Labour - all is not lost!

[GracieC]

Saw my local Labour councillor canvassing today so I asked how she felt about the trans/women's rights issues. Now I fully expected either an ill informed holding response or for her to toe the party line as my local MP has done. Turns out I was wrong.

Not only was it clear that she'd really put some thought and research into the issue but she completely agreed that women's rights and children's safety are endangered by the trans agenda. She agreed that predatory men could use trans rights to gain access to vulnerable women and was particularly concerned about the impact on safeguarding in schools (I hadn't even mentioned that!).

While I still won't vote for them on a national level on a local level it seems things are not necessarily lost. My only concern is that a vote for Labour is seen as a mandate on the leadership but to honest a vote for the Tories is even worse on this score. They've got one thing right but everything else is oh so wrong! And don't get me started on the Liberal Democrats... Anyway, just thought I'd share.

Jess Philips and Wes Streeting have recently jumped off the TRA bandwagon made sensible statements.

I think you raise a really important point, OP.

There are woke tories and GC labour MPs. Important to look at who you're voting for, beyond the rosette.

Exactly! She was great, really well informed. It was such a relief as I've had nothing but the party line of how oppressed trans people are from my MP and no acknowledgement that actually women and children are at risk.

I'm sure there are pockets of hope in Labour, Rosie Duffield for one. I don't trust the leadership though.

Fortunately I have an independent candidate I can vote for tomorrow

Good to hear, OP! I hope she will be supported by the party HQ.

I wonder if you're my area, happy to see my labour candidate has similar views too

Same here. I've had this conversation with several local labour candidates and all agree with me, thankfully. Gives me hope for change from within.

This is heartening, OP. I’m concerned at the number of normally Labour/LD/Green-voting women saying they’ll vote Conservative over this issue, when the Tories will happily throw women’s rights under a bus when it suits them, and are intent on decimating our public services and general standard of living. Most of them couldn’t care less about sex-based oppression because they’re complicit in it.

My local labour candidate is gender critical and describes herself as a radical feminist. So refreshing to feel like I am making a vote based on my principals. General election will be different I'm sure.

Good for you OP. 2 out of my 3 local Labour candidates never replied to me. The third said she supports single sex spaces but also trans people’s right to use the space that corresponds with their gender. 😕

Our local labour candidate is excellent, has put a lot of thought into these issues and fully understands the law and need for single sex spaces.
I'm not sure how that plays out in the party though, other labour candidates nearby still refusing to answer questions.
Still I think it is better to have a supportive voice amongst them than vote for some of the other turkeys standing in my ward.

I agree you need to look at people as well as parties.
My constituency is always close between Tories and Lib Dem.
So obviously the Tories are the better vote wrt this issue.
Except the sitting Tory MP is the chair of the Women & Equalities committee and seems somewhat flakey...

It has taken Labour so very long to wake up at all to this issue. My sense is the party needs a serious blow at locals to view it as at all relevant. If they do well, they will continue to see this as a "non issue - that doesn't come up on the doorstep" and frankly even if it does, women will still vote for them regardless, and so can continue to be ignored.

These are hopeful signs but, when the next general election comes around, I will need more than assurances from any individual candidate, helpful as they are.
I will need a clear, unequivocal declaration in their manifesto that the party will uphold my legal rights. As I remember, they fudged the issue in 2019 by not making it clear whether they were talking about protecting sex or gender, and I let them get away with it because I was desperate to vote for them. It won't happen again.

I also have to say that, although I do hope to vote Labour again, I can't see them ever winning back my loyalty. I've seen too many things about them that I don't think I'll ever be able to unsee.

I asked my local candidate and he refused to answer, telling me i asked the wrong question.

There's a few of these men around telling women what question we should have asked. Think we can speak for ourselves, thanks

And still I don't trust them.

Philips' tweet https://twitter.com/jessphillips/status/1213887262414581761 - "I helped write the document that demanded changes in self ID. I literally was part of the group of MPs who wanted change. Spousal veto for example is awful"

"Spousal veto for example is awful" - it isn't a veto Jess, it's a way for the spouse, the transwidow who's lost her husband to AGP, to exit the marriage. And given you helped write the document why don't you know that? Or do you think the wives should just stay in a marriage that wasn't the marriage they had? That phrase 'spousal veto' just enrages me. She'll have to do a whole lot of backtracking to make up for that.

As for Streeting, wasn't he chummy with Madigan? Again, he's got a lot of work to do before I'd think about trusting him.