Liz Truss urges official withdrawal from Stonewall diversity scheme

The responses on the Mermaids thread are a thing of beauty

I don’t think it’s a ‘big announcement’. According to the Times article, it’s something she is believed to have told officials. That could mean anything from it’s an edict sent to her department (though in dubious she’d have the authority to do that) through to it’s some musing she did in a meeting with a few of her advisors present. Or it could well be a strategically-placed leak.

Don’t get me wrong, this is excellent news and I really hope it provokes public bodies to #LeaveStonewall and I really think it might, but let’s not get carried away and portray it as a big policy announcement when it isn’t.

The politics going forward will be interesting.

Big announcement snuck in over a sunny bank holiday and in the shadow of Boris’ wedding.

The rage will strike next week. The Tories behaving true to form as the ‘nasty party’.

Kier will need to decide how to respond. He is already under pressure from the left wing of his party. They are claiming that his poor election results were because he was not Corbyn enough. His instincts/polling will be telling him that voters, often former Labour supporters, are pleased to see Liz et al, roll back some of the urban wokeness.

So does he please the activists, and lead the charge, or attempt to please potential voters. Or does he remain sitting on his uncomfortable fence.

My own view is that Stonewall is just one lobbing organisation that has set up store in the corridors of power. Keir should question how lobbyists have got so influential, with Stonewall as a concrete example. And ignore the LGBT elements. Why were public bodies paying out so much?

Couldn't have happened to a nicer bunch of straight male lobbyists, which is what Stonewall have become.

I'm pleased that Stonewall's gravy train has taken a hit. It was very clever of them to set up a scheme self described as a benchmark tool for an inclusive workforce. It reminds me of the old Investors in People scheme (which was also a load of bollocks), remember when every organisation was doing that?

When an organisation's reputation is taking a hit is when it is most dangerous. We will need to continue to apply pressure and spread the word.

Still, it's worth taking a moment

Love these replies to the nonsense on twitter

Dr. Jane Clare Jones @janeclarejones:

A lot of us are gay, or lesbian, or bisexual.

We're not 'coming for' anyone.

We're trying to stop sex being erased in law.

That's it.

And you have the fucking brass neck to accuse us of scaremongering.
Quote Tweet

Srsly.

The amount of fear this rhetoric has generated about a bunch of mostly middle-aged mostly left-wing feminists and lesbians is insane.

And its been created for political leverage.

Which makes it also fucking immoral.

How about people with a duty of care for young people told them the truth.

That they are protected in law. That they live in one of the safest places in the world.

And that they have nothing to fear from feminist women just because we refuse to pretend that sex doesn't exist.

"if you oppose trans rights, you are an opponent of LGBTQ equality in general

Well he was never one for critical thought.

it's so disheartening to be on the right side, and to be a supporter of LGBT equality for so long only to be told that because I simply disagree I'm a bigot.

But you know you are not. So as I pointed out on another thread, whenever these ideologues make claims about us that we know not to be true, they weaken the credibility of everything else they claim as well.

Sorry, I know it's little OJ but can I just rant a bit about his latest tweet? He has smugly proclaimed that "if you oppose trans rights, you are an opponent of LGBTQ equality in general. The end." I just want to scream at his uncompromising, rigid way of looking at this. I'm bisexual. It has taken me a long time to be comfortable with my sexuality. I wholeheartedly supported the campaign for gay marriage. I am entirely against conversion therapy and regressive religious fundamentalism which tells LBG people they are disgusting and wrong.

At the same time, I oppose a lot of the trans doctrine. I'm sorry, but I disagree with self-ID as an ideological position, especially when it is taken to such extremes that I go onto women dating apps and see people with penises demand that I consider them to be in my dating pool. I disagree with the medicalisation of trans children. I think there are real medical ethics concerns there. I am worried about how trans rights interacts with and subverts women's rights, as protected in the Equality Act 2010, and how Stonewall has misinterpreted the law. I feel that all of my concerns are rational and not motivated from a place of bigotry or hate. I certainly don't want trans people's lives to go badly. But that doesn't mean I think they have the right to compete in female sports or have access to female only domestic abuse shelters, or prisons.

But apparently because I question this stuff I'm an opponent of LGBT equality. Just like that, I'm thrown in the 'baddies' corner with the far right Evangelical Christians, with the countries that throw gay people off buildings, with the quack conversion therapists...it's so disheartening to be on the right side, and to be a supporter of LGBT equality for so long only to be told that because I simply disagree I'm a bigot.

I don't think Stonewall is likely to fold that easily.

Does anyone know what would happen with Allison Bailey's tribunal if stonewall folds before the hearing date? Presumably she could still take garden court to tribunal?

And this clearly shows why they didn't want us pesky women talking.

There are indeed Reds.

I thought this one was interesting:

A symptom of a psychological disorder is the perception that everyone is out to get them. They perceive all events as hostile actions deliberately aimed against them no matter how reasonable those events are. The disorder itself, makes them unable to relate to this delusion.

Applies to so many TRAs who fail to appreciate that standing up for women’s rights and child safeguarding is not in itself anti-trans. When will they realise this?!

There are some very robust comments on that Mermaids thread, not quite going the way they hoped.

I did wonder if Owen Jones use of the word 'hysteria' was deliberate or not.....

This is better news than I dared hope. Good for Liz Truss, Liam Fox and all those fighting back.

Not sure if it’s been mentioned earlier on the thread but the Stonewall Scotland Director criticised For Women Scot for their 1am tweet supporting Liz Truss commenting that most people are in bed at that hour

It’s really backfired on him and people have been posting some very amusing retorts /memes etc, if you want a chuckle, see here:

mobile.twitter.com/ForwomenScot/with_replies

I'm not even sure they would be under a U.K. remit but it did make me think of the other women who have gone quietly and haven't been able to fight it in court because 'SW law' is so embedded and people go along with it.

Mermaids have responded - this will be the line they all take, I imagine (has visions of all the main groups spending today madly strategising). Still in bunker mode. Doesn’t occur to them to backtrack a bit and try to speak to people about their concerns.

“ The Government is systematically undermining the rights of all LGBTQ+ people by trying to dismantle @stonewalluk's work to protect and empower minority lives. THIS is why ALL LGBTQ+ people need to stand together against rampant transphobia in the press and politics. We are ONE.”

twitter.com/mermaids_gender/status/1399412794987106307?s=21

Thanks Pronouns, I saw she had written a book or an intro to a book recently. Will see what she's been up to.

Would be good to hear her speak up in the HoL though as it wasn't that long ago it was she who was steering this ship into the icebergs...

[quote ScreamingMeMe]Link to LOJ's tweet, if you want to see the replies.

twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1399317574488313859?s=20[/quote]
LOJs twitter is interesting. Despite having a blocklist which must run into thousands, of those that are left, many do not agree with him re stonewall and are providing clear reasons why.

If LOJ had not created such an echo chamber around himself he might understand the issues better

Sorry if already posted, but could be worth tuning into a special of The Mess We’re In. Starting in 7 mins:

grahamlinehan.substack.com/p/its-here-the-peakening

At least Jones doesn't say "Is it that time of the month, girls?".

Very good news indeed. Here's to a balance of rights as the legislation requires. And yes, thank you Justine. We've still got a long way to go, but this is a great step forward