The Times Lead Story - Labour Set To Annihilate Women's Rights

(Currently) Officials insist on two years’ worth of documentation to ensure the person is prepared for a permanent change. However, The Times has learnt that Labour will ditch the requirement in an attempt to “remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance”.

Instead, transgender people will be required to undergo an effective cooling-off period for two years after their application for a GRC is submitted. A single doctor specialising in gender issues will be able to provide a medical report supporting the change to their new gender.

The party will also ditch the panel of doctors and lawyers which now approves GRCs.

However, an idea to have them signed off by a single GP has been jettisoned, after party figures including Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, raised concerns about the impact on family doctors.

As well as simplifying the application process, Labour will also get rid of a requirement to have consent from the spouse of the person wishing to change gender.

A Labour source said: “Our intention was always that we don’t want to change how the diagnosis [of gender dysphoria] is made. It’s not about how it’s diagnosed but we do want one diagnosis.”

The source described the requirement to show two years’ worth of proof as “nonsense”.

They added: “We’ll replace it with a reflection period. It counters the idea that you can put on a dress and then the next day you’ve got a GRC. It’ll be a considerable period of time of two years. But of course you are still protected under the Equality Act even if you don’t have a GRC … There are protections so you can’t legally change your gender overnight.”

IMO wouldn't it be more useful if each time someone started a thread about the threat to women's sex based rights, instead of turing it into the same old back and forth about Tory vs Labour, could we stick to the core of the article ie the possibility of Labour bringing in virtual self ID.

Unless of course it is only one person, this question about why not to vote tory because right wing, etc., etc., is trotted out any time someone points out a problem with Labour.

What is hard to understand is why those (or the one poster) who thinks it is wrong to vote Tory doesn't start a thread about that. Maybe if there was a focused discussion about it may convince some on FWR.

But endlessly popping up with whatabouterry over and over again, when the issue for discussion is Labour policy, not only gets grating but backfires as it seems intended to derail thread.

I think it is really important to understand this policy, which they have referred to before, so would be good to hear in more details what it is, and the impact on women.

I've said it on other threads, I'll say it on this one too: the Conservatives stink to high heaven. I'm voting for them anyway, because god help us we are getting a Labour government this time round and there is no party other than the Tory party (Reform isn't remotely serious, please let's not even go there) that is going to try, even, to stand in the way of Labour pushing through laws that will break down women's rights and child safeguarding in the name of trans rights. The closer we get to the election, and the more certain Starmer and co are that they are going to win, the more they let slip out about how much of the rare good work done by the current government they are going to undo. Think how bad it's going to get once they've been elected with a large majority.

Wilson, they stop the selfID in Scotland. Have provided assurances to keep sIngle sex spaces; many of their women MP get it. There is reasonable guidance for schools on the way. Just of the top of my head.

it’s a shithole but I think Labour And all the other leftists parties, so open minded that their brains have dropped off, will only add insult to injury.

Glad i’m not voting. Something i would never have thought I would say or do.

Phillipson said she was “genuinely sorry to hear” of Rowling’s doubts and she had a “real degree of respect” for the author and added: “I would say really, do judge us on what we’ve done in the past to support women”.

Yeah that is what we're judging you all on Bridget.

Wilson IDK. All options are shit.

Right, could you please now tell us how Reform or the Conservatives are protecting women rights before I reconsider voting for a bunch of dishonest liars or a chauvinist racist party? Thank you.

So, all those people claiming Labour aren't going to bring in self ID?