Sir Keir Starmer on women's rights, sport, and penises, in LBC interview

He's shifted his rhetoric, not his position

So now he annoys both sides? And confuses those people who aren't aware of the debate?

Usual crowd on Twitter moaning about 'gotcha' questions.

What is a 'gotcha' question? Is it a question asked because the asker knows the true answer is going to make the speaker look mad?

If yes, it works.

What's the the it?

I am supposing he is talking about us tabby we are no longer women but an 'it'

It is deeply deeply offensive.

We need to press him on how it can be managed, I am sure we would all love to know the answer to that.

Do you suppose he said to his family Happy Cervix Haver day

Are you popping over for a cervix haver lunch later?

Or perhaps the whole concept will be scrapped with Labour after all there are no such thing as mothers anymore.

'He wouldn't say whether males should be in female sports. That spoke volumes.'

He basically said there are ways to manage it.

What's the the it? It's males in female sports, isn't it?

Sounds to me he very much wants the legal definition to trump the biological reality-based definition, and make it easier for anyone who wishes so to get their legal status updated.
Then anyone covered by the legal status will be entitled exclusive access to "single-(legal)-sex" spaces.

It's about as anti-woman as it gets.

I would sincerely love to know what his wife/daughter/relatives think of his position - what does he consider them to be exactly? A mirage?

He wouldn't say whether males should be in female sports. That spoke volumes.

He's shifted his rhetoric, not his position

yep

He actually wants us all to shut up talking about it.

'I listened to the whole interview live and felt he'd shifted a bit towards neutral ground. there's still a way to go for the politically homeless but at least the door opened a crack by saying a) he wanted to talk and b)he understood the need for spaces for women in line with EQa 2010'

He's shifted his rhetoric, not his position. He doesn't really want to talk or he would have talked to Labour women who disagree with him already. And he can say he understands the need for spaces for women but if he defines women as people who may or may not have a penis, he is distorting the law.

:So - can a woman have a penis Sir Keir? We have a right to know. And will keep asking.'

And it's a perfectly simple question. A barking mad question but that's where we are at the moment. I could hear him physically squirming at the question. Mortified for him. Absolutely pathetic

I don't see any meaningful shift at all. I see plenty of shuffling words around and avoidance.

Until this is addressed Labour are never ever going to win an election, how can any woman seriously vote for them?! It would be like turkeys voting for Christmas.

I listened to the whole interview live and felt he'd shifted a bit towards neutral ground. there's still a way to go for the politically homeless but at least the door opened a crack by saying a) he wanted to talk and b)he understood the need for spaces for women in line with EQa 2010

He's going to have to trot out that pained disapproving expression quite regularly. If you're promoting inconsistent unscientific beliefs as facts then people quite rightly ask "what does that mean?" "explain that"

So - can a woman have a penis Sir Keir? We have a right to know. And will keep asking.

Keir has managed to make 50% of the party politically homeless.
I don't understand why the female power brokers within the party are not making any kind of stand on this....the silence is deafening and kind of terrifying.

You can't erase women and expect no one to notice.

They don't plan to make any legislation changes to the EQA or wording about single sex spaces. What they intend to do is change the meaning of the word 'sex' so it no longer means human female.

I get Labour want self ID. I just can’t find it on their website.

I want to see if there’s been any analysis of proposed changes and their effects.

I want to see/hear from Labour (or the other parties) what this would mean in law. Consequences of the changes to the GRA/GRC and how this would affect the Eq Act - either intended or unintended. Because it will.

& not just Eq Act. It will bleed into other areas. SEND, Children’s Act, Education Act, Health, Employment etc…. Change one thing and you will need to change other dependent sections of legislation.

This is why I want to see the politicians pinned down on what they want to change & then the journo follow the thread. This has always gone beyond women’s and children’s rights. It’s just we’re the ones are the sharp end.

I want to hear more than the pithy sound bites and tired tropes.

*Sorry, that should be EA2010.

What are the actual changes Labour want to make to the GRA/GRC & knock ons’ for the Eq Act?

We won't know details until the manifeto and I strongly suspect not even then but from what I can gather from recent statements:

1. They want to allow anyone to obtain a GRC with a simple statutory declaration- much like the scottish proposal.

1. Starmer says this makes someone a woman in a legal sense. That would probably mean (at least) changing the guidance around the EA2020 to make it very hard to aply single sex exemptions of any kind. In practice that means total self ID, without needing to pass a new law.

1. I very much doubt they will amend the EA or any of the legislation which referrences sex instead of gender.

Did he say that he didn’t think that women shouldn’t separate changing rooms? He could barely get the words out could he. Clearly he is shit scared of getting it “wrong”.

Ferrari said that Starmer has been referred to the EHRC, which was in the Mail:

www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-10656127/ANNA-MIKHAILOVA-Sir-Keir-Starmers-trans-drivel-reported-equalities-watchdog.html?fr=operanews

Article ends:

"All this raises another question: 'What is an effective Leader of the Opposition?'"

Indeed.

All cats are cats and should have safe spaces just for cats and under Labour a dog will be able to quickly and easily get legal recognition as a cat.