Starmer: “Gender recognition will not be one of the priorities of the incoming government.”

[Rainbowshit]

www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/keir-starmer-says-snp-lurched-29479637?utm_source=app

He also appeared to aim a dig at MSPs who passed the legislation: “What’s happened in Scotland is a reminder that if you want change, you have to carry the public with you.”
He also said: “Gender recognition will not be one of the priorities of the incoming government.”

Interesting. Are they finally beginning to read the room...?

Yeah, that in particular was utter bullshit.

In the same boat and so pissed off. I've never ever in my life (about to be 68) voted anything other than left, be it LibDem, Labour or Green, and would rather rip my own eyes oot than vote Tory. I'll never ever vote Tory. But I cannot vote for anyone else while this is going on. So I'm not voting, which pains me immensely.
And my (adult) daughter will think I've gone nuts but unfortunately she's drunk the cool-aid and we cannot discuss this.
So I'm disenfranchised and having to put on a front with my own child and horrified, and no I do not trust Starmer an inch nor any of them. And my local MP is Jacob Rees-Mogg of all horrors.

Will not be a priority is not the same as we won't do it. He may just mean we won't talk about it but quietly push it in the background. Which would just mean going back to where we were circa 2015 with all kinds of backroom deals enacted whilst the public was non the wiser.

I read it as him still being marooned somewhere in 2018 or so; the message is calm down, dears, nothing to see here: just a tiny vulnerable minority, a big fuss about nothing because silly wims have been misled by bigots, etc. etc.

As for the SNP: they do need to address the decline in membership, but 72K is nothing to sneer at given the population of Scotland, and it's still more than double what it was immediately after the 2014 referendum. Labour's membership has always been huge relative to the other parties, but it hasn't typically translated into electing MSPs, or electing MPs to Scottish seats. And the SNP's "lurch to the right" is mainly in (1) not actively pursuing independence, which is also Labour's policy and (2) the weird take on Hate Crimes and the GRR, both of which Labour also whipped their MSPs to support.

At least the SNP have managed 2 out of 3 Leadership candidates capable of dissent. Compare and contrast to the last Labour leadership contest, when every single female candidate for leader or depute was actively bullied into signing a mysogynistic (and defamatory) pledge .... which Starmer and the gentleman deputy candidates all neatly avoided, to little criticism.

Which brings me to my bottom line: whatever anybody thinks about GRA reform, women have the right to speak about their situation and about the politics of their country without facing a tsunami of wildly sexualised and sex-targeted threats and acts of violence. When Keir has a plan to combat the virulent misogyny of his activists and some of his MPs - let's maybe start with his coming up with a way that all of his female MPs can safely attend their own party conference - then there may be some hope for him.

. you have to carry the public with you.

Yes. Your second paragraph is a good translation of what Starmer said!

I read it as him still being marooned somewhere in 2018 or so; the message is calm down, dears, nothing to see here: just a tiny vulnerable minority, a big fuss about nothing because silly wims have been misled by bigots, etc. etc

Not disagreeing with your point, but it's unsurprising he is still marooned in this mindset, given that he refuses to talk to anyone who can explain the GC point of view, and that he connives at the silencing of his MPs who are GC.

He is not the hapless victim of his own ignorance; he has wilfully brought it about.

No, it’s not enough, I still don’t trust him and Labour. I’m concerned about Rayner, Thornbury, Lammy and all the others in the party who treat women’s rights & safeguarding children with contempt & the misogyny. Starmer is a coward

Yep, he's very conspicuously NOT saying that he thinks what the SNP were trying to achieve was a bad idea. He's just saying they failed to get the support for it. He's not against it, he just wants the issue out of the public eye because it's extremely awkward for him.

It's a politicians response.
I think he is beginning to read the room and making space to manoeuvre.

I agree that he's starting to back away. He won't be more explicit yet because his party is full of people who say that "trans women are women".

It needs to be a full u-turn and removal of gender nonsense before they get my vote again.

He also said: “Gender recognition will not be one of the priorities of the incoming government.”

I've just been back and read the article again and I'm struck by how slippery he is. What does he mean by the quote above?

He doesn't say GRA reform, he says gender recognition which means nothing on its own.

The incoming government of where?

In the published interview the quote appears after remarks about the SNP, is he talking about Scotland? That would seem odd as it's only the leader of the main party changing not a general election.

Does he think Labour have the next UK GE in the bag? There is plenty of time for things to change between now and December next year, particularly if interviewers decide to make, "what is a woman" a key question in the run up to an election.

Is he admitting that he thinks the Conservatives will win the next election and his statement (if we assume he means GRA reform) is accurate because they have already stated as much?

Do interviews with politicians help us to know what they stand for anymore?

I want to vote Labour. I do. But I'm not risking losing the definition of woman.

I HATE the tories but on this subject I've been grateful for them being in power.

Enough to vote tory? No, but not enough to vote Labour either.

Does that just mean he doesn’t want women to talk about it as a priority.

So lame.

Backing away from self id isnt solving any current problems.

The public are well aware that its more than how long it takes for a man to get a female birth certificate, even if Starmer doesnt.

He really is. Every time he speaks on this he sounds more cowardly.

That is completely different to saying they’ve realised it’s a shit show and they are not pursuing it.

always weasel words. No, you cannot have my vote.

On the plus side, they have all shown their hand before the election. Imagine if they had waited until they had our vote.

Well actually Kier, gender should be a key priority of an incoming Labour government
because we need reform of the equality Act to distinguish sex and gender, and repeal of the GRA to sort this mess out.

What does 'gender recognition' actually mean? He is saying nothing, because this means nothing.

The way Starmer and other Labour politicians have obfuscated language has been part of the problem - even leaving aside some of the outrageous things clearly said by the likes of Lisa 'rapists get to choose their prison' Nandy et al.

Absolute clarity in both spoken word and written manifesto is what women require from all politicians as we go into the next election. Nothing else is worth our votes.

Poor old Kier, he hasn't got a hope.

Run that through the bullshit translator: 'we're going to try (desperately) not to talk about this during the campaign and hope it doesn't wreck us'.

Not a chance, mate.

Women - want clear guarantees that you are not muttering platitudes until you safely get into power and they cannot stop you galloping them into an untouchables/service human subclass and removing all their rights, while empowering men to do whatever the fuck they happen to feel like and the rape/assault/exclusion statistics rocket

The TQ+ Political lobby equally will want clear guarantees that you will passionately and committedly fuck over women and build on your male supremacist beliefs and commitments already made, because trying to keep the quiet part quiet will just get you called transphobic.

On the doorstep, refusing to talk about this is just going to get it in the neck from both sides.

And from women voters: if you don't know what a women is and don't believe in their equality to men regardless of the man's identity choices, and believe in alternative reality - they're not going to put all that aside and say 'well i'm sure he's got a grip on fact, reality and science in other matters outside of this one where he's entirely loopy - and yes, I'll embrace my oppression and subordination for the betterment of the UK'. Are they? Because women voters are not bloody service droids with boundary issues and a masochism fetish.

At least, not enough of them are to win an election with.

Run that through the bullshit translator: 'we're going to try (desperately) not to talk about this during the campaign and hope it doesn't wreck us'.

Not a chance, mate.

😀yep

What’s with his inability to speak plain English.

Kellie Jay Keen's running against him. She probably doesn't stand a chance but should be hugely entertaining.

I'm going to start stockpiling popcorn now.

That is brilliant. Got to admire her for that. Is she running as an independent candidate?

And for the party faithful, a summary of the Herald interview on LabourList which doesn’t even mention what he said about gender recognition reform: labourlist.org/2023/03/starmer-argues-snp-has-seen-lurch-to-the-right-during-leadership-election/

He doesn’t even need to speak out of both sides of his mouth when the press do it for him: tells Scottish voters up in arms about Bryson what they want to hear, not reported to Labour readers in England and Wales.