WPUK are right to stand up for women's rights, but wrong because they offer a Tory solution not a Socialist one!

[stumbledin]

Just thought I would post as it is another example of how different factions in the left just somehow cant seem to stand up for women's rights.

" ... We also recognise that women's services are under enormous threat - from Tory cuts and the Labour councils who implement them.

A recent study found that 64% of those who seek shelter in a domestic violence refuge are turned away due to lack of funding.

The Women's Lives Matter campaign calls on the Labour candidates to demand that Labour councils take a stand, refuse to make cuts and fight for the money the Tories have stolen from our councils to defend services for all.

Unfortunately, this is not the approach of the Labour Campaign for Trans Rights or the groups which have emerged to oppose GRA reform.

WPUK is led by some senior figures in the trade union movement. But in its five founding demands does not point to a way to, or even the need to, fight austerity - of which the overwhelming burden falls on women. WPUK instead sows illusions in the government's ability to protect women's spaces.

... WPUK is attempting to appeal to women who want to save their services - with a programme that is seen by many as anti-trans rights, rather than fighting the attacks of the Tories and the bosses.

But exposing this approach for the dead end it is requires offering a socialist struggle alternative, not bans and 'no-platforming' of groups and individuals which will be used by the pro-capitalist right in the party against the fighting pro-working-class members. ... "

www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/1074/30302/19-02-2020/labour-party-and-trans-rights-united-working-class-fight-needed-for-rights-and-resources-for-all

We at UK Womens Place condemn Womens Place UK as splitters, and call upon Place of Women UK to join our united front....

Same old Lefties.

I'm not clear from that whether the SP are in favour of self-id, against it, or just consider the whole thing an irrelevant distraction.

I can understand the argument that other subjects, such as austerity, are also important, but there's also a place for single-issue (or at least, not-every-issue) campaigns. WPUK might maximise their support by concentrating on a particular issue or set of issues - not taking a line on every other issue.

Of course, the SP would prefer every campaign group to simply be a kind of SP front organisation.

Maybe they missed the full manifesto

womansplaceuk.org/wpuk-manifesto-2019/

I suspect that dont care about the issue.

They just want to score points as to who is more socialist than who.

ie yet again women's rights are a non issued for all strands of bro socialism

The old left are still fighting old battles.......they haven't caught up with where everything is at these days. To them , 'women's issues' are not primary.

I'm not clear from that whether the SP are in favour of self-id, against it, or just consider the whole thing an irrelevant distraction.

I read it that they agree with every word WPUK say, but believe in Salvation by Faith Alone. WPUK are not calling for nationalisation of major industry as the means of achieving women only rape crisis centers; therefore they are Wrong and should listen to Socialists who are Right.

Everything will be fine come the day of the revolution, so why would anyone try to do something before then? Much more productive to condemn capitalism over a beer again.

This has always been the approach of the SP (which is what is left of what used to be the Militant tendency) to anything that is controversial within the left: Ireland, women's liberation, Palestine.

If everybody would just get together and organise around bread and butter issues, all other conflicts would disappear.

:)

I spent my evening at a socialist club event tonight.

I very much consider myself to be ‘on the left’, or at least, I did. I’m not quite sure what left/right actually mean anymore, except economically.

5 speakers on the bill, most seemed to be talking about stuff that has absolutely no relevance to ordinary people. However, when the headline speaker, Richard Burgon MP was asked about women’s rights, he not only said he supported upholding the sex based rights in the equality act, including the right to exclude male people with the protective characteristic of gender reassignment from women’s spaces, but his support of women’s rights got the loudest applause of the night.

People are definitely noticing the high price of tulips.

DuLANGMondeFOREVER

Thanks for that info! Good to hear that at a grass roots level common sense prevails.

Have just been having a rant about the Moral Maze programme which was just not connected to reality in any way.

Can clam down knowing that even if only at one event, and one MP has not been captured and (gasp) support women's rights!

He also talked about CPS failing women due to the woeful rape conviction rate and he is in favour of abolishing prison sentences for women convicted of low level, non violent crimes, like non payment of fines.

He wasn’t perfect, of course, he made a point of saying he supports trans rights (even though that wasn’t part of the question he was asked) but he definitely doesn’t want WPUK supporters expelled.

My friend had threatened to throw herself in the canal on the way home if he’d said TWAW, but thankfully it was unnecessary and we got home dry!

It's strange, because I know one of the WPUK founders fairly well, and she has had a lot of flak from a former friend who is active in the SP about her perceived transphobia. She is keen to protect women's spaces, but is being targeted unfairly by this woman, who is very influential in her area. The social media stuff being said about WPUK by this SP activist is appalling.

I'm glad DuLang and mate didn't have to take a dip in the canal, but if everyone on my side of the political fence not at that particular meeting could stop making arses of themselves that would be lovely. That statement reads like someone taking the piss.

It’s a bit mad when the radical, controversial position is just upholding an existing law!

This is a hatchet job by the Socialist Party on Woman's Place UK.

Very interesting DuLANG.

I just looked at Twitter in a private window, so not logged in, at #MoralMaze. I had to scroll a loooong way down to get to any comments that weren't squarely in support of women's rights. Eventually I found two, from two of the usual suspects, that basically said 'yeah well, a GRC only changes your birth cert anyway so it's all a silly fuss.'

People are noticing and they are starting to ask 'are these tulips really worth the same as my house?'

The tulips are overpriced.
The wheels are falling off.
The tide is turning.

Puuuuull!

DuLang,

It's particularly gratifying that Richard Burgon took that stance in favour of women's rights, because Burgon is a candidate for deputy leadership, and is also an arch-Corbynite.
It's unlikely he'll win the deputy leadership, though. Angela Rayner is a shoo-in and sadly signed the pledge.

sooooo many years ago I accepted an invite to some kind of left alliance social event, and I can't remember why it was topical but I tried to speak to a middle aged trade unionist (who doubtless thought of me as we think of the TRAs) ...anyway I was talking about gay rights and he shook his head, and said
'no, that'll never do, you've got to get the lads interested in socialism'
(hear it with a broad lancs accent)
(because of course the lads couldn't be gay and women didn't even feature)
....and that always summed up for me how old fashioned socialism never grasped other kinds of oppression

Straight white working class 'lads' know what a woman is.

We may disagree with them on some of the reasons they care about who is a woman but we agree on basic definitions.