Reply from MP

[unlurk85]

Hi all,

Received a reply from my MP (Tory grandee) about the GRA. Hope it's readable. As you can see he's going to write to the Minister and let me know. I hope coming from him (he's well respected in the party) it'll help. He also seems to grasp the arguments well. Hurray. Happy IWD (and my DS' birthday too!!)

Thanks @unlurk85

I have written to my Tory MP. He's not a big hitter and in a fairly homogenous constituency so I'll be surprised if this is even on his radar. Hopefully it will inspire him to do some research.

Yes @LadyLance Yes @KatyaZamolodchikova!

@Danglingmod I'd be very interested in how she defines a woman. Surely no ladybrain / ladydick nonsense, just good solid female anatomy ay?

Hopefully by writing to MPs we can at least get this on their radar and make it clear that people do have concerns about this.

Hopefully if we make it clear that this has the potential to be a vote loser it will help shift the debate?

There's very little evidence to indicate that the current Govt will change the GRC or Equalities legislation.

Well Theresa May did specifically promise to legislate for self-ID only a few months ago - linkk*. So we mustn't assume the Tories aren't a risk too. There are promising signs of them getting cold feet, but we must keep up the pressure.

Tripping-also NI here & liking the idea of writing to the DUP, I'd expect quite a different reply. Will post if I get one!

Hi Buck. Do you think it'd be worthwhile writing to them then? I'll certainly send Mr Robinson a wee letter if it might help.

@TrippingTheVelvet The DUP have a lot of power in Westminster right now, and don't seem like the sort of party to support Self-ID in my limited knowledge of them. I do think this might be a case of "the enemy of my enemy is my friend".

Also, I think it's probably important to make as many MPs as possible aware of the issues- I think in some circles they still may have not heard of Self-ID.

My MP is Tory. I've written to him three times about this. First time I got boilerplate waffle x 100. Second time I got - waffle x 2 no changes to Equality Act honest promise waffle x 2.

I just this week wrote again saying that Labour were clearly imploding over this and I was wondering if his third response would be removing any more waffles. I'll let you know what he says!

Lady Lance, Lib Dem President, Sal Brinton wrote a piece a few weeks ago which confirms the Lib Dems are pro self-id when it comes to women's shortlists:
"Our definition for those who are eligible for AWS is based on the self definition of candidates".

And this was in the 2017 manifesto:
"Extend protection of gender reassignment in equality law to also explicitly cover gender identity and expression, streamline and simplify the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to allow individuals to change their legal gender without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles, for example the intrusive medical tests currently required."

Thank you for this thread. Ive been lurking and feeling fearful and powerless about it all, but seeing this thread has pushed me into action. I have just fired off an email to my MP cobbling together some of the emails shared upthread. Our MP is a conservative also, I will update if I get a response. I will also be emailing Womens Aid. It feels good to actually do something, I had underestimated how effective such a small step would be in decreasing the feelings of fear; not so powerless after all!

here is my draft - any suggestions very welcome. I live in a constituency served by a Tory Grandee of the Top Tier (think previous Leader of the Party) so will be very interesting to see the response.

_
Dear [ ]

I am one of your constituents living in [ ].

Recently I have been growing more concerned over the implications of the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act for women; particularly vulnerable women, who need access to all-female spaces such as domestic abuse shelters, prison wings and female-only hospital wards.

In addition, self-id will prevent single-sex organisations such as the Girl Guides from continuing to offer a unique space for girls and women free from external pressures of misogyny, sexism and discrimination. If self-id becomes law, it is likely that any man (with or without nefarious intentions) would be able to volunteer and share accommodation with girls and women at their most vulnerable moments such as sleeping or washing.

In addition, the ramifications for accurate data collection across all areas are profound. If woman no longer means biological female then how can we collate and analyse data such as crime rates, disease prevalency and so on.

These spaces, among many others, are segregated by biological sex, the reasons for which I am sure are apparent. I am concerned that this change to allow 'self-identifying' transwomen access to these spaces, undermines the protection that sex-segregation offers these women.

Can you please clarify your personal stance on the proposed changes to the Gender Recognition Act to allow for Self-ID?

Many thanks,

@missludgatecircus

Looks good. I'd remove one 'in addition ' at beginning of para 2 or 3 and replace with furthermore. Otherwise great. Also great it's another Tory big hitter. This could really get us somewhere....

This is a very motivating thread, so I am place marking.

I have been following these threads feeling a bit powerless. My MP is a relatively high profile Tory.

I can't write an email now as I need to put dc to bed and I need to put some thought into it but I will revisit this thread on Monday and draft an email.

I am another voter here who is astounded that Jeremy Corbyn is pushing women away.

missludgatecircus - excellent letter. I've tweaked it a tiny bit and written to my MP (labour....no idea of his views on this).

Will report back if/when I get a reply!

I've never written to an MP before about anything!

My MP is a Cons cabinet minister and I be emailing him as soon as I’ve got these dastardly DC to bed!

will be emailng

Perhaps I’d better not!
I’ll edit properly - promise!

@SleightOfMind I'm reading your original post in a pirate voice.

Please keep writing to MPs!

I am married to one & work for him.

At work he has had about 2 emails about gender.
It's not on most people radar yet, and most MPs have been too busy with Brexit stuff to think about anything else.
So please do write.
(It didn't take much to convince him that self ID is a bad idea)

My resolution for the next week is that I will email my MP. He's a Tory but a bit of a rebel, and I'm hopeful he will be sympathetic to my concerns on self-ID

I've emailed my MP today. He is a high profile but back bench right wing Tory of many years standing.

I honestly can't imagine that he would be in favour but his sole focus is currently Brexit (according to his numerous media interviews, Twitter and Facebook feeds!) so this issue probably isn't on his radar.

Longweek - thanks, that is interesting. I've never contacted my MP before so this is new territory!

If I get a reply I will post back.

I have a letter sent to me by the local Labour candidate (by-elections here). I am looking forward to telling her exactly why her party have failed HER and why that means she will not get my X, even more so than usual (locally I base my vote on councillor actions here in my town directly).

I suppose they view us rather the way they view rats.
If one appears there are likely to be fifty more unseen.
Please write to them, preferably on paper, because if it is not documented it did not happen.

The bewilderness in our office letters & emails are treated in exactly the same way- you'd get a letter back. Neither is prioritised. All are recorded. In fact, every life of correspondence in & out is recorded- emails, phone calls, letters etc.

I've just emailed a tweaked version of missludgate's letter to my (useless) MP. He's a low-profile, Conservative Brexiteer who voted against same-sex marriage. It will be interesting to see his take on this.

Indeed, politics makes for strange bedfellows!