Response from my MP

[Fwend]

"I am fully committed to equality for all and it is my firm belief that no-one should be discriminated against because of their gender identity.

The UK has made extraordinary progress in improving the rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in recent years. However, there are still gaps in trans people's legal rights and protections and I believe more needs to be done to ensure people feel that the UK is a country in which identity is respected and supported.

I believe that both the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and Equality Act 2010 should be reformed to ensure they protect trans people. In July this year, the Government published an LGBT action plan which includes a commitment to consider how best to make the gender recognition process less bureaucratic and intrusive. I welcome this plan and believe it will go a long way to creating a more just and equal society.

In July 2017, the Government committed to consulting on reforming the Gender Recognition Act and finally launched its consultation in July 2018. I understand the concerns you have raised about the proposed changes and the impact they could have on women-only spaces.

Under the Equality Act 2010, anyone who identifies as a particular gender - whether that is their legal status or not - can already use separate-sex facilities, such as changing rooms or toilets, unless service providers can demonstrate a justifiable reason for treating people differently.

The Government has stated that there will be no change to the provision of women-only spaces and services as a result of this consultation. For example, it has noted that a female only domestic violence refuge may provide a separate service to a trans woman if it can be shown there is a detriment to other service users from including the trans woman as part of the regular service.

The Government has also said that it recognises the wide range of views on reforming the Gender Recognition Act and has emphasised that it has encouraged women's refuges, women's rights charities and trans rights charities to respond to the consultation. This consultation closes on 19 Octoberr_ and I hope that all views will be carefully considered. I trust that you have already taken the time to share your views with the consultation, as you shared them with me.

Thank you once again for contacting me and for sharing your views. I can assure you that I will continue to bear in mind the points you raise."

Labour, female, I won't be voting for her again.

Incredibly weasely response from a member of the opposition party.
"the Government published an LGBT action plan "
"the Government committed to consulting on reforming the Gender Recognition Act"
"Government has stated that there will be no change"
"Government has also said that it recognises the wide range of view"

Nowhere does it include any phrase such as 'we in the Labour Party have discussed and decided in favour because...'. You can see what the narrative will be when it goes (adult human female) tits up and an election looms. COWARDS!!

How odd. My (labour) MP gave an almost identical response, almost like theres been some internal memo or something with a copy paste response to any women asking about this meeting.

The only different thing on it, is that he says he cannot go as he has commitments that day.

I completely agree that it's a cut and paste job. I am going to reply to her with specific questions. Going to try to see her too, if I get a chance with 3 kids.

I don't want to name her; for all I know she's got different views that she doesn't want to put in writing. Or she drank the kool-aid, who knows. It's not someone mentioned above, anyway.

I also don't want to give away too much information about where I live, as I've already been told on Twitter that it would be better if someone with my views were dead.

This issue is the gun for me. I will never vote Labour again, unless there is complete reform in the party, which I can’t imagine happening. I won’t vote Lib Dem’s as they are an absolute shower. I can’t vote Green, although those are the issues I most care about, because of the whole Challenor issue. I am not sure what direction Plaid are going to take.

If Plaid came out as GC, I’d be prepared to move to wales to vote for them. I am THAT ANGRY.

Definitely go and see her. I got a similar response from my Labour MP (not identical) but when I went to see him he was fully onboard with a gender critical view.

I also wrote to my Labour MP asking him to attend the drop in session on 16th October. I received the exact same response as the OP from his assistant. Word for word. I’m going to read through this thread again but would be interested to hear back from the OP if things have progressed any further.

Here's my response from my female Tory MP. Spectacularly misses the point of concerns I raised around self-ID. Answers none of my queries. Either a Tory cut & paste or a woke reply from a young (surely) member of her staff:

Thank you for your email and for sharing your concerns with me.

I want to assure you that this Government is committed to working for transgender rights and to promote equality in society. We have already made significant progress in this area by drawing up guidance for all employers and service providers as part of a £3million programme to tackle transphobic bullying head on. The Government have published an action plan that will aim to improve the lives of the LGBTQ community.

The Government acknowledged that the gender recognition process is not currently working which is why they commissioned the recent consultation with the aim of reforming the existing system. The consultation provides information about how to reform the GRA and further, to make it less bureaucratic and intrusive for transgender people. The consultation included recommendations such as:

No medical diagnosis or presentation of evidence for trans people to get their identity legally recognised
Recognises non-binary identities
Gives all trans people, including 16 – 17-year-olds, the right to self-determination, through a much simpler and more streamlined administrative process.

Following its release, those who work in the Government Equalities Office will carefully consider if safeguards are needed and what they might need to be.

However, I agree that more must be done to help transgender people with the unique and frequently difficult challenges that they face. It is utterly unacceptable that they face some of the worst discrimination in our society and this consultation is the first step forwards in addressing the difficulties that they face.

I am looking forward to the publication of the Government’s response in due course.

Thank you again for taking the time to write to me.

frazzled1 I got an identical response yesterday:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3411384-Pathetic-response-from-Anne-Main-MP

PygmyHippoBob thanks for this & the link to your thread , sorry I missed it. Really useful to know it's a stock response. I'll write again & update with any reply.

I got exactly that response from my female Labour MP too. Twice. So perhaps they have been told to respond this way? I should make the effort to go see her.