Labour promises to keep single-sex exemptions

The manifesto page 65 is hugely positive

It is meaningless

I don't know! Just trying not to assume the worst about every policy. I fairly easily found a UK presentation saying that when a male spouse asked for support to move, they more often got it than a female spouse who was often assumed to be of 'limited ambition'. Could see any details on same-sex couples though.

Can you clarify which source it is and I am happy to add it as a comment to the article.

Sorry - no time. Will dig out a link later if nobody else has but got to get off the internet now. Life calls! It's all upthread though, pretty sure.

We can best effect change from the inside, this is why I have rejoined. The manifesto page 65 is hugely positive, let's vote this in and work on the rest of it.

Previously that seems to have applied only to mixed-sex couples and now is being extended to same-sex couples. Could (thinking optimistically) be referring to similar policies in the UK?

Why would that not be covered by existing UK law?

Eliminate remaining areas of discrimination in law, ensuring that LGBT+ people can live in safety and dignity.

It may refer to other policies.

I've just been reading up on 'dual-career' grants in Australian universities, which make it easier to recruit both halves of a couple to the same university so that the trailing spouse can be employed in the same place. Previously that seems to have applied only to mixed-sex couples and now is being extended to same-sex couples. Could (thinking optimistically) be referring to similar policies in the UK?

Labour is a complete car crash. Maybe it should be made illegal for anyone to access a single sex space that doesn't match their birth sex. There was the concept of fraud in the self id proposals. There must be some onus placed on trans people to recognise sex based rights.

This sounds suspiciously like getting rid of the protected characteristic of sex by making it impossible to define.

I think that is their aim. Remove the PCs of sex and gender reassignment and combine them under 'gender identity'.

In the discussion about the EA exceptions we are forgetting that there are two types of exceptions relating to single sex spaces: exceptions that allow services to be provided only to women (or only to men); and other exceptions that allow single sex service providers to discriminate because of gender reassignment (subject to the legitimate aim test).

That was exactly the point I tried to make earlier in the thread (not very clearly it seems). When labour say they're going to enforce the single-sex exemptions, they mean that they're moving away from gender neutral/mixed sex to single sex. It says nothing about what they're going to do regarding the proportionate/legitimate exclusion of people with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment (with or without a GRC).

They don't say how it will be enforced, because obviously it can't be enforced if you allow GRC holders to acquire a new birth certificate with an opposite sex marker for their legal sex. How do you distinguish between a woman with 'female' on her birth certificate and a man with a GRC who now also has a birth certificate which says 'female'? You can't.

As to influence, I'm not sure, but suspect they form a big part of the DB fan club.

Thanks Flinty

floisme The link to Youth manifesto was tweeted on JC twitter a/c
Here is the full document:
labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Digital-Youth-Manifesto.pdf

LangCleg Can you clarify which source it is and I am happy to add it as a comment to the article.

ie just to point out it isn't the official Labour source.

Thanks

Sorry posted too soon - I mean are they officially part of the party and do they have any influence?

This sounds suspiciously like getting rid of the protected characteristic of sex by making it impossible to define.

That was my thought also

What's the relationship of Labour Youth to the Labour Party?

We have had no official clarification from Labour of how these two manifesto commitments knit together (probably because they don't knit together)

I don't expect we will ever get one.

Eliminate remaining areas of discrimination in law, ensuring that LGBT+ people can live in safety and dignity.

What does this mean? What are the 'remaining areas of discrimination in law'? This sounds suspiciously like getting rid of the protected characteristic of sex by making it impossible to define.

According to this article written after the Piddock interview Labour intend to change the Equality Act from saying ‘gender assignment’ to ‘gender identity’.

It's not an official Labour source. It's the same non-affiliated Labour LGBT network lobby group that O'Hagan et al were posting.

Useless journalism adding to the mud, not clearing it away.

We have had no official clarification from Labour of how these two manifesto commitments knit together (probably because they don't knit together).

Labour is an absolute car crash, nothing here has changed they are still charging ahead with self ID.

Still as clear as mud then.

The Labour Youth Manifesto has now been released. Here is part of the section on equality:

Reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to introduce self-declaration for transgender people.
Eliminate remaining areas of discrimination in law, ensuring that LGBT+ people can live in safety and dignity.
Put LGBT+ equality at the heart of government, ensuring our public services are LGBT+ inclusive and delivering on the national LGBT Action Plan.

According to this article written after the Piddock interview Labour intend to change the Equality Act from saying ‘gender assignment’ to ‘gender identity’.

Not sure how Sex as an exemption then works or could work.

A Labour spokesperson said: “Our commitment to reforming the Gender Recognition Act to introduce self-declaration for transgender people is undimmed.

“Labour will amend the Equality Act 2010 to ensure it protects trans people by changing the protected characteristic of ‘gender assignment’ to ‘gender identity’ and removing other outdated language such as ‘transsexual’.

“The Equality Act will continue to allow for separate and single-sex services, providing that such treatment by a provider is justified, but no spaces will be permitted to discriminate against trans people.”

Shadow cabinet minister Laura Pidcock told Today: "I think that there has to be the enforcement of single space exemptions for women to heal and recover and it is absolutely crucial that there are spaces, that there is provision, for trans people to also get the help and support they need."

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/labour-manifesto-trans-rights-women-only-spaces-single-sex-corbyn-a9214656.html

"what the Labour party's understanding of the single-sex based exemptions in the EA is"

This is unforgivable.

How can he claim ignorance of his party's policy on legislation that affects 50% of the population?

I emailed my local Labour candidate for clarification on the sex exemptions and his reply was unsurprisingly vague. He said he doesn't know "what the Labour party's understanding of the single-sex based exemptions in the EA is" but that he is "opposed to inequality". Leaves it open for the LP to do whatever they like.