Govt LGBT+ advisors quit - criticising Liz Truss

Just mentioned it on BBC news-a bit about how it was ending anyway, and an clarification that JM “speaks for the trans community”. Generally wouldn’t have been enlightening to a civilian-a sense that ‘Tory bigots hate gays’ BUT an alert optimist might detect a few cracks and an infinitesimal separation of LGB and T into two separate issues -both worthy of merit, for the hovering reporters- with different and discrete needs.

No way - they quit 2 weeks before the role was ending anyway, and none of the media articles have mentioned that, apart from a tiny little note at the bottom of an article that doesn't even make it clear? FFS

A good X-post there.

At one point Jess Phillips was talking about the disproportionate physical strength of men vs women and about how women couldn't their chromosomes. I raised an eyebrow. But I think though for Phillips TWAW is a political statement that she'll parrot until it loses its usefulness.

James Morton was on the Today programme and they had a decent amount of time.

In laying out the grievances, it was clear that it was all about the T.

DH ‘but JM sounds reasonable’

Me ‘as in the JM who advised on letting TW into women’s jails - including without an equality assessment - did you hear about the rapist Karen White place in a female prison and the recent judicial review brought by a female prisoner sexually assaulted by a TW?’

DH ‘oh no - that’s not good’

JB was - as usual brilliant.

Anyone thinking Jess Philips is maybe reviewing her previous stances?

Yes Julie Bindel, she was on later. Not talking about trans issues at all. No rebuttal. She was talking about violence against women. It was joyous to hear a proper conversation about violence from people who know what they are talking about (even the ones I disagreed with).

By JB do you mean Julie Bindel? I did not realise there was another interview. What time was that? If there was a rebuttal I'd love to hear it.

I very much liked the interview on Today. It was a lovely example of all we have to do is get the gender ideologues saying what they want.

He made it clear it is all about the T. He did give not a single concrete example of Truss being awful. Mutterings about conversion therapy and atmosphere were vague so had no punch.

Then JB was on later.

A bet there are a few tantrums going on this morning.

All along, there have been tactics, seriously planned and are now able to argue without facts and able to piggyback all discussions about gay/women so that the T gets mentioned and argued and then overtakes the others. These are brilliant tactics and we don't seem able to use them - now I am guessing that's because we know our arguments stand on statistics and fact, nevertheless, we are not working at that level. I can only be thankful we have MN to at least get some plans in action

This is one of the headlines on the Today programme, second only to the tragic news about Sarah Everard. It's getting a lot of coverage from the corporation.

James Morton was on the Today programme and they had a decent amount of time.

In laying out the grievances, it was clear that it was all about the T.

Two charges were leveled: the government didn't feel bound to follow the advice of the panel and that in the recent debate about conversion therapy at one point Kemi Badenoch didn't include the T in a list.

Something feels tactical about this, it has a Dentonesque feel. I think the goals are to discredit Truss and Badenoch in the eyes of the LGBT community and progressives, with a longer term goal to get government legislation that will make the Keira Bell decision moot (where the restrictions on puberty blockers somehow get grouped into coversion therapy of gay people).

Incidentally, Radio 4 did have a programme about conversion therapy this week and all of the content was about conversion therapy of gay people while the narrative from the queer presenter and the expert, a queer historian, made sure that "trans and gender identity" got lumped in whenever gay people were mentioned. Ironically, the only T-related problems in conversion therapy identified in the programme is that therapists were at risk of accusations of transphobia if they don't do their patients' bidding and that some people might transition when it is not appropriate.

The first reports this evening were slanted towards L and G conversion therapy , than by the later news reports suddenly they were all talking about TQI conversions. Totally different, and it seemed a bit obvious that someone had complained. Good to see two actual lesbians though, makes a real change

Hoping Liz Truss, Kemi Badenoch and co are thinking FOTTFSOFAWYGTFOSM rather than 'eeek how do we get them to stay'.

As in the flouncing not quite as serious - obviously the criticism is bad.

Not that the critics of Liz Truss will take any notice of that inconvenient fact

The LGBT Advisory Council was set up in 2019 with the term of current panel members set to end on March 31st.

Right at the bottom of the BBC report (at least they didn’t miss it out altogether). They resigned a couple of weeks before the role ended as planned - so not quite as serious as it might at first seem.

The TV piece concentrated on stopping gay conversion therapy and if that had been all it was it would look very poor that the government was dragging its heels. But they are wrapping it up with gender identity conversion therapy in terms of the legislation.

The average person simply doesn't understand the ramifications of that.

Grow up, James. Learn to make a coherent, evidenced case and you might get somewhere. A strategy based on threatening to rape and kill dissenters was never ever ever ever going to work forever.

Reading the BBC article it seems Ozanne resigned because the government didn't put a firm date on a bill to end conversion therapy. Morton resigned because the government's statement responding to Ozanne, didn't center trans.

I suspect there is also frustration that the past practice of backroom deals has been rumbled and people are demanding more transparency.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56353313

Somebody really needs to channel their inner Carrie Mathison and do a visual map of all the connections between the different groups, companies and individuals that have direct access to the government departments.