Lord Paddick resigns the LGBT LD executive

Still really appreciating that BP is openly listening to both sides when most have not yet been brave enough to do that. Thanks Brian.

I've started a new thread. I thought it was worthy of attention.

She's advocating for an open debate where everyone is represented.

excellent, hopefully one with both respect and nuance...

Ann Sinnott has just tweeted a twitter reply to the accusations of transphobia that she has been getting, including threats of complaints to Labour.

She's advocating for an open debate where everyone is represented.

The Labour Councillor that beat SB in the election is getting a lot of grief on Twitter, largely led by Lily Madigan. She's shared a few things - the letter to the guardian, a WPUK post and one about Transgendertrend.

The volume of 'abusive' tweets are being used by some to obscure and deny the concerns of women about the conflicting rights.

Responses to twitter accounts such as Lily Madigan & the LibDeb LGBT+ etc are likely separated from their context.

Oh yes - I'd forgotten that little gem from HP.

Sarah Brown didn't get elected.

Good.

That the LibDems were prepared to select Brown for candidacy is grim though.

I can't imagine anyone else being taken seriously and being supported to stand for election under similar circumstances.

Well there is Heather Peto for Labour... who said they were elected they would "work when I can and staff would fill in the holes when I can't”."

www.independent.co.uk/news/labour-candidate-heather-peto-sleeping-beauty-syndrome-rutland-and-melton-pledges-fight-rare-a7730041.html

It seems very far from how women are treated in politics.

There have been a number of women who are members of the LibDems who have described feeling bullied / silenced by influential members in ways that are neither liberal or democratic.

Sarah Brown didn't get elected.

I am a Lib Dem.

Conflicted as I want the party to do well as long as I still think it reflects my values but I was directly accused on twitter of all sorts by the Lib Dem LGBT account and then entered into a debate with Zoe O'Connell on Facebook when I expressed my views on an enquiry from a constituent concerned about self-ID that there are valid concerns to listen to without dismissing it all as transphobia.

Not being open to debate and discussion isn't liberal. I see many of my party colleagues on social media trotting out transwomen are women as if that's all the response that's required. I don't think it is.

Oh and Brian tweeted his support for Sarah btw.

One of the things I find so odd are SB's descriptions of their mental state.

When entering political life a pre-requisite is the ability to engage in debate and accept that you will have to engage with people who disagree with you on a wide variety of topics.

Expecting to be elected whilst also tweeting about being mentally fragile, missing meetings and taking Valium is not a exactly a great platform from which to convince the electorate of your ability to represent their best interests, when frankly the overwhelming narrative is a single minded pursuit of your own agenda.

I can't imagine anyone else being taken seriously and being supported to stand for election under similar circumstances.

What do you think the response would be to a woman who declared that suffering from PND had left her medicated, in bed, unable to do her role but was still saying vote for me? How supportive would people be?

I love how pointing out that males calling themselves lesbians is homophobic constitutes horrendous abuse according to SB and Penis News.

From Pink News:

"A transgender electoral candidate has shared the “horrendous” insults she faced just an hour after a pro-LGBT Twitter account posted its support of her in Thursday’s local elections.
In 2010, Sarah Brown was voted as the only openly-trans politician elected to serve in the UK when she was named Cambridge City Councillor for Petersfield. She served as councillor until 2014, but is now looking to get re-elected.
But after recent scrutiny of transgender people in Britain in the press and social media, Brown said that she has faced “relentless” abuse during her election campaign this year."

www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/05/03/trans-lib-dem-sarah-brown-twitter-trans-abuse/

& a link to previously discussed:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3211247-The-Lib-Dem-LGBT-twitter-feed-is-annoyed-at-Mumsnet

In related political news

www.buzzfeed.com/markdistefano/caitlyn-jenner-will-address-the-uks-parliament-on-diversity?utm_term=.tn5lM1jk1j#.kcDM0xKJxK

Wow, 2 LibDem councillors from that article?!
Seems quite a high representation amongst the Lib Dems, as I know RosenbergW has pointed out before. The size of the agenda there is truly massive. I really don't get how it all goes down on the doorstep!

www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2013/apr/20/greatest-sexual-taboo-polyamorous-transgender

Zoe O'Connell is on the Lib Dem LGBT exec as well as Sarah Brown.

"Women should support each other. I fully support my fellow lib dem female candidates" -
Jackie Pearcey urging women to support male LD candidate Sarah Brown. Does Jackie really believe that male == female? Or maybe Jackie believes that when a male says they are a female that makes them so? Or maybe it's the surgery that makes this miracle happen? I wonder if Jackie could explain their reasoning here, or why women should support a candidate who calls vaginas "off putting" and lesbians "sexually frustrated", and calls women who question gender "TERFs".

snowflakeespecial.tumblr.com/post/89561501303/breaking-news-lesbians-stage-protest-of

Here are some tweets from lib dem representatives referring to Brown as "female", "bravest", "kindest", "one of the best people I know" despite Brown's well documented vicious actions against women, for example exhorting other TAs to use Julie Bindel's surname as the word for the smegma found on the devices used by trans identified males to dilate their inverted penises.

Sarah Brown actually stood for election yesterday but "didn't publicly announce or promote" their candidacy, they claim because of the awful abuse trans women allegedly receive on social media, but it is more likely because Brown didn't want their utterly vile history of public misogyny and lesbophobia scuppering their chances.

The LibDems cannot both support women and continue to have an association with Sarah Brown. They know Brown's character and history and yet still they have him as a candidate. No woman should ignore this.

Brian Paddick is worth contacting on this. I received a very decent, thoughtful response. House of Lords website makes it easy to contact any Lord.

That’s good I think Brian Paddick could do a lot of good even by just raising a few questions about legalising gender self ID and helping more people to get information about women’s concerns and advocating for their existing rights talk freely about things, then make up their own minds.
The misogynist authoritarians will hate that and try to stop him doing that but meh. We see you.

Just noticed this tweet from Lord Paddick from the day before yesterday.

twitter.com/brianpaddick/status/991787226576154630?s=21

“I’m not suggesting eradicating sex, for the reasons you indicate, & for political reasons I’m nervous about using gender (seen by many as conformity to norms devised by a misogynistic patriarchal society) as an alternative. It’s complicated & I’m feeling my way.“

Feeling his way indeed! He’s still listening.

When LM said LM wouldn't mind all male representation of/as women, here's an example of it in practice! The single woman must be walking on eggshells all the time.