Wes Streeting on trans rights.

If there's one thing politicians know how to use its rhetoric.

Spot on @ArabellaScott . That's exactly what I think he thought would happen. that's what I mean when I say he is clever.

I hope he flippin reads this thread!

He still wants women to stop dissenting, and he's just trying to work out how best to achieve it.

It's almost funny, really. If they stop sending the death and rape threats (which they won't, obviously, but we can can dream), does Streeting imagine that we're going to forget their behaviour over the past four or five years? Forget that JK Rowling received enough death threats to paper her house? Forget the assault on Maria Maclachlan? Forget the vicious sexualised insults such as raping women with a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire?

'The clip was about how we win hearts and minds for trans equality. I am clear where I stand:'

but glad to see this at v least ruffling the feathers of those who seem to think threats and abuse are totally legit ways to deal with women who dissent.

There are many words I'd use to describe Streeting but 'clever' isn't one of them. Bit late for him to tone police the activists. Does he think the relentless barrage of death and rape threats will disappear and the physical attacks vanish from public record? Or that we'll forget about the Madigan saga, look how that ended?

You were right to be suspicious. He's confirmed that he's not really interested in listening to women

twitter.com/feministroar/status/1480255202955571212?s=21

Just watched the interview with Wes. Found it very disturbing. He started by comparing it to the gay marriage situation. There is no comparison between gay marriage and the threats to women's rights. Marriage like abortion is a deeply personal thing.
Claiming the right to enter single sex spaces is an invasion.
He obviously thinks if we calm down on the name calling, silencing etc he can lead me 'on a journey' to acceptance that TWAW.
He's wrong.

The replies to the tweet by SocialistVoice are an enjoyable read.

I see that the tweet was set so that only people SocialistVoice mentioned can reply. I guess that they did that after tweeting when they saw how things were going. Which means they're stuck with a load of contrary replies and hardly any in support.

• I mean 'courageous, principled' MPs. I would say fewer than fifty.

There are barely bloody any!

If we only get support from courageous, principled MP's we're buggered- there aren't enough.

Oh, ooops. I've used a wrongword, there, apologies, MN, was a quote from Socialist Voice. I starred out the other one!

Well, crikey. The hyperbole has astounded me. I thought Wes' weaselly words were barely worth noting, but he's already been denounced by Socialist Voice!

'Wes Streeting - like his Blairite colleague Rosie Duffield - is a T**F

JK Rowling has made offensive comments about transgender people - Labour continues defending those who sow division as the party seeks votes from Tories and the Tommy Robinson cult'

twitter.com/SocialistVoice/status/1479551606219845633

I doubt that Streeting ever truly believed TWAW even while working at Stonewall.

It's all about which way the wind is blowing. In 2019 it was blowing strongly in favour of the genderists - witness Swinson's proud TWAW claims on every radio show she went on. It was the bandwagon to be on for any self-proclaimed progressive party.

But we've made significant inroads since then and canny politicians with an eye on the future are going to have to dial down the TWAW rhetoric.

That doesn't mean if they win power they won't still try to sell women down the river.

I don't trust him on this issue as far as I could throw him. Sorry.

He is a careerist who cares only for his own rise up the party I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him

Yes but Labour need these people to win elections and we need them to stop self ID (and ideally tighten up the EA).

If we only get support from courageous, principled MP's we're buggered- there aren't enough. We need the many Labour MP's who are like Streeting to know that they will never win power with the slogan 'more rapists in women's prisons'.

I welcome the toning down of the rhetoric

It is a start but as the rest of your post suggests ChristinaXYZ, it's about reducing the temperature of the water by the smallest degree in order to get the fewest number of frogs (women) jumping out of it.

What a contrast to Jackie Doyle Price.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/4445897-Wow-Thank-you-Jackie-Doyle-Price

Now she says what we need and that we should have it. No policing tone and patronisingly smoothing feathers.

The more I think about it, the more I think Wes Streeting 's comments were a sophisticated version of 'calm down dear', oh and you can have the words breast-feeding as a sop.

Exactly, Christina. It's just about how to stop the shrill women from screaming so loudly as he dismantles and removes our rights. It's actually more about how to silence us more effectively.

Think about what he does not say though. He does not say anything about the substance of what JKR says. He does not say women need their own single sex space. He says stop being rude to Jo it won't win you the argument but he does not extend this courtesy to Rosie Duffield and the problem women with GC views have in the party he is a member of, and a member of its front bench. And whilst he would not serve under Corbyn he will serve under Starmer who thinks women having cervixes is something that should net be said.

He is trying to smooth our feathers whilst promising nothing.

I welcome the toning down of the rhetoric but he does not agree with most of the things that most women on here say - at least I can see no evidence that is so.