Webchat with Keir Starmer & Bridget Phillipson

[ArabellaScott]

www.mumsnet.com/talk/mumsnet_live_events/4663774-got-a-question-for-keir-starmer-or-bridget-phillipson

I never see these things in the webchat thread, so thought I'd stick it here to let people know.

It’s the best I’ve got Signalbox on a small personal issue. He’s my MP and social transitioning without parental knowledge IS happening in the schools his and my kids go to. I’d like that to stop. The schools don’t listen to me, a mere woman, I’ve tried. But they might listen to the local MP

on the bigger picture, for all the kids, what he’s said is not helpful. But I’m at the point where I need to take small mercies or I would lose my mind. I’m petrified. I’ve gone past anger.

Can't help but contrast that interview with the one with Boris. That was excellent. Holding a politician to account. Not soft soaping. Direct questions, no fucking around.

Posters may be interested in the Telegraph comment piece which is accessible here:

twitter.com/scot_feminists/status/1586320507955470336?s=46&t=2UNmOHHWvYvwY3yLC5ewWg

It's to do with Scottish Labour. Clue in the headline: Scottish Labour is now a branch office of Stonewall. It won't defend its £1 million donor JK Rowling

This was news to me:

"It is generally believed that during Labour’s wilderness years in the 1980s, it was Scotland’s contingent of west central Scottish MPs, with their solidly working class constituencies and associated principles, that kept the national party on the straight and narrow, who provided the ballast of common sense the party needed at exactly the same time that the likes of Ken Livingstone at the GLC were flirting with identity politics and the IRA.

Yet because almost all of Scottish Labour’s representation at Holyrood now comes from the party lists, that crucial link with individual constituencies, and the accountability that came with the constituency link, has been lost."

It's long been speculated that Labour MPs may have staffers, sifting out WrongThink correspondence. If that's the case AND they're this divorced from real people in Scotland then the future for women and children under Starmer looks bad.

If I was working at Tory HQ

If I was working at Tory HQ I’d be commissioning billboards up and down the country saying LABOUR THINK WOMEN HAVE PENISES, WHY WOULD YOU VOTE FOR THESE ABSOLUTE LUNATICS THEY ARE INSANE

It's a gift to the Tories and I'm surprised they're not already making more of it.

I'd steal the pictures made by ripx4nutmeg!!!

twitter.com/ripx4nutmeg/status/1442783035389325313?s=46&t=2UNmOHHWvYvwY3yLC5ewWg

I know it's pedantic, but he was the DPP for God's sake, and he called it "the Equalities Act".

It's the EQUALITY Act. Making it plural sounds like everybody can have some of those lovely equalities, no problem. Singular, it's a matter of having to share.

Honestly, it's the "Cliff Richards" of legislation.

Just PMK. Far too frunk but looking forward to reading your thoughts on this

Resister I think that is a GENIUS idea. Can you imagine! 😂

I can imagine!!!

I'm fucking sick of hearing him bore on about being DPP. WE KNOW MATE. Every time I hear him speak, I'm counting down in my head before he says it. It's like Starmer bingo or something.

@JacquelinePot Pixie, wouldn't you want to kick their arse, rather than wipe it? 😆

Well that's embarrassing. Obviously my subconscious has downgraded them all to children instead of adults

Starmer : “don’t identify with the gender they’re born into.”

I think he meant don’t identify with the sex that is observed (not assigned) at birth.

But of course he needs the careless misuse of words like gender in his answer, otherwise he’s forced to use biological language.

I’m still waiting for him to answer my letter from last year, as to why it shouldn’t be said that only women have a cervix. I asked him who else did.

For me Labour are currently unelectable. Protecting women’s rights based upon the protected characteristic of sex. That’s not a hard concept. It’s not an area for “compromise” as he said. It only is if you believe that a biological male has equivalence to a biological female because they identify as such.

Profoundly disappointed. I actually found him quite dismissive of Justine too; when she commented that growing the economy takes a long time, his "first of all, I know" sounded quite petulant. And whilst I understand the logic if having a female MP, particularly education, is sensible, she felt like a prop. The 99% of women are women because of biology did it for me; there's no way back. And, let's face it, what were we expecting? He was at Prick News Awards last week - he's in too deep to about-face now.

*bugger, that should read - And whilst I understand the logic of having a female MP with him, particularly education, is sensible, she felt like a prop

I just 'enjoyed' re-reading those quotes.....still beggars belief that the UK Labour Party has descended to this abysmal level.

I'm not sure why we bothered posted questions. The answers he gave were so broad, NHS, economy, energy bills. He was asked a specific question on inequalities in healthcare for woman and just talked about his mum and how the Tories had made a mess of the NHS. Where are his policies, where is his manifesto? Is he truly blind to the differences between men and women? Again he repeated the nonsense statement about 99% of women biology is important? What does he mean by that?
With regard to sport and transwomen he deflected and said it was up to governing bodies, but I don't think the question was even about sport!

Thank heavens I've had a few drinks before reading about this shambles of a Labour leader.
what. a. waste. of. space.

Interesting body language as someone said.. definitely nervous about THE question. I didn’t learn anything I didn’t know already, and the absence of actual policies, apart from going along with Brexit , was very disappointing. For those two alone ,I will not put my X for the LP. In spite of the women trying to change the attitudes on womens rights from within, it is not going to happen. What I want to know is WHY?

Various tweets doing the rounds as word makes it out that Starmer spoke to MNHQ. Owen Jones among them:

twitter.com/feministroar/status/1587503230170406915?s=46&t=pO0Vw7TjA3pGGBS6ryIWDg

He always comes back to abortion.

Thoroughly enjoying Twitter lose its shit over that interview!

And also demonstrating that they don't know what being Gillick Competent means.

It is really depressing that he and the Labour Party can just throw us under the bus like this. And you're quite right @Menstrualcycledisplayteam the attitude to Justine and the woman MP as prop just finished the whole thing off for me. I could cry. I really could.

I suspect that activists like OJ do understand Gillick but chose to deliberately misinterpret it. He’s not stupid he’s dishonest.