Parties campaigning in the wake of BiJo resignation: good opportunity to make conditions for support clear

[MyBottomDecides]

I'm a mostly lurker on this board but have learned so much from the articulate and insightful feminists on here - thank you!

Just received an email requesting donations ahead of a possible snap election from the LibDems, in the wake of Boris's resignation. It struck me that this is an excellent moment for everyone who feels politically homeless to clarify the terms under which we'd start supporting any party, as they all scramble for dominance while the Conservatives reinvent themselves.

I've just dashed off this response to the soliciting email I received and thought I'd share it in case anyone else agrees:

Thank you for your email.
I'm as delighted as the next (sane) person that the nation has the chance to be led by someone with integrity and competence. Whether or not there's a snap election, this is good news.

If there is a an election, I would throw my full support behind the LibDems, but only if the issue that caused me to resign from the party membership is addressed.

I resigned because the LibDems chose to uphold support for the inclusion of trans people - an objective I agree with, incidentally -
by sacrificing women's rights.

I will not rejoin, donate or campaign until this is clearly corrected and the LibDems support women's rights to safe single-sex spaces, sports, and medical identity. This means that the party must recognise that biological sex is not the same as gender identity, and that gender identity is a belief system which people are free to adopt, but should not be forced on those who do not in the form of coerced speech or breached boundaries.

As I've said in correspondence before, I'm very disappointed that the party I most associate with clear principles and common sense has been captured by a politicised and misogynistic ideology, rather than finding a way to support and advance inclusion without diminishing women's hard-won rights.

Returning to the subject of your email, if there is to be a snap election,
the LibDems will need to be clear that you are the best alternative.
Many women feel the same way as I do and will not vote for a party that has demeaned them. This is your opportunity to show that you can represent everyone, fairly and with sound inclusive principles.

Respect my sex if you want my X.

Very good (although it will fall on deaf ears - Ed Davey is completely committed to the trans rights cause). I’ll vote Tory if the leader is GC and maintains BJ’s direction in this area. I’ll never vote Labour/Lib Dem/Green again. All those parties have shown me that they are stuffed to the gills with complete idiots.

I rather suspect I'll be in the same boat, as low hopes - but can't resist the opportunity to at least raise the issue.

You call him BiJo. Is there something we should know?

But yes, completely agree about this being a good moment to send messages to other parties: that this is a key issue that will determine how many of us vote.