House of Commons this afternoon. Ministerial statement on new code of practice

She's been Community Noted 😆

https://x.com/stellacreasy/status/2062174750235845041?s=20

Saying you think the law should be changed is a valid opinion we may or may not agree with.

The law should be followed as it is, unless it is changed. I expect no attempt to change the law will happen, albeit because it will be used as a campaign weapon by Reform. Whose policies will do a lot of harm to women.

.. and Stella Creasey has posted a video on X that seems to be doing its level best to make EDMs as confusing and opaque as possible.

Luckily, Akua Reindorf is helping her with her understanding.

Looks like Plaid Cymru got a memo.

A few more sigs today, it's up to 77 names now.

https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/65938

Agree.

I think Ophelia should tie them all to their chairs, so they'll be forced to watch the presentation in full! With their eyelids propped open. While they watch it four times, or as many times as it takes.

I'd pay good money to sit at the front and film them. With my earplugs in, and a blindfold on.

(Too much?)

EDMs:

'Early day motions (EDMs) are motions submitted for debate in the House of Commons for which no day has been fixed.
As there is no specific time allocated to EDMs very few are debated. However, many attract a great deal of public interest and media coverage.

What are EDMs used for?

EDMs are used to put on record the views of individual MPs or to draw attention to specific events or campaigns. Topics covered by EDMs vary widely.
By attracting the signatures of other MPs, they can be used to demonstrate the level of parliamentary support for a particular cause or point of view.

How many signatures do EDMs attract?

In an average session only six or seven EDMs reach over two hundred signatures. Around seventy or eighty get over one hundred signatures. The majority will attract only one or two signatures.

There is no rule whereby the number of signatures affects the likelihood of an EDM being debated.'
...
'A 'prayer' is a particular type of EDM that is used, by convention, when MPs wish to object formally to a statutory instrument. If a motion 'praying' that an instrument 'be annulled' is tabled within 40 days of it being laid before Parliament, a debate may be arranged in a Delegated Legislation Committee or, more rarely, in the Chamber.'

https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/edms/

So. This whole exercise doesn't even mean anything unless a debate gets tabled, and a vote taken to reject the Guidance.

Well they fucked that excuse when it turned out they didn't even bother to get the data category for !

Were they all playing quoits in the corridors or something for that year to justify the delay?

maybe they are in a weird bet with ol' Jolyon about who can generate the most case law against themselves?

Might have known that the mighty intellect of Nadia would soon show itself on this. The absolute bird-brained muppet.

They’re not challenging legislation though. They’re just trying to throw a spanner in the works.

Upthread someone quoted Sarah Owens (MP for Luton) saying
Does the Minister share my concern that the new code of practice will only further the UK’s now hostile environment for trans people and not calm it?

Perhaps Sarah might like to attend your presentation and realise why women have become increasingly 'hostile' to TW in their spaces.

'Muppets' is too kind a word...

One positive - and it's hard to find any positives in these turkeys voting for Christmas - is that my Lib Dem MP who was previously very much #bekindsillywomen didn't bother his arse to sign it or stand up for it.

I've actually got more respect for the ones who acknowledge that the Code can't be challenged given what the law says, and admit that what they want is incompatible with the Equality Act. They're at least saying the quiet part out loud. On balance I think I prefer that to pretence.

'Alongside colleagues, I have tabled a motion to disapprove the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for Services, public functions and associations. We cannot support it, and we have a responsibility to our trans constituents to resist it. This motion is currently the only available mechanism through which Parliament can reject the EHRC’s Code of Practice; if it is debated and passed within the 40-day scrutiny window, it would prevent the Code from being issued by the EHRC and coming into force. Please email your MP asking them to sign EDM 240.'
...
'This guidance must not become statutory; the government should withdraw it and instead legislate to clarify and protect trans people’s rights, privacy and inclusion.'

Nadia Whittome

https://x.com/NadiaWhittomeMP/status/2061762711189414024

It feels like this was just a bunch of them getting their own receipts set up for something to point at when the inevitable happens and the law has to be (GASP!) adhered to.

They can all point at this (and the gaping absence of their other party colleagues) as reasons why they should not be hauled up onto the wall for activists' retribution. Or at least not at the front of the line.

Ah, but they also consider being expected to argue the case to be incredibly gauche and unsophisticated. We should just ... know.

They had a large donation from the makers of puberty blockers a few years back.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/05/31/lib-dems-split-over-trans-guidance/

Civil war, apparently!

Unless someone on his team signed and he withdrew it when he became aware?

Also, what the fuck is wrong with the Lib Dems? They are even worse than the Greens now.

Weird. Do they sign by accident and then realise their mistake? Or does the long arm of the party whip extend the Tippex?

Haha what’s going on in Lib Dem towers?

Oooh. I love the smell of ferrets reversing in the morning.

Tim Farron has now withdrawn his signature. Embarrassing for him that he signed in the first place - a former party leader.