The SDP is alive and thriving — and it doesn't believe TWAW

[pattihews]

Is the SDP the party many of us have been looking for?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/c8bb78e8-48c9-11ed-8b55-aaf85c581598?shareToken=ffbf0b3d664619ebd19a2a194c7c4458

They are a strong contender for my vote if they stand a candidate in my constituency. I really don't want to spoil my paper again.

Don't worry, lefty-scolds, I live in a safe Labour seat full of Labour-sheep voters happy to wallow in their own fly-tipped filth.

I’ve been thinking exactly this. At the moment I suspect they don’t have the resources to really take it on, but that could change…

That's so weird this has come up! I was asking my OH what political party he thought my stances currently most line up with and he said, jokingly/derisively, " the SDP." (OH is old labour through and through).
I looked up the SDP website yesterday, and found he was right! He said , "well, good luck with that" 😂

I saw an article yesterday that John Cleese was going to present a show on GBNews, and that he supported the SDP. He described them, iirc, as left economically and right socially (traditionalists). I've heard mention of them previously on MN. If they were to stand a candidate in my ward, I could hold my nose and vote for that.

I went on to their site and it states clearly what they think about trans issues:
sdp.org.uk/policies/transgender-and-biological-sex-based-rights/

POLICY PLEDGES:
Transgender individuals wishing to change their legal sex should be allowed to do so. However, we support the continued necessity for medical gatekeeping in any legal change of sex marker. We oppose proposals that would allow someone to change their legal sex by self-identification only.

We support segregation by biological sex in sport. Fair competition is not secured if male-bodied transgender athletes are permitted to compete in women’s sport and, in the case of contact sports, the risk of injury can increase significantly.

We support segregation by biological sex in prisons and women’s refuges in order to safeguard the safety and privacy of natal females. Separate prisons or prison accommodation should be provided for transgender citizens to ensure their safety and privacy.

Healthcare spending and resources for gender dysphoric individuals, including long-term psychological intervention, should be provided at sufficient levels. Physical or drug-based medical treatments for gender dysphoria should be prohibited for anyone under 18 years of age.

We support the retention of biological sex and gender identity as distinct categories in public sector data gathering such as crime statistics, poverty metrics or public health research.

We support the use of plain English for discussions of biological sex in health and reproductive care.

Honestly isn't this just want the majority of us "bigoted terfs" want? They may have found a new supporter in me.

They sound very promising @pattihews.

Promising in several areas, especially sex v. gender. However, the prioritisation of married families for social housing is a red flag imo. V bad for women trying to escape abusive partners, surely?

Pretty lacklustre environmental policies, too.

I've floated between Labour, Greens and Lib Dems in the past. Feel extremely let down by all three re. preserving sex-based rights and safeguarding females.

They sound promising to me, also.

They do look possible for me too. As a small party getting involved might present chance to influence and shape policies like the housing one.

That's a good point. Party policies should be led by members so enough pressure could force tweaks/changes.

I heard about them on radio 4 the other day, it must have been the same quote mentioned from John Cleese as they said left economically and right socially and I wasn't entirely sure why the socially right bit meant.
When I did that quiz that tells you where you sit politically, I get Left Authoritarian.

Their website is quite an interesting read. Seems like some good ideas - with the odd curve-ball thrown in for good measure (so that you know it's a political manifesto) lol.

Will keep an eye out for local news re potential candidates if they stand at next GE. Definitely something to keep an eye on. Thank you @pattihews for the heads up.

The environmental policies are weak, I'm afraid. Some other interesting policies, though. Some of the culture policies, in particular:

'Public funding of culture, media and sports organisations will be conditional on those organisations respecting the principles of free speech, freedom of expression and free association. Institutions that fail to do so, such as through censoring artefacts or deterring people from civil discourse, will have funding withdrawn.'

Imagine!

They can sweep up all the single issue voters.

I would vote for them if I could.

I think that is exactly where I am, left economically and centre right socially.

Not perfect but hey...

Very promising though, thanks for heads up OP.

I was all for this (also saw John Cleese mentioning them) but then spotted that a certain rape apologist was prominently featured in their website…. Richard Dawkins doesn’t inspire great confidence frankly! He appears to hate women!

If you're looking for a party with no repugnant men, you're not going to find one @virginrivieras.

Yup, I joined them a year or so ago.., they don't have many candidates sadly, William Coulsten seems like a genuine and nice man. I keep meaning to to one of their talks.....

twitter.com/SDPhq/status/1377212741149192194?t=O8BgaZAXpR5FgfFqKL5Unw&s=19

You might or might not agree with this but thought I'd add it here so you know who you are aligning yourselves with.

Link was in the 2nd tweet and refers to the Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities, so that is what it would mean “aligning with”.

As you said, people might agree or disagree with the report, which does not deny that racism exists in the UK.

If you mean to suggest that accepting the findings of the report means the SDP is stupid, or more likely racist, then so is the current Chair of the EHRC, Baroness Kishwer Falkner.

After all the brouhaha following the SFW Brighton event I’m rather fed up of “know who you are aligning with” bogeyman insinuations. It’s the SDP FFS not the KKK 🙄

Race report: 'UK not deliberately rigged against ethnic minorities'
www.bbc.com/news/uk-56585538

You might or might not agree with this but thought I'd add it here so you know who you are aligning yourselves with.

Aligning with? <eye roll, deep sigh> We're over this bullshit.

Anyone aligning with a party which believes TWAW and that children should have access to transition medication and surgery is aligning with misogynists, child abusers and paedophile apologists.

I don't think that we can really get out of this mire until we repeal the GRA.
The insanity of the "live as a woman" bit of the law is such an insult to us women that the GRA just has to go.
So no, the SDP doesn't do it for me.

I agree with you about the importance of repealing the GRA oldwomanwhoruns but is there a political party which has this as a policy?

If not then I suppose voting is about the lesser of the evils. ‘Twas ever thus.

If the SDP have an influx of members arguing for repeal I suppose they may adopt that as policy.

That was rude. I was just sharing information.

I am aware of the report and aware of the impact it had on my life as a black woman. I'm not here to debate the existence of structural racism just as I'm sure most white woman don't want to debate the existence of structural sexism.

I feel like some (not all) GC feminists are prepared to throw black women under a bus in the name of the trans issue. Happy to use the fact that Muslim women can't use spaces with trans women in them when it suits their agenda but have no issue with denying that they are oppressed due to their race when it suits them.