Humza Yousaf claims UK Government is ‘foreign’ in final SNP leadership debate

The frontrunner to replace Nicola Sturgeon has referred to the UK Government as "foreign" as he defended plans to go to court over her self-identification gender reforms.

In the final SNP leadership debate before the victor is announced on Monday, Humza Yousaf doubled down on his pledge to try and overturn a UK Government veto of the Gender Recognition Reform (GRR) Bill.

The Health Secretary boasted he was the only one of the three candidates who would go to court over the reforms, before concluding: “If we were independent we would not have a foreign government coming in, for example, and vetoing our legislation.”

But Kate Forbes, the Finance Secretary, said that she would tear up SNP government schools guidance which tells teachers they should not always tell parents if their children change gender at schools.

The Finance Secretary said she had major concerns over current policies in Scottish classrooms, and said parents were regularly making contract with her about children as young as four becoming confused about gender after lessons.

Controversial guidance, written with the help of trans rights activists and issued in 2021, told Scottish schools to take a strictly “affirmative” approach when children stated that they wanted to change gender. It states that parents should not always be informed.

Ms Forbes also warned proposals mooted by Mr Yousaf to hit wealthier workers with even higher income tax bills risks reducing revenue and deterring people moving to Scotland.

The Finance Secretary lashed out at proposals to introduce a 44 per cent income tax band, which would sit between the higher and top rates.

Under the STUC plan, which Mr Yousaf has promised to consider, this rate would be charged on income between £75,000 and £125,140 with the aim of generating an extra £200 million per year.

Ms Forbes warned this could "overcomplicate" income tax, which would have seven bands in Scotland compared to only four in England, and "you could end up raising less, not more."

However, the most fierce clash occurred over the gender legislation, with Mr Yousaf accusing his opponents of backing down to a London power grab.

He said he was "comfortable" with his own children being taught about gender identity and suggested that there were occasions when parents should not be told.

"During the course of the GRR bill, one of the first conversations I had was with a young Muslim who was trans," he said during the Times Radio debate in Edinburgh.

"He told me very clearly that if his parents had known he was transitioning, reprisals would have been pretty difficult.

"So of course I would want a 15-year-old who is considering transitioning to be comfortable enough to be able to talk to their parents. But that's not the reality for every single person."

But Ms Forbes raised grave doubts over the current policy and suggested it would be quickly scrapped if she wins the contest and parents "have to know what their young people are being exposed to.”

“I would express considerable concern with an approach that removes parents from the conversation,” she said. “I think just having a purely affirmative approach is a problem for our young people.

“I have recently had a baby - at the 20-week scan they discovered the fact it was a little girl. It wasn’t assigned, it was a little girl. It’s critical that there aren’t conversations going on that don’t seek parents’ consent.”

She added: “On a local level, this is an issue parents are raising with me on quite a regular basis. They are worried about what their children are being taught.”

Anyone in Scotland earning more than £27,850 already pays more income tax than if they lived south of the Border. Those earning a £50,000 salary pay almost £1,500 per year extra.

Middle-class Scots are on course to see their bills rise again when the new tax year starts in a fortnight after Ms Sturgeon's government added a penny to each of the current top two rates.

Confirming he would consider adding another income tax band, Mr Yousaf said: "You've got to of course create jobs, you've got to increase the tax base, but progressive taxation those limited powers that we have, we have to make sure we're using them to their absolute maximum.”

But Ms Forbes said: "If you overcomplicate income tax, you could end up raising less, not more, because right now people are making conscious decisions about whether or not, for example, to relocate to Scotland.

"Actually the important thing here is to expand the tax base because Scotland is far too dependent on far too few taxpayers."

Ash Regan, the outsider in the contest, also said that she "wouldn't go to tax first" and she would try to find money from other sources.

The chairman of the Scottish Conservatives, Craig Hoy, said Mr Yousaf's comments on the UK as a “foreign” government were “typically crass and ignorant” and that the Health Secretary was “clearly pandering to the extremes of his nationalist base”.

“The reality is that Scotland has two governments and the majority of Scots want to see them work together.

“Many of them will be offended by this divisive rhetoric, which offers a worrying insight into how self-styled ‘First Activist’ Humza Yousaf will govern Scotland if he becomes First Minister.

“His comments also make a mockery of his own promise minutes earlier to raise the tone of political debate and heal divisions.”