continues to roil progressive politics the Scottish Green Party’s hardline position has made it a flashpoint in the controversy. With the expulsion of longtime members who affirm biological sex the party appears to be staking out an uncompromising stance in the face of growing pushback against gender ideology.
