Scottish leaders blast SNP's 24 genders list: 'They should be fixing broken public services!'
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The party has been criticised for issuing guidance to public bodies about recording identities
The SNP have faced backlash for claiming there are 24 different genders in official guidance on sex and gender.
The list, which was compiled for public bodies in Scotland that collect data on sex and gender, included "genderfluid", "agender", "questioning" and "pangender" among options.
MSPs have criticised the SNP for using time and resources on the list instead of "fixing Scotland's broken public services."
According to the documents issued by the Government's chief statistician, people may be "pangender", meaning a person feels that "their identity encompasses all possible genders at once."
Scottish Conservatives leader Russell Findlay called the gender list "drivel"
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The advice was issued despite John Swinney, the First Minister, saying three months ago that he believes there are only two genders - female and male.
Russel Findlay, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, said on X: "The SNP should be fixing Scotland's broken public services.
"But instead they’re wasting time and money on this '24 genders' drivel."
Speaking to GB News Findlay added: “This ludicrous exercise is yet another example of the SNP’s warped priorities.
“John Swinney’s government consistently chooses to waste time and money on utter drivel like this instead of focusing on important issues that matter to people.
“So many Scots feel detached from Holyrood and the fringe obsessions of left-wing parties which is why I’m determined to bring some common sense back into politics.”
The 24 genders listed are:
Tess White, the Scottish Tory shadow equalities minister commented: "Wasting time and resources on this shows how disconnected the SNP government are from the real world and why people are sick of politicians at Holyrood failing to focus on issues that concern them.
“The SNP need to stop playing to the minority and start governing for the majority by showing common sense and focussing on the real priorities of the people of Scotland.”
The list of 24 genders was added last week to formal guidance first issued to the public in 2021 about how sex and gender should be recorded and published.
Murdo Fraser, MSP for Mid-Scotland & Fife also reacted to the news stating: "First Minister @JohnSwinney states there are just 2 genders, but his Government claims 24?
"Is he in charge or not? What a complete shambles, but exactly what we have come to expect from this failing SNP administration."
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Deputy Chairwoman of the Scottish Tories, Pam Gosal, added: "And the SNP still wonder why women no longer trust them."
The guidance issued by SNP says that those in surveys who say they are transgender or have "trans history" should be asked to describe their status in their own words.
The public bodies are advised to categorise their responses as one of the possible gender identity options.
There are also a further 23 "trans subcategory" options people can be recorded against.
Last week, Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Tory deputy leader, called for the term cisgender to be banned in the Scottish Parliament, branding the term as "offensive and regressive".
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "The point of the survey is to collect information on the respondents' trans history and how they would define it. It is therefore important that the survey is designed in such a way that allows that information to be captured."