Campaign Launch: Why it's time to review the Equality Act. 60 tickets left.

[PencilsInSpace]

You know how we are constantly being told that there are no planned changes to the EA, and that therefore the proposed changes to the GRA don't affect us?

Well, it turns out a group of politicians are launching a campaign to review the EA.

The launch event is free to attend, Wed 20th June, 4-6 pm, House of Commons

Description

The Equality Act 2010 was established to cover nine protected characteristics: Age, Disability, Gender Reassignment, Marriage or Cvil Partnership, Pregnancy and Maternity, Race, Religion or Belief, Sex, and Sexual Orientation.

However, in 2018 alone, we have seen the gender pay-gap issue, punish a Muslim day letters, concerns about anti-Semitic attitudes and behaviour, and the Windrush Scandal. All of these issues have in common the way in which they compel us to question what equality means in today's society. A number of characteristics such as homelessness, ethnicity, and poverty, although can give rise to discrimination, are not covered by the act. We believe that the equality act needs to be strengthened in order to ensure that we live in a fair and equal society for all.

We are marking the launch of our campaign with an event in Parliament titled "Why it's time to review the Equality Act?". Our speakers include:

1. Afzal Khan MP and Shadow Minister for Immigration
2. Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith
3. Wes Streeting MP
4. Shabana Mahmood MP
5. Jess Philips MP
6. Mark Lewis (Solicitor)

I'm going to this.

Wow. Big news! www.equalityactreview.co.uk

Wes Streeting is a member of the notorious "Labour Against Transphobia" group, which was that group you will all remember who in January created and published a "hit-list" of GC women to be harassed out of the Labour Party, and which successfully got several women suspended for saying "women don't have XXXXX".

I'm going.

I find this confusing. The addition of mental health and homelessness as protected characteristics seems like decent suggestions. Poverty? Seems a little difficult - what would you do, disallow companies to charge for their services?

Then Naz Shah is quoted on that site saying “We need to strengthen the equality act to ensure discrimination against Muslims is unlawful.” Is it not already unlawful - religion is a protected characteristic, no?

And how does Jess Philips propose that altering the Equality Act will make the gender pay gap unlawful? The gap is a lot more complex than unequal pay, which is already illegal?

Was going to post the same thing as Southfields. Would expect from Wes an effort to replace sex with gender.

Jess Phillips would do nothing to prevent this. Mark Lewis - he is famous for something?

Oh yes he is the phone hacking lawyer so, not a fan of free speech. Would not approve of 'outing' .

I find this confusing. The addition of mental health and homelessness as protected characteristics seems like decent suggestions.

Mental health conditions are already covered under the protected characteristic of disability. Do the people organising this event know their arse from their elbow?

boatyardblues oh duh yeah of course they are.

This does seem all a bit odd.

Wes streeting. FFS. he is more than happy to throw women under a bus.

They are all Labour aren't they?

Mental health conditions are only covered under disability if they have a substantial and long term adverse effect.

What they are getting at re poverty is discrimination against people on the basis of poverty should become a protected characteristic; e.g. charging poor people more for stuff etc etc

I’m going to. Delighted to know some people who will be there. It’s so important that we listen to what is being said at these things (and challenge, of course).

Wes streeting is an ass though...

I'll see you guys there... What's a spot of misgendering among friends?

Better an ass we challenge and hear than one who is plotting in a secret Facebook group...

Oh that makes sense, Offred. Like pre-payment electric meters etc?
Yup they suck.

Will be very interested to read the reports of those of you who are able to go.

Yes homelessness and poverty should not be protected characteristics, they should be problems to be solved and eradicated.

Poverty? Seems a little difficult - what would you do, disallow companies to charge for their services?

It's more likely to be that certain trading practices will be outlawed. For example, poor people have crap credit ratings, so they don't get offered a direct debit gas and electricity account. Instead, they have to get one of those meter key things that you preload at the corner shop, which, no surprises, have a higher tariff per unit. So protecting poor people would mean capping the tariff so that you don't get penalised for being on a key meter.

I'd love to go, but these things are always in London, which is hours of travel and £hundreds of rail fare for me. Anyone who gets to ask a question about sex protections is welcome to steal my "rape weapon vs unpatchable security vulnerability" and swiss cheese model explainers to make their points.

I would not put it past Wes Streeting to try to sneak in a change to replace sex with gender identity. He has previous for sneaking things through without a democratic mandate (see pages 1 and 6).

hours of travel and £hundreds of rail fare for me

And a room for the night.

This looks like cover. They already appropriated LGB cover, now they need a different cover to attack the EA - so they've gone in for appropriating other vulnerable groups. Definitely should be pressed on retaining sex not gender.

It reminds me of discussion about revising the US constitution to make it harder for the next Trump to trample democracy underfoot. Politicians in the US rarely update their constitution because EVERY amendment previously agreed (eg abolition of slavery, emancipation of women) is open for renegotiation once you revisit it. Approach with great caution.

I don’t see why the ‘add-ons’ being debated here can’t be addressed through other legislation or means.

Pratchet, it's defo cover. Going to suggest that we watch out for anything going through Parliament about this.

It's an odd bunch - four labour MPs + a tory life peer + a solicitor

Jess Philips has splinters in her arse over gender issues. I don't have a link but a few months ago she retweeted WPUK's five demands and said they seemed reasonable. She got a ton of abuse for it.

Wes Streeting was involved in the 'labour against transphobia' group that was set up to collect 'evidence' on any labour members who supported Jennifer James' legal challenge on AWS and report them to the labour party.

I haven't come across the other two MPs before.

Afzal Khan seems to be mostly concerned with the treatment of migrants and refugees. This is an area where the EA could definitely be improved IMO. The treatment of anyone without a british passport has markedly worsened in recent years thanks to Theresa May's 'hostile environment' and in practice this doesn't seem to be adequately covered by race.

Shabana Mahmood's biggest claim to fame so far is this. She got in trouble for turning up to support an anti-Israel protest that shut a Sainsbury's branch for several hours.

Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith is a high achieving business woman whose main focus is women in business, especially the difficulties new mothers face in the workplace. She's focused on board level though and may not have any real insight into what it's like for most working women.

Don't know about the solicitor.

I'm going to this with an open mind.

WPUK have said they want a review of how the EA is working for women and girls. Maria Miller wants a review to advance trans rights at the expense of women's rights. This group probably have between them all sorts of different agendas.

I don't know whether this group will have any influence at all on whether the EA gets reviewed or in what way. I do think it's important that gender critical voices are heard right from the early stages of this campaign, that we keep a close eye on what this group does and that we are ready to challenge them if necessary.

There are still 50 tickets left so they're not selling fast. I don't know how many tickets were released but I'm not expecting it will be a packed meeting.

Does anybody fancy meeting up beforehand?

May I suggest asking awkward questions that provoke cognitive dissonance rather than making statements. You load the question so it’s difficult to disagree with you.

For Afzal. Does he agree that the minimum required earnings to allow a spouse to bring their other half to the U.K. discriminate against mothers who are more likely to work part time/ earn less.