Hustings on hostile ground. Please help me ask a question on women's rights.

[CharlieParley]

I'm attending a local hustings tomorrow. Venue manager as well as the organiser (and their respective organisations) are committed believers in the transformative power of the words "I identify as" and openly hostile to GC views. The former knows my views very well and disapproves.

Candidates: Green, LibDem, Conservative, Labour and a GC independent. First two are full-on TWAW.

The incumbent (Labour) is committed to abolishing the specific protections for women in the EqA but I don't know whether this is rooted in ignorance or conviction. Sends out emails about changing sex-based exemptions to accommodate males in female-only spaces, replies with misinformation on EqA, refuses to meet (I've been trying to engage since October '18).

Expect the audience to be hostile, too, given who is involved in organising and the GC views of the independent who's been attacked for them since the campaign started.

Have never been to a GE hustings. Do I assume a certain amount of knowledge on the part of candidates and audience and jump right in with a question or do I assume the candidates have no clue and explain first?

How long a preamble is too long? Which question is the most important to ask? Is it okay to ask more than one question, or to respond to the answers?

I don't mind getting chucked out btw. as I am self-employed and out as GC, but I have been on hostile ground like this before and it can be nerve wracking, so I'd like to at least have a good question or two prepared.

[jamrollyolly]

Thanks Zebra!

[Angryresister]

So many questions to ask...if everyone gave it. Go locally we would be heard at least the rest of the audience good luck Charley and well done Posie.

[CharlieParley]

Thank you everyone for the advice. Will take the time to watch Posie's interview tomorrow.

Main purpose of my attendance - raise awareness of this particular women's rights issue, show there's a GC contingent locally, support GC candidate if possible, find out what candidates say when challenged on this.

I really do appreciate all the answers, suggestions, links and general encouragement. It can feel such solitary work sometimes, especially when every party and organisation seem to have signed up to this ideology. Very encouraging to find support here on Mumsnet.

And I'll see you there, Sexnotgender!

[GinSin]

I'm pretty sure there trying to get rid of all sex based protections and rights, I found a research file I can't figure out how to link it on my phone, I'll add it later. The EU is mad into gender mainstreaming which is basically a feminist idea that men and women should be equal in every regard, they been trying since 2002 to get this idea going since. The paper I found on it was about ireland and seemly every high up feminist here thinks men and women being seen the exact same is a good thing. I strongly disagree women are discriminated agasint because of our sex. Like it's telling when the government hasn't realise a full report on sex crimes since 2002 and there been a increase in rapes by 30% but instead of dividing it between the sexes they didnt at all, its one way to get rid of the high rate of volience against women in this country I guess, but that does prove we are not equal so acting like we are is harmful. Also I digress, so I believe that why the whole trans movements took of so quickly. Though but the governments, the EU and the trans movement have the same ideals regarding people right and being equal is more important than sex based rights.

[Newuser123123]

Given that your parties want to protect women's rights, please can you tell me what a woman is?

[Newuser123123]

Or, if a male sex offender wants to use women's changing rooms, should we be kind and let them?

[Sexnotgender]

Posie has a video this morning giving advice after the hustings last night.

[TowelNumber42]

Where are the videos?

[jamrollyolly]

Sexnotgender I was just thinking back to when I didn't really know what your user name was all about. It got me thinking...

[Sexnotgender]

Glad I stirred some thoughts jamrollyolly

[Alltheprettyseahorses]

Had a relevant local crime but that will lead to accusations of focusing on bad apples

Interesting. I'd want to know roughly how many 'bad apples' are acceptable to them. How many rapes are okay before they feel they have to take notice? And, of course, why women are seen as insignificant collateral.

[Sexnotgender]

Who knows @alltheprettyseahorses

The offender was then placed in a women’s hostel.

[DodoPatrol]

'The parties will be aware of plans to reform the Gender Recognition Act, and of the consternation this has caused among prison officers amongst others. For you personally, are there any crimes a man can commit that should exclude him from being allowed to claim to be legally a woman?'

[BingBongSong]

I went to my local hustings tonight and we were invited to write questions down. We had to leave our names and I almost chickened out before going back to write mine down. My question was around when we would hear the results of the GRA consultation, given that it had received 100k responses (am I remembering that correctly?)

Anyway, my question didn't get asked. Out of all of the candidates I felt most aligned with the Green Party candidate. Spoke to him later and said that the thing that stopped me from voting Green was their response to the David and Aimee Challenor issue. He said he hadn't heard of it but would check with Party HQ. Let's see if he gets back to me.

[MrsSnippyPants]

I am getting terribly tired of politicians saying ‘I haven’t heard of this issue’. For me it means they are only getting their news from a couple of sources (the BBC and the Guardian) because otherwise how could they have managed to avoid it?

Answers on a postcard please to ‘pull the other one’.

[theflushedzebra]

Well exactly MrsSnippy - and even on the BBC website (with it's pretty woke bias) there's some stuff there.

Listening to R4 Today/Newsnight etc - pretty usual for a politician, I would think. There's been a lot of items on there.

I'm beginning to think it's their way of not engaging, because they're terrified of engaging - because the whole thing does NOT have public support - it's being pushed on us.

Pushy pushy, shhhhh, don't tell anyone. blogs.spectator.co.uk/2019/12/the-document-that-reveals-the-remarkable-tactics-of-trans-lobbyists/

[OldCrone]

The Challenor story was in the Guardian, but the BBC hid it away in a local news section.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/jan/12/green-party-failed-to-properly-investigate-child-abuser-report

[EverardDigby]

I thought the Verita report was emailed to all GP members.

How did you get on OP?

[MrsSnippyPants]

My response of choice now to ‘I’m not really aware of this issue’ will be:

‘Don’t you read newspapers or listen to the radio? Gosh, I can’t possibly vote for someone so ignorant of current affairs! Goodbye!’

Closes door, does little happy dance.

[OldCrone]

Great response MrsSnippyPants.

[Sexnotgender]

Well the hustings last night which was meant to be equalities based had a grand total of 2 questions on equalities (one on anti Semitism) before they swiftly moved on! Didn’t get to ask my question.

[TowelNumber42]

What did they talk about instead?

[Sexnotgender]

Brexit, welfare, airport buses😏