Prostitution Scotland: Why the SNP face a difficult question over Ash Regan's Bill
Ash Regan is hoping to overhaul prostitution laws in Scotland - but can she get enough support?
Last week, Liam McArthur asked his fellow MSPs to support his proposals to legalise assisted dying, saying Parliament cannot simply put it in the “too difficult” pile.
There have been plenty of “too difficult” pieces of legislation quietly ditched in recent months by an SNP Government desperate not to rock the boat and dent its precarious lead in the polls.
But soon MSPs will be asked to consider yet another difficult topic that is already dividing people - what should be done about Scotland’s prostitution laws?
The legality of prostitution in Scotland is somewhat murky, but Alba MSP Ash Regan has introduced a Bill to bring in what is known as the Nordic model, which would legalise the selling of sex, but criminalise the buying of sex.
She has received enough cross-party support to get the Bill officially introduced to Parliament, including from a number of SNP backbenchers such as Fergus and Annabelle Ewing, Kenneth Gibson, Bill Kidd, Michelle Thomson and Ruth Maguire.
The Nordic model is technically SNP policy. Back in 2021 it was a pledge in the party’s election manifesto, and in 2017 the party declared prostitution was a form of violence against women and girls.
But given the Government has been keen to distance itself from anything remotely controversial, it is not a given Ms Regan will be able to count on the party’s support here.
Ms Regan said she had spoken to numerous government ministers and SNP backbenchers about her proposals, and had several meetings with Community Safety Minister Siobhian Brown.
At the moment, the government is non-committal - as they are with any non-government bill at this stage.
Perhaps Ms Regan will look to the other benches in the Parliament for support.
She already has 11 Conservatives backing her, and on Tuesday she told journalists she believed she had “relatively strong” support from the rest of the party.
On top of this, Ms Regan has also been backed by five Labour MSPs and independent John Mason.
No Lib Dems or Greens have supported her proposals yet, and this is unlikely to change as their parties’ policy is for the full decriminalisation of prostitution.
The idea of decriminalisation itself could prove to be a stumbling block when it comes time to debate Ms Regan’s Bill.
Decriminalisation is a stance supported by a number of high-profile organisations, including the World Health Organisation and the United Nations. Those will be powerful names for MSPs to drop when arguing against the Nordic model.
More locally, unions such as GMB Scotland also support the full decriminalisation of prostitution and a campaign called Scotland For Decrim has been set up to challenge the contents of Ms Regan’s Bill.
For anyone on the fence, these voices could make them stop and think. Hopefully the debate on this issue can be kept calm, but already tensions are bubbling.
Even the words used here are proving contentious. Those who support the Nordic model firmly use the words “prostitution” and “prostitution survivor”. Those who are against Ms Regan’s proposals use the terms “sex work” and “sex worker”.
Ms Regan is certain she has enough time to get this Bill pushed through Parliament before the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. So in the time these MSPs have left in power, they will have to confront at least one more difficult question.
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