The Times - Mordaunt faces backlash from MPs re Trans reform

[RogerAllamsFangirl]

Apologies if this link doesn't work

http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/9800cc34-cf02-11e8-bde6-fae32479843d]

Sounds really encouraging. Tim Shipman and Andrew Gilligan.

brilliant article, very heartening

Genetic yep absolutely. I think pairing like that would be more interesting to watch than individuals.

Personally my rank outsider bets are currently James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat. Both young. Cleverly was brave enough to do the Last Leg. He's an ethnic minority and leaver. And has been close to Boris Johnson in the past. Tugendhat is ex military so has the authoritarian appeal factor and is more liberal though perhaps too remainy. He's also good looking and to be blunt about it, that will be seen as a way to get women votes (and yes it does work as a tactic, despite what people here might protest).

The party will be keen to look to a younger generation so a lot of older candidates will not fit that mark. That's actually Johnson’s real achiles heel, perhaps more so than his lying, backstabbing, womanising and generally being an utter self serving tosser.

Great article. And great comments (I particularly liked Gerry's).

But I am certainly not complacent that the tide is truly turning. The TRA/AWA have been working towards this for years. They have come so close. They are not going to go quietly.

And yes, only half of MPs have been contacted by their constituents on this. We need to get writing so they all know our opinions in no uncertain terms.

Great stuff. Comments are very heartening so far too.

And I agree about the civil service & equalities stuff. She will have been given women & equalities- and then basically told ‘this is the plan’. She was not the instigator of the GRA consultation.

No but she did: refuse to meet groups representing women; completely miss or worse ignore the fact saying the consultation began and ended with the assumption trans women are women was giving away women’s rights to men, and fail to condemn bomb threats, actual violence and elected officials interfering in women’s right to meet and discuss the law.

Unless she makes damn clear she understands what a woman is, how that differs from a transwoman, and that she will stand up for our rights to be protected, she’s not going to be PM.

James cleverly & Tom
Tugendhat I’d bet money will put their hats in the ring. Not sure they’ll get enough backing from the colleagues. But TT has done well in a short space of time.
Cleverly worries the Labour Party- but have the Tory grassroots moved on enough to accept a non white leader? That also sajid’s problem.

(I just went over to politics to see if anyone was chatting about any of this stuff there... but no)

This has spurned me on to email my local MP, Andrea Jenkyns. I've asked her position on the GRA and self I.D and have stated that my vote is with whoever will protect sex based rights for women.

I've also been vocal on Facebook today for the first time and have had three likes from friends who I didn't know were gender critical.

And i've filled out the prison petition and the stonewall petition in my full name.

There's no stopping me now!

This bit "67% of MPs of all stripes are fearful of the effect the planned changes will have on women’s changing rooms and refuges" was particularly striking and means it's worth contacting your MP even if they're non-Tory.
Bear in mind, if Mordaunt chooses to go ahead with these proposals then even a substantial Tory rebellion won't stop the new law taking effect if Labour, the SNP and Lib Dems vote in favour. Equally, even if Mordaunt drops the proposal entirely, a future Labour government, which will come eventually, may consider a similar idea, so in the long run the proposal will only be stopped if Opposition and Tory MPs alike realise its dangers.

It seems Karen White has inadvertently become our biggest ally.

They have all been briefed and aided by (supposedly) an independent civil service.

There are serious questions to be asked about the ‘independence’ of some members of the civil service in relation to this.

I was half listening to someone on R4 complaining about how Civil Servants these days come and go, moving on to pastures new after a couple of years. Plenty of spaces for determined strategic placement of Allies.

Tom T seems a decent sort, and would be a good counter to Corbyn. Would need to know any candidate’s position on female rights though.

James cleverly & Tom
Tugendhat I’d bet money will put their hats in the ring. Not sure they’ll get enough backing from the colleagues. But TT has done well in a short space of time.
Cleverly worries the Labour Party- but have the Tory grassroots moved on enough to accept a non white leader? That also sajid’s problem.

(I just went over to politics to see if anyone was chatting about any of this stuff there... but no)

Imortant to read Prof Kathleen Stock's speech from Louse of Lords this week for context which details the thorough failings of the Women & Equalities report 2015-16 Trans Equality.
This was Maria Miller MP's responsibility.

medium.com/@kathleenstock/womens-place-talk-full-text-house-of-lords-oct-10th-2018-b1f3d70c4559

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3391330-Prof-Kathleen-Stock-WPUK-speech-at-House-of-Lords-Important-disection-of-the-key-issues-for-MPs-policy-makers-etc-with-ref-to-The-Trans-Equality-Report

Very promising. Bloody well done to everyone who has helped to raise awareness of this issue and/or contributed to the campaigns.

@Halfeatentoast, it is just awful isn't it that it took the Karen White case to wake people up to the insanity of what is proposed with self-id. I think it was just a matter of time before something like that happened and in some ways the timing seems opportune. I just hope the women impacted by this vile persons behaviour are able to recover from their trauma.

Yes ironically the #peaktrans work is often done by themselves. Because it’s so fucking ridiculous and illogical!

Mordaunt did a lot of Stonewall related stuff whilst a junior minister at the MoD. Her position over the trans stuff predates her appointment as women and equalities. I looked into it when she got the job and was concerned.

She might have been continuing the work already done - but Justine Greening before she was sacked was starting to make noises that there was a problem (she acknowledged the importance of EA if memory serves correctly).

Mordaunt when she stepped into the job, went back to a more Stonewall aligned position and a harder line than the one Greening looked about to follow.

This MIGHT have been set up cynical by the Tory party to trigger a backlash (the culture war stuff in the US had demonstrated that it had worked for Trump). But that would also require Mordaunt being set up to fail by May from the word go. I don't believe May is that much of a masterplanner (exhibit a: Brexit shambles exhibit b: the general election). Plus the trans stuff wouldn't have been on her radar as she's been so busy firefighting everything else.

I think Mordaunt's been mentioned as there was talk of the leadership skipping a generation (though IIRC that was Gavin Wlliamson's cunning plan to become leader. A while back he was seen as May's anointed successor - I doubt that's seen as a plus now!)

Back in July 2015

modmedia.blog.gov.uk/2015/07/30/minister-joins-mod-stonewall-allies/

Minister for the Armed Forces, Penny Mordaunt, has joined colleagues from across Defence in becoming a Stonewall ally.

silentcrow

157 MP’s have DEFINITELY been contacted.

That means 158 may not have been contacted, so anybody who hasn’t already written, please, please do. It really matters.

Two reactions from me:-

1. I'm shocked that only 56% of mps are worried about puberty blockers

2. it's highly dangerous that a minister can say that "we must get this right now because we have failed to be on the right side of previous controversies".

I did a youGov survey the other day that was basically on the subject of what did I think of Sajid Javid as PM v Theresa May.

The figures for the original GRA vote were on a thread recently and it seemed very few Conservatives voted at all. Presumably back then, it wasn’t seen as an important issue. So contacting as many Tory MPs as possible looks very important. That’s the most heartening article I’ve read so far though. We have to double down and keep going.

This is just a tiny step.

Overall with Labour and SNP there would still be a majority of MPs that would back self ID. It is not a party specific issue.

And the idea that a compromise could be found is worrying. Maybe say, 6 months in a frock and a nice letter from Dr Haddock and Bob's your auntie. Literally.

Lots still to do.

I hope this isn't too much to ask, but I am disabled and I'd love to write a letter to my MP about this. I have wanted to for ages but it's outside of my capabilities. Could someone help me please? Or is there a standard letter somewhere I could copy and paste?

Thank you