Govt LGBT+ advisors quit - criticising Liz Truss

[TheRabbitOfCaerbannog]

ITV:

EXCLUSIVE: The government is creating a "hostile environment" for LGBT+ people, according to its own equalities advisor.

Resigning in protest, @JayneOzanne accuses some of becoming "Ministers for Inequality", particularly over conversion therapy.

www.itv.com/news/2021-03-10/exclusive-government-creating-hostile-environment-for-lgbt-people-says-adviser-as-she-quits-over-conversion-therapy

BBC reporter tweets:

NEW: A second member of the Govt's #LGBT Advisory Panel tells me they're also quitting

James Morton says he's been “very concerned for several months that Liz Truss and her junior ministers are not committed to LGBT equality.”

twitter.com/markerjparker/status/1369741550318714882?s=21

Lots of calls for Truss to go on Twatter as you can imagine. She's really hacked them off by standing up for women.

The first reports this evening were slanted towards L and G conversion therapy , than by the later news reports suddenly they were all talking about TQI conversions. Totally different, and it seemed a bit obvious that someone had complained. Good to see two actual lesbians though, makes a real change

This is one of the headlines on the Today programme, second only to the tragic news about Sarah Everard. It's getting a lot of coverage from the corporation.

James Morton was on the Today programme and they had a decent amount of time.

In laying out the grievances, it was clear that it was all about the T.

Two charges were leveled: the government didn't feel bound to follow the advice of the panel and that in the recent debate about conversion therapy at one point Kemi Badenoch didn't include the T in a list.

Something feels tactical about this, it has a Dentonesque feel. I think the goals are to discredit Truss and Badenoch in the eyes of the LGBT community and progressives, with a longer term goal to get government legislation that will make the Keira Bell decision moot (where the restrictions on puberty blockers somehow get grouped into coversion therapy of gay people).

Incidentally, Radio 4 did have a programme about conversion therapy this week and all of the content was about conversion therapy of gay people while the narrative from the queer presenter and the expert, a queer historian, made sure that "trans and gender identity" got lumped in whenever gay people were mentioned. Ironically, the only T-related problems in conversion therapy identified in the programme is that therapists were at risk of accusations of transphobia if they don't do their patients' bidding and that some people might transition when it is not appropriate.

Something feels tactical about this, it has a Dentonesque feel. I think the goals are to discredit Truss and Badenoch in the eyes of the LGBT community and progressives, with a longer term goal to get government legislation that will make the Keira Bell decision moot (where the restrictions on puberty blockers somehow get grouped into coversion therapy of gay people).

It definitely feels tactical.

All along, there have been tactics, seriously planned and are now able to argue without facts and able to piggyback all discussions about gay/women so that the T gets mentioned and argued and then overtakes the others. These are brilliant tactics and we don't seem able to use them - now I am guessing that's because we know our arguments stand on statistics and fact, nevertheless, we are not working at that level. I can only be thankful we have MN to at least get some plans in action

I very much liked the interview on Today. It was a lovely example of all we have to do is get the gender ideologues saying what they want.

He made it clear it is all about the T. He did give not a single concrete example of Truss being awful. Mutterings about conversion therapy and atmosphere were vague so had no punch.

Then JB was on later.

A bet there are a few tantrums going on this morning.

By JB do you mean Julie Bindel? I did not realise there was another interview. What time was that? If there was a rebuttal I'd love to hear it.

Yes Julie Bindel, she was on later. Not talking about trans issues at all. No rebuttal. She was talking about violence against women. It was joyous to hear a proper conversation about violence from people who know what they are talking about (even the ones I disagreed with).

James Morton was on the Today programme and they had a decent amount of time.

In laying out the grievances, it was clear that it was all about the T.

DH ‘but JM sounds reasonable’

Me ‘as in the JM who advised on letting TW into women’s jails - including without an equality assessment - did you hear about the rapist Karen White place in a female prison and the recent judicial review brought by a female prisoner sexually assaulted by a TW?’

DH ‘oh no - that’s not good’

JB was - as usual brilliant.

Anyone thinking Jess Philips is maybe reviewing her previous stances?

It was interesting to hear Jess Phillips MP say that she can't "change her chromosomes" - in order to avoid harassment and male violence

At one point Jess Phillips was talking about the disproportionate physical strength of men vs women and about how women couldn't their chromosomes. I raised an eyebrow. But I think though for Phillips TWAW is a political statement that she'll parrot until it loses its usefulness.

A good X-post there.

Yes! Agree Nauticant that her general stance is political. Her personal view slipped out briefly, as it is currently for many women on Twitter currently who otherwise claim women are scaremongering when they talk about opening up female spaces to all-comers. Including certain prominent academics.

No way - they quit 2 weeks before the role was ending anyway, and none of the media articles have mentioned that, apart from a tiny little note at the bottom of an article that doesn't even make it clear? FFS

Just mentioned it on BBC news-a bit about how it was ending anyway, and an clarification that JM “speaks for the trans community”. Generally wouldn’t have been enlightening to a civilian-a sense that ‘Tory bigots hate gays’ BUT an alert optimist might detect a few cracks and an infinitesimal separation of LGB and T into two separate issues -both worthy of merit, for the hovering reporters- with different and discrete needs.

I'm sure nauticant is correct.

The anti-conversion therapy thing is actually 'affirmation only' by stealth.

It's a pretty wild piece of double-think - but that's where we are.

A slight derail but I'm still slightly bewildered by the fact that I as a life long lentil-weaving, feminist leftie would vote conservative in a heart beat tomorrow simply because they're the only ones standing in the way of women's rights from being removed.
I never in a thousand years thought I'd be willing to vote Tory.
I recognise that at least some of this is me growing up a bit and being a bit less tribal in my politics but the world feels very upside down.

Write up in The Times. Great comments underneath!

Three LGBT advisers quit over ‘hostile environment’ concerns

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/1a209e06-8239-11eb-b718-da0821f7ec01?shareToken=e68c88e4450de61b769ad856a85d4954

@TheRabbitOfCaerbannog

And Stonewall automatically granted three seats at the table.

I read that as 1 seat for Stonewall (and the other 2 to other trans lobby groups, but 9 seats in total so plenty of room to dilute the crazy and it might actually be inclusive of other minority groups voices.

@AnotherLass

No way - they quit 2 weeks before the role was ending anyway, and none of the media articles have mentioned that, apart from a tiny little note at the bottom of an article that doesn't even make it clear? FFS

Great point. Makes the flounce a little less principled, noble and self sacrificing.

Let's hope Allison Bailey or someone of her calibre will step in to take up one of the roles.

Might be handy to have someone there who understands the law as well as LGB issues. That'd be a change for the better.

Most people will have this reaction to the resignations: don't even notice.

The interviews contain no substantive complaints. General public will not engage. It comes across as in-fighting spoiled London elites.

Like Handford but much less engaging. Who should we nominate to be Jackie Weaver?

The replies to Paul Brand's twitter feed are heartening. More people are seeing right through this.

WarOnWomen

Somebody really needs to channel their inner Carrie Mathison and do a visual map of all the connections between the different groups, companies and individuals that have direct access to the government departments.

Yes!

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Thanks for the share Sultana

The last paragraph puts it into perspective. The comments are also enlightening.