The Scottish parliament election—Each party’s stance on the LGBTQ+ community

Scottish Elections held on the 7 May 2026 [Image: Unsplash]

SNP (The Scottish National Party)

One of the more progressive political parties in Scotland is the SNP. It was the SNP who passed The Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act in 2014.

They are very much against conversation therapy, and agree that it’s incredibly inhumane . As a result, they have stated that they will introduce their own legislation if the UK fails to put a stop to the out of date practice.

Additionally, because of SNP, Scotland was the first country in the world to introduce LGBTQ+-inclusive education into the school curriculum. This helped to educate minors on LGBTQ+ history as well as fight against homophobic and/or transphobic bullying and harassment.

While SNP identity as a pro-trans party, there has been some criticism statements that the party have made and actions that they have taken.

For instance, in 2024, they paused the prescription of puberty blockers for those under 18. While this was framed as a safety measure, it was incredibly heartbreaking and distressing more a lot of trans youth.

Scottish Green Party [Image: Getty Images]

Scottish Greens

Scottish Greens are widely known as being a fairly progressive party and have a lot of support from the LGBTQ+ community.

Scottish Greens have advocated for reducing waiting times for Gender Clinics, which is one of the most pressing issues that trans individuals face today.

They have also condemned anyone with “gender-critical” views, even expelling 13 members of their party for signing the “Scottish Green Declaration for Women’s Sex-Based Rights” document showing that they tend to stand on business.

Leader of the Conservative party and Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party [Image: Getty Images]

Scottish Conservatives

While the Scottish Conservatives claim to be committed to fighting against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the online findings say otherwise.

For one thing, they are big advocates for single-sex spaces, meaning that they believe in different spaces (toilets, changing rooms, prisons etc) for different sexes. While this might sound logical on paper, this would be based on biological sex as opposed to gender-identity which means that trans individuals may be forced into using a space that goes against their gender identity.

It should be noted however, that they support a trans-inclusive ban on conversion therapy, whereas the UK Conservative Party do not.

Scottish Liberal Democrats [Image: Getty Images]

Scottish Liberal Democrats

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are a left-leaning party, and have often shown a progressive stance on LGBTQ+ issues.

The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one the few parties who have fought for the legal recognition of non-binary identities, including the introduction of “X” gender markers on passports.

They are also strong supports of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill, with all the party’s MSPS voting in favour of the legislation in 2022.

However, the party is not without is controversies.

In October 2025, they introduced a rule that banned trans women from positions that were specifically reserved for women, suggesting that a lot of the party’s members still have very regressive views.

Scottish Reform Party [Image: Getty Images]

Reform Party Scotland

Reform Party Scotland have what many would consider harmful views of the LGBTQ+ community and have taking many actions and stances that have made a lot of LGBTQ+ members feel unsafe.

For one thing, in UK councils where they hold influence, they have removed Pride Flags from public buildings and have also refused to fund Pride Events.

They have also proposed a ban on what they have called “transgender ideology” in all schools which would stop pupils from being able to change their pronouns, socially transition and even question their gender identity.

Scottish Labour Party [Image: Getty Images]

The Scottish Labour Party

While they used to be seen as a progressive party, The Scottish Labour Party have recently taken actions that many see as regressive.

For a start, earlier thus year, Anas Sarwar, leader of Scottish Labour, pledged to fight for more single-sex spaces which would include prisons, meaning that trans women would be banned from female-only prisons and made to stay in male prisons, putting their lives at major risk.

Sarwar also expressed regret for supporting the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill and believes in the idea that trans individuals should have a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria for legal recognition, even though the waiting lists for gender-clinics in the NHS are extortionist.

It’s worth reminding readers that those aged 16 or over are eligible to vote in this election. This means that young queer can finally have a say in their future instead of having to rely on the generations that came before them to make the right decision in the polling station.

The vote in the election, you must apply by 5pm on 20 April. If you’re not 16 yet, but will be 16 by election day, you can still register to vote. You can find guidance on how to register to vote here.

If this is your first time voting and you’re feeling a bit anxious about what to expect, or if you can’t vote in person, you can find very helpful details here.

So if you haven’t already, register to vote and remember- your voice matters.