Keir Starmer interview responds to transphobia in the Labour Party

[GreenUp]

Not sure if this has already been discussed but saw on twitter, Keir Starmer gave an interview to BBC South East and was asked about what can be done about transphobia.

Q: Transphobia What needs to be done?

A: "I think we've got to improve the situation here. The Gender Recognition Act is a step in the right direction. It doesn't go far enough. But what we've got to do is detoxify this discussion. We've got people having a very bitter argument. If we're really going to make progress, and I think we can, we need to have a much better debate about it so we can actually make that progress."

Question starts at 01:33.

twitter.com/bbcsoutheast/status/1316778516222930944

All the quote tweets on this are from TRAs who are furious saying there is no debate and angry that he is "both siding" a civil rights issue .

Well that's not sticking to the #nodebate mantra is it? He's off message

He’s finished for me now. Was flag waving in my ward for him, thought he was a grown up. Seriously, he get tae. Andy Burnham will be next leader.

Honestly if he just up and said the trans right movement has been taken over by a bunch of aggressive psychos, and that males shouldn't be playing rugby against women, we shouldn't be putting sex offenders with penises in women's prisons, and ten-year olds should not be embarking on experimental medical treatment plans that aren't evidence based and will ultimately sterilise them... I think it would be a vote winner. The Emperor already looks suspiciously threadbare, someone prominent (and male) just needs to outright say what's happening.

I know Starmer can't do that because of the fallout, and the light that the fallout would show Labour Party in... but maybe he just needs to purge the bastards at this point.

@RubyViolet

He’s finished for me now. Was flag waving in my ward for him, thought he was a grown up. Seriously, he get tae. Andy Burnham will be next leader.

What makes you think Burnham would be any better? At least KS is fence-sitting, not going full handmaiden.

Starmer is weak, a point scoring nonentity. He'll be replaced by another point scoring nonentity in the future who will fail to listen and act on what people want/care about and focus all their attention on the demands of a tiny minority of screaming activists.

He's a coward. He's smart and sensible enough to get this, but he's not brave enough to side with feminists.

Dodge city

Andy Burnham is full TWAW as far as I know. Keir at least hedges his bets (ie he knows TW aren’t W but won’t say it out loud). Cowardly, yes, but not as bad as Burnham.

They hate you already. Just take out the trash Keir, the misogyny and witch hunts are out of all control. Be brave and stand for women. Grow a fucking spine and get a new moral compass.

Wouldn’t it be fab if he did.

He really needs to weigh up the woke vote against the heavy lifting awake woman vote.

Andy Burnham retweeted the "No TERFS on our turf" signs the Gay Village in Manchester was putting up, as did GMP. Although the police did delete I think. He's no supporter of womens sex based rights I'm afraid.

@Campervan69

Andy Burnham retweeted the "No TERFS on our turf" signs the Gay Village in Manchester was putting up, as did GMP. Although the police did delete I think. He's no supporter of womens sex based rights I'm afraid.

He's also a surprisingly bad public speaker. I saw him debate against Jeremy Hunt (whom I loathe) once, and it was embarrassing. Hunt's no great orator, but he wiped the floor with Burnham. At least Starmer can argue coherently.

The biggest problem in having an actual conversation about any of the issues is the use of 'transphobia' for everything but abject obedience to every single demand the activists make.

If just stating that cervix is something only women have is transphobic, what do we call actual acts of transphobic harassment or violence?

And note that arguing the statement "only women have a cervix" is transphobic also means that the word 'woman' has been forcefully re-defined to refer only to some inner abstract woman essence and to have zero relationship to someone having a biologically female body.

So every single woman and man out there who base their own gender definitions at least partly on the sex of their bodies have had their gender 'identities' erased altogether. Indeed, those gender 'identities' are probably transphobic in themselves.

So just watched the full interview on BBC iPlayer and noticed that the actual question put to KS was much more nuanced. It's interesting the the BBC twitter video just framed it as "what to do about transphobia"?

Q "In the South East you've got three Labour MPs. One of them Lloyd Russel Moyle had to apologise recently after saying that the writer JK Rowling had been using her experiences of sexual assault to justify discriminating against trans people, so he's on one side of the argument.

On the other, we've got Rosie Duffield who recently said she'd had death threats after being accused of being transphobic, she says women's voices are being silenced and has accused the party of being afraid of raising the issue. Are you afraid of taking a stand on this?

KS No. I think we've got to improve the situation here. The Gender Recognition Act is a step in the right direction. It doesn't go far enough. But what we've got to do is detoxify this discussion. We've got people having a very bitter argument. If we're really going to make progress, and I think we can, we need to have a much better debate about it so we can actually make that progress.

Golden opportunity to condemn the abuse against Rosie swerved by Kier there. Really poor show.

My word, check out the frothing and tantruming on this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LabourUK/comments/jbtbl4/starmeronntransphobiaiithinkweveegotto/?utmmsource=share&utmmedium=iossapp&utmname=iossmf

It's a thread on Labour's subreddit, so many of the comments will be from Labour members.

@TBHno

My word, check out the frothing and tantruming on this thread:

https://www.reddit.com/r/LabourUK/comments/jbtbl4/starmeronntransphobiaiithinkweveegotto/?utmmsource=share&utmmedium=iossapp&utmname=iossmf

It's a thread on Labour's subreddit, so many of the comments will be from Labour members.

And BINGO 'Starmer is a terf'. See how even the most anodyne utterances will cause offence with the ideologically pure.

www.reddit.com/r/LabourUK/comments/jbtbl4/starmeronn_transphobiaii_thinkwevee_gotto/

Awful people. omg I love the one who thought Jeremy Corbyn should have had a recall election and stayed on as leader. Clearly they're all deeply in touch with what people in "the real world" think.

My word, that subreddit is deranged.

These are activists. And going by what is written on there it looks like the only thing uniting the right and "left" in the party is their commitment to pretending that women have willies.

Labour is going to get worse before it gets better.

The Reddit thread is interesting, because it shows that there can be absolutely NO compromise with trans rights activists . You must entirely agree with everything they say, or else you're a bigot. This is why the 'debate' has become so toxic because one side wants everything their way, and unfortunately that way involves taking stuff that women would actually quite like to keep a hold of.
Look at the state of some of these comments:
"How hard is it so support trans rights unconditionally? Is he scared that he's going to fall out with transphobes? Fuck them."
"There is no debate to be had, Keir, you fucking rancid hateful piece of shit."

Nothing but 100% capitulation will be good enough for them.

Nothing but 100% capitulation will be good enough for them.

This is clear, but people don't learn. Keir is pitiful. They hate you Keir. They would hate you anyway, for your political stances. They won't rest until you're gone. Get rid. Do something good. Stand up for women and girls.

He’s a wet blanket of a man.
When are the Labour Party going to find a leader with a backbone?

He needs to stand by Rosie Duffield. What's happening to her is not on. He's a weak coward of a man.

@GreenUp

So just watched the full interview on BBC iPlayer and noticed that the actual question put to KS was much more nuanced. It's interesting the the BBC twitter video just framed it as "what to do about transphobia"?

Q "In the South East you've got three Labour MPs. One of them Lloyd Russel Moyle had to apologise recently after saying that the writer JK Rowling had been using her experiences of sexual assault to justify discriminating against trans people, so he's on one side of the argument.

On the other, we've got Rosie Duffield who recently said she'd had death threats after being accused of being transphobic, she says women's voices are being silenced and has accused the party of being afraid of raising the issue. Are you afraid of taking a stand on this?

KS No. I think we've got to improve the situation here. The Gender Recognition Act is a step in the right direction. It doesn't go far enough. But what we've got to do is detoxify this discussion. We've got people having a very bitter argument. If we're really going to make progress, and I think we can, we need to have a much better debate about it so we can actually make that progress.

Thank you for putting it in context.

Will watch the interview, then send a stuff letter to Kier Starmer.

This is a repeat of the anti Semitism debacle. We have a female MP subject to a torrent of abuse, in fear of her life, and Starmer is doing nothing. In fact he's tacitly siding with the opposition.