Another Labour councillor resigns over Cambridge City Council's transgender policies

[StandWitch]

See www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/labour-councillor-kevin-price-resigns-from-cambridge-city-council-over-transgender-rights-motion-9127531/ and cf. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3322389-labour-councillor-quits-in-row-over-facilities-for-trans-people-the-times

A Labour councillor of 10 years and former deputy leader at Cambridge City Council has resigned over a motion on transgender rights.

The motion, brought by the Liberal Democrats to a session of the full council on Thursday (October 22), began with the words: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary individuals are non-binary.”

It is quite possible that the previous shenanigans is what led to his resignation as deputy leader in 2018 www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/deputy-leader-of-cambridge-city-council-stands-down-9051099/ as the dates are the same

The motion, brought by the Liberal Democrats to a session of the full council on Thursday (October 22), began with the words: “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary individuals are non-binary.”

Kevin Price , who represented King’s Hedges for the Labour party, said he could not support those words, saying they would “send a chill down the spines” of “many women,” and saying it is “foolish to pretend” there are not widely different views or concerns about women’s rights.

He said he has not voted against a Labour motion in his 10 years on the council, and said he did not intend to break that “principle”, and instead announced his resignation to the meeting, saying there are times when conscience “must be weighed against the pull of party”.

A second Labour councillor, Carina O'Reilly has been targeted by TRAs www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/cambridge-news/two-cambridge-labour-councillors-accused-19019555

She dared to retweet JK Rowling.

There is some detail on the council's motion here:

democracy.cambridge.gov.uk/documents/b15527/Information%20Pack%2022nd-Oct-2020%2018.00%20Council.pdf?T=9

Facilitating and strongly encouraging all Councillors to attend
Safer Spaces training
Safer Spaces training for councillors was delivered on 24th February
2020 for the first time and officers can run further sessions. Officers
have also been asked by Cllr Smith to book transgender awareness
training for councillors. The council also provides 2 training sessions on transgender awareness per year for staff delivered by The Kite Trust.

There is also something about consulting groups about which Pride flag they want flown.

Essentially this motion was to object to the government not making a new GRA.

Article: Shame on the Cambridge students hounding Kevin Price
www.spectator.co.uk/article/shame-on-the-cambridge-students-hounding-kevin-price

someone mentions 4 vacant seats...

James’ article is currently #1 most read article on the Spectator’s website. Seeing as there’s only 6 FWRers + socks , it must be reaching a wider audience.

I went to Clare College. Planning some serious letter writing. I'm so appalled and upset.

I've just written a card to Kevin thanking him for his stance.

I want to email Clare to express my concerns, should I email the Master or is there someone else I should contact?

I have written to Clare College as I am disgusted with the behaviour of the students. Clearly they failed to read the recent department for education guidance.

The problem for Kevin is that 'trans' is not a matter of opinion, but a protected category of person. I know that in the UK it's technically 'gender reassignment' that is protected, but the way it works socially and politically is that simply claiming transgender status means you can lay claim to the moral and legal force of protected status, akin to racial discrimination.

So it's not simply a matter of Kevin holding a different opinion of sex and gender. None of us is entitled to hold a different opinion on sex and gender anymore, because now that transgender status is enshrined in law, people who claim that status have the 'right' to force everyone else to go along with gender identity theory. If we express doubts about it in any forum, then they can claim that this harms their dignity and safety and the doubter can be sacked.

This has been demonstrated in the employment courts already, first with the Christian doctor David Mackereth and then with Maya Forstater's case. In both cases, the tribunals found that it was right that they were sacked for expressing disbelief in the notion that humans can change sex. So sadly I can't see Clare standing up for Kevin here. Disbelief in transgender ideology has already been effectively outlawed for anyone who wants to remain employed or employable in the future.

It's grim stuff and demonstrates that rather than call for a 'balancing of rights', feminists must oppose the notion that claiming transgender status should come with any extra legal protections at all. The right to present in the way one wants, to dress or act in a manner considered non-typical for one's sex without suffering discrimination, yes - these should be protected. But the 'right' to be treated as a sex which you are not - this is actually an unreasonable demand, one that infringes on others' rights, most especially the right to speak truthfully about reality. If we can't undo the enshrining of that pseudo-right in law, then I really think all other resistance is going to be futile.

He declined to sign up to a nonsensical statement - I can't see how he is breaking the law: 'Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary individuals are non-binary.'

www.varsity.co.uk/news/20079
www.spectator.co.uk/article/shame-on-the-cambridge-students-hounding-kevin-price

Now being reported in The Daily Mail as well: www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8883575/Cambridge-students-demand-transphobic-Labour-politician-loses-college-porter-job.html

Parents of kids at Oxford are frantically texting them...

He declined to sign up to a nonsensical statement - I can't see how he is breaking the law

Maya wasn't breaking the law either when she tweeted 'men cannot change into women'. Nevertheless, her employer saw fit to sack her because of this tweet, and an employment tribunal held that the sacking was lawful because her views 'violated the dignity' of people who claim transgender status.

The claim to transgender status functions as a sort of lese-majeste in our society: to question that a person is not actually the opposite sex is to insult their dignity, and they are entitled to demand you be punished for this insult. In this climate how can Kevin Price be allowed to hold the views that he does, while serving students who claim transgender status?

I sincerely hope that Clare does support him, but I'll be very surprised if they do. A cadre of students are claiming that his presence insults and endangers a protected class of students, and that is the salient fact here. It is not about a clash of opinions, but about the fact that claiming to be 'trans' affords one protected status. Thus, anyone who questions the philosophical basis of 'trans' is violating your dignity and creating a hostile workplace. This has already been established by the employment courts.

@EmmaGrundyForPM

I've just written a card to Kevin thanking him for his stance.

I want to email Clare to express my concerns, should I email the Master or is there someone else I should contact?

In the Varsity article it says "the Senior Tutor is meeting with Price personally".

According to the Clare website, the Senior Tutor is Dr Jacqueline Tasioulas. Her email is listed on the Tutors page: www.clare.cam.ac.uk/Clare-Tutors/

It might be worth emailing her, in support of Kevin as she is the person meeting him.

Maya wasn't breaking the law either when she tweeted 'men cannot change into women'. Nevertheless, her employer saw fit to sack her because of this tweet, and an employment tribunal held that the sacking was lawful because her views 'violated the dignity' of people who claim transgender status.

This is not accurate. She wasn't sacked.

Employment tribunal judgments are not binding on anyone else (even other employment tribunals).

There's a medium article debunking these myths written by Maya.

Sacking someone is much much harder than simply not renewing a contract, and vice versa, a tribunal claim for not renewing is much harder.

Thus, anyone who questions the philosophical basis of 'trans' is violating your dignity and creating a hostile workplace. This has already been established by the employment courts.

Again, completely untrue. Don't write rubbish like this here, it upsets people and is a really shitty thing to do on a feminist board.

Thanks @GreenUp

I've just emailed the Senior Tutor and the Master

Surely demanding you parrot phrases, pretend to believe it or be faced with the sack, or be in the situation where you freeze when someone else enters the ladies loo because whatever you do it will be 'wrong', or knowing that your employer is willfully breaking the EA but you can't say it because you will get into trouble - this all isn't exactly creating a jolly workplace?

Whose dignity had top trumps here? Because it certainly isn't mine, thanks.

Notice the slippery sleight of hand by the LGBT+ Officer?

Fact: Kevin Price retweets 'BBC might want to rethink BBC born in the wrong body' programmes, in reply to BBC news story on TAVI clinician concerns going back 15 years.

Sleight of hand: Kevin Price retweets 'posts and stories critical of transgender rights.'

Lie It's a 'transgender right' that no-one criticises the NHS gender identity clinic. It's a 'transgender right' that no-one questions promoting 'born in the wrong body'

They're fabricating transgender rights

pretend to believe it or be faced with the sack

Again, this is nonsense.

Noting like the man here then? Arent they calling for him to be sacked because he isnt a believer?

I understand that employment tribunal judgments are not binding. Nevertheless, these rulings indicate the way the culture is trending, including the legal culture.

I am not looking to upset anybody. I am trying to point to the nub of the problem, which is the creation of 'transgender status' as a protected class, akin to race or sex. Once a society does that, it becomes very difficult for its members to dissent from trans ideology, as you are de facto discriminating against (and thus harming) persons who now have protected status on the basis of claiming to be the opposite sex.

This claim is given sacred status by the culture at large, and others are socially pressured (and often legally compelled) to treat them as if they have changed sex. To refuse to do so is morally equated with racism or disability discrimination, as the claim to 'trans' status, by sleight-of-hand, takes on the quality of an immutable characteristic in this framework.

It is necessary to understand that this is what we are up against, and this is why Maya lost, why Kevin will probably lose, why many others who come up against this ideology will continue to lose. If we don't challenge this foundational claim - that by refusing to treat a person as a sex which they not, you are harming them - then other challenges will ultimately fail.

Students don't manage staff, they are not responsible for staff disciplinary procedures, and are not legal advisors to the employer.

They are simply people with a grievance and not one that is sufficient grounds for dismissal in this case.

Do you genuinely think students and college special interest groups have had staff management responsibility legally delegated to them by the professional staff employed for that purpose?

the nub of the problem, which is the creation of 'transgender status' as a protected class, akin to race or sex

The protected characteristic of gender reassignment HAS NOT CHANGED.

(and often legally compelled)

Where and how. Examples please. If it's often you can give us all a long list of the legal compulsions.

I believe that they can harass him at work, that they can orchestrate a campaign of raising all sorts of complaints about him, write letters/boycott/picket... make his working life crap until he thinks 'I've had enough'. Have you never been bullied at work? These are motivated activists with too much time on their hands.

some good points in this thread

I think it should be a human right to be allowed to discuss the impact of gender identity ideology on sex-based rights, without being abused, cancelled and hounded out of your job. We're citizens of a democracy and should be allowed to discuss the impact of any ideology on any of the 9 protected characteristics in the Equality act. The government should consult all groups impacted by proposed changes to law, policy and guidelines - rather than only consult with extremist factions claiming to represent one group. Many trans people disagree with these students.

Maya's case is important

Donkey I think you raise interesting points around the culture generally. Self ID didn't go through - so gender hasn't replaced sex.... at least for now. The Cambridge City Council transgender motion behaved as if Self ID had gone through and that gender trumps sex. and you're right .... all across society in government, local councils, hospitals, colleges, sports.... policies, laws, guidelines and motions get passed in which gender trumps sex ... and people can and do lose their jobs/contracts and their right to speak for sex based rights in hostile environments.

Ann Sinnott's case is important