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Feminism: Sex and gender discussions

Another Labour councillor resigns over Cambridge City Council's transgender policies

132 replies

StandWitch · 23/10/2020 14:39

See www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/labour-councillor-kevin-price-resigns-from-cambridge-city-council-over-transgender-rights-motion-9127531/ and cf. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3322389-labour-councillor-quits-in-row-over-facilities-for-trans-people-the-times

A Labour councillor of 10 years and former deputy leader at Cambridge City Council has resigned over a motion on transgender rights.

The motion, brought by the Liberal Democrats to a session of the full council on Thursday (October 22), began with the words: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary individuals are non-binary.”

It is quite possible that the previous shenanigans is what led to his resignation as deputy leader in 2018 www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/deputy-leader-of-cambridge-city-council-stands-down-9051099/ as the dates are the same

The motion, brought by the Liberal Democrats to a session of the full council on Thursday (October 22), began with the words: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary individuals are non-binary.”

Kevin Price , who represented King’s Hedges for the Labour party, said he could not support those words, saying they would “send a chill down the spines” of “many women,” and saying it is “foolish to pretend” there are not widely different views or concerns about women’s rights.

He said he has not voted against a Labour motion in his 10 years on the council, and said he did not intend to break that “principle”, and instead announced his resignation to the meeting, saying there are times when conscience “must be weighed against the pull of party”.

A second Labour councillor, Carina O'Reilly has been targeted by TRAs www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/two-cambridge-labour-councillors-accused-19019555

She dared to retweet JK Rowling.

There is some detail on the council's motion here:

democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/b15527/Information%20Pack%2022nd-Oct-2020%2018.00%20Council.pdf?T=9

Facilitating and strongly encouraging all Councillors to attend
Safer Spaces training
Safer Spaces training for councillors was delivered on 24th February
2020 for the first time and officers can run further sessions. Officers
have also been asked by Cllr Smith to book transgender awareness
training for councillors. The council also provides 2 training sessions on transgender awareness per year for staff delivered by The Kite Trust.

There is also something about consulting groups about which Pride flag they want flown.

Essentially this motion was to object to the government not making a new GRA.

OP posts:
SunsetScreech · 23/10/2020 19:05

2 training sessions on transgender awareness per year for staff delivered by The Kite Trust.

2 a year??? Fxkingell

RozWatching · 23/10/2020 19:00

Yes, it was 2018 and afaik the FWR Archives is the only place where it's currently available, so make your copies now...

I forgot to remove the page number, it's page 5 of this thread
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3203804-The-Deptford-People-Project-and-the-impact-of-self-ID-and-transactivism-on-working-class-women

FindTheTruth · 23/10/2020 19:00

Where can I complain about that 'journalist'?

I'd like to know this too

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 23/10/2020 18:43

Found the website!
www.facebook.com/deptfordpeopleproject/posts/1631795163535574

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 23/10/2020 18:27

That is a powerful statement by Deptford People's Project, Roz. But I can't make the link work, and I can't find the statement, or PenclsInSpace, anywhere online.

I think I remember the statement from about 2018 -- I should have kept a copy.

It's the kind of statement that gets lost because it's by people who aren't influential, whose voices aren't usually heard, but that's the very reason those in power need to be reminded of it.

PhoebeSnow · 23/10/2020 18:07

That is an excellent post Roz, thank you for sharing it.

RozWatching · 23/10/2020 18:01

So one of the poorest wards of the city will have lost an old school socialist councillor of the sort who defended public services. He'll no doubt be replaced by some woke numpty who only cares about fuckin pronouns.

Who benefits in this cluster fuck? The people in favour of cutting public services to the bone, that's who. Their job just got that bit easier.

Yeah, there is no 'hold your nose' option as far as I'm concerned. I wouldn't trust the gender identity ideologists to deliver anything.

See eg the Deptford People's Project
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3203804-The-Deptford-People-Project-and-the-impact-of-self-ID-and-transactivism-on-working-class-women?pg=5
(Thanks to PencilsInSpace who reproduced the statement)

"Statement from Working class community workers from Deptford. We are attending the women’s meeting at the House of Commons today. We would like to offer an explanation as to why this is necessary. See below

After many years of working at grass roots within our community we have recently been made aware of an issue that directly effects the working class and women in our area.

You must understand we are not graduate activists or or women’s rights campaigners. We are community workers and our concerns regarding changes to the GRA come from a lifetime of personal experience and having worked with some of the most marginalise people in our area.

The majority of our recent projects have been working with rough sleepers, the homeless and those that have been excluded from society. The issues they face include: unsupported/ mental health illness, sexual violence and prostitution, childhood trauma and abuse...

domestic violence, poverty, ex care system issues, addiction, prison,rehab,homelessness and austerity.

The people in our community that we represent are the most likely to access/ be placed in sex segregated services.Some have and will access all of these services.

Our local political and community organisations have been infiltrated by a group of well meaning white middle class goldsmith (uni) students. These people although well intentioned have rail roaded many vital projects by introducing identity policies and intersectional thinking. They do this without truly understanding or experiencing working class issues.

Meetings we have attended for the purpose of discussing community housing projects and women’s wellness etc have been used as a platform to re educate working class people on the new academic language expected within our organisations.

As anyone from a working class back ground will tell you, these theories and ideologies rarely translate into working class communities.

The extremely small number of transsexual (I use the old term as this has a very different meaning to the university umbrella term currently thrown about) members of the community are and have always been excepted and protected by community organisations.

We are now informed that transgender people are being routinely abused (mis gendered) and should be protected above all other marginalised groups. All that has changed is privileged students have adopted a set of gender identities that allow them to be considered marginalised.

The people we encountered were far from marginalised. In fact they were highly educated, openly classist and aggressive.

This new politics doesn’t equate in our community or for the people we support. We are dealing with working class issues with severely marginalised people and the trans lobby is a gentrification of working class social and political movements. Note the difference between trans lobby and trans people who we support.

No one will discuss our concerns regarding self id. Our local Labour Party has refused to comment or debate with the working class people.

We are attending the meeting this evening as this is only place that is willing to discuss theses issues.

When we are being verbally abused and called fascists because we are concerned about the effects of policy change on marginalised people it is a direct attack on working class women and grass roots organisations.

when sharing information about this event and attempt to shut it down be aware that you are complicit in the silencing of not only women but working class people who have not afforded the privileged of a safe space or university education. Thank you x"

Melroses · 23/10/2020 18:00

Stuff is the word for our pandemic frazzled times. I can’t be the only one finding work knackering and struggling to retain words and information. Stuff is doing a lot of heavy lifting in my home and work life right now.

When I get the time, I need to relocate my vocabulary Wink

boatyardblues · 23/10/2020 17:40

@Melroses

(sorry - a lot of stuffing there Blush )
Stuff is the word for our pandemic frazzled times. I can’t be the only one finding work knackering and struggling to retain words and information. Stuff is doing a lot of heavy lifting in my home and work life right now.
nothingcomestonothing · 23/10/2020 17:36

Thank you Kevin Price Flowers for the refreshing sanity and courage.

Where can I complain about that 'journalist'?

Melroses · 23/10/2020 17:34

(sorry - a lot of stuffing there Blush )

Melroses · 23/10/2020 17:33

@MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes

Does anyone else miss the times when councils administered services and managed the public purses rather than attempted to engage in rather amateur fashion with student simplifications of moralising?
It was a while ago, but I remember canvassing for a Labour councilor who wanted to sort out potholes and stuff. I think the previous incumbent was more into attending functions and stuff.

He duly did when he was elected. People want stuff done 🤷🏻‍♀️

ChattyLion · 23/10/2020 17:16

Thank you Kevin Price. Flowers

MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 23/10/2020 17:12

This and the absolute denial around the complications of immigration.

MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 23/10/2020 17:10

That's actually a very pertinent point. As in local councils: so in national policy. I am not voting Labour any more while they support this and I abandoned hope with my natural representatives the Greens years ago. This rabbit hole is impoverishing us all and leaving us with no credibility to hold off the 'neoliberalist' capitalists.

CaraDuneRedux · 23/10/2020 17:04

@TBHno

You know who benefits from all this nonsense in the long run?

The Tories, the right, the anti id-pol brigade.

So whilst Labour and LibDems may think that they're winning; they're not. they're really really not.

Joe Public is not a fan of id-pol, and 80% of people are Joe Public.

Yes. Identity politics is a form of extreme libertarianism, and the right have spotted, and are exploiting its potential as a Trojan horse to use in a divide-and-conquer strategy against the left.

So one of the poorest wards of the city will have lost an old school socialist councillor of the sort who defended public services. He'll no doubt be replaced by some woke numpty who only cares about fuckin pronouns.

Who benefits in this cluster fuck? The people in favour of cutting public services to the bone, that's who. Their job just got that bit easier.

TBHno · 23/10/2020 16:59

You know who benefits from all this nonsense in the long run?

The Tories, the right, the anti id-pol brigade.

So whilst Labour and LibDems may think that they're winning; they're not. they're really really not.

Joe Public is not a fan of id-pol, and 80% of people are Joe Public.

CaraDuneRedux · 23/10/2020 16:53

@MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes

Does anyone else miss the times when councils administered services and managed the public purses rather than attempted to engage in rather amateur fashion with student simplifications of moralising?
Yes!

And as I said upthread, given the ward Kevin represented, I would put money on him having been exactly that sort of old fashioned councillor, working for decent services in one of the poorer areas of the city (it's not all punting down the backs swigging from a bottle of Bolly - I used to live in Arbury, and there are pockets of real poverty and deprivation).

MayYouLiveInInterestingTimes · 23/10/2020 16:49

Does anyone else miss the times when councils administered services and managed the public purses rather than attempted to engage in rather amateur fashion with student simplifications of moralising?

CaraDuneRedux · 23/10/2020 16:48

Thank you, Kevin Price.

FairFridaythe13th · 23/10/2020 16:33

They shine a light on the shenanigans. Hope everyone is watching and questioning.

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 23/10/2020 16:30

Thanks for the link, Mornington. Kevin Price's resignation speech reminded me of Robin Cook's, when he resigned from the cabinet over the invasion of Iraq.

The good ones honourably resign and the lickspittles agree to everything and keep their jobs. No wonder we're in the shit.

thinkingaboutLangCleg · 23/10/2020 16:14

I looked for Kevin Price on Cambridge council's page of councillors, and he has already been removed, presumably with his council email account also deleted. Didn't even get 24 hours for people to quickly drop him a message.

Into the Memory Hole he never existed move on now -- nothing to see here....

Angryresister · 23/10/2020 16:08

It is sad that labour is still putting male rights above those of females. Thank you to the councillors involved in standing up for women.

BlackForestCake · 23/10/2020 15:54

Don't motions usually say things like: "This council believes that ..."

Was that not absolute enough? Did it imply an opinion that people were allowed to disagree with?

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