Fears Rishi Sunak will renege on promise to clarify definition of biological sex

[IwantToRetire]

Rishi Sunak is facing calls to make a public “cast iron guarantee” to follow through on a pledge to rewrite equality law to protect women, amid Tory MPs’ fears that he will renege on his promise.

Conservative backbenchers are planning to challenge Maria Caulfield, the minister for women, to give an undertaking in the Commons that Mr Sunak will deliver on his promised legal changes to ensure that “mothers and women are not erased from public life”.

Sources close to the Prime Minister insist he remains committed to the pledge, with one saying that the Government is carefully considering advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on the matter and another saying, “It’s certainly not being delayed or dropped”.

But senior Tories fear that the party will lose its opportunity to change the law if Mr Sunak fails to act swiftly ahead of an election next year.

One backbencher said: “There is a debate within government about whether this is a hill to die on and it’s unclear how much of a row the Government wants, doing this in the run-up to an election. But if they can’t say what a woman is by the time we go into an election we’re in trouble.”

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A Telegraph article reprinted by Yahoo Fears Rishi Sunak will renege on promise to clarify definition of biological sex (yahoo.com)

I wonder at the motive of the DT for pursuing this (not complaining just wondering)

Also confused:
Maria Caulfied is not the Minister for Women see https://www.gov.uk/government/people/maria-caulfield
Kemi Badenoch is the Minister for Women https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers/minister-for-women-and-equalities--3

Wonder why the article refers to MC as being the one who should ask Sunak in the House of Commons to clarify. Is there some signifigance in this that I dont understand?

Agree at least vote. Make your voice heard.

The suffragettes died so we have the choice to vote or not.

I think there’s a definite trend on here trying to persuade women to not vote or spoil their votes which is the same thing as not voting, I get that it’s a personal choice. But I do wonder if here’s an ulterior motive in telling women that they don’t need to vote.political parties only care about their electorate.

I've spoiled my ballot before. I don't agree it's the same thing as not voting. It's a way of showing dissatisfaction. Spoiled ballots are counted and read out aren't they so it's not like just not bothering at all.

AFAIK from previous posts on other threads by people involved in election counts, spoiled ballot papers are inspected to see whether there is any mark in the box against a candidate's name. Some officials and candidates may read what's written or they may not, but they're concentrating on the boxes. The comments are not read aloud.

My DD works for the Electoral Services Department for a council. She unequivocally says a spoilt vote is a wasted vote. They’re recorded but it doesn’t mean anything, they aren’t read unless the teller thinks it’s humorous, the MPs / councillors don’t care about them . It’s basically a wasted vote.

Sigh.

Then we need a party to vote for.
None of us is going to tick a box that renders us void.

Currently the only mainstream party that makes us think they will help us is torys.

Labour and lib dem and some others will make it law for men to take over as women. This will make women nothing. We wont exist (i dont mean literally) in law, we wont ever be counted separately again. Our sports may as well be renamed and good luck in prison, rape shelters, hospitals etc, and your local shopping centre toilets will be no go, your local park toilets, no go, etc etc

Yes.

I've seen my MP reading them, so I guess it's different depending on where you live.

To add they do read some of the spoilt ones , but it is to see if they can make out if an actual vote in their favour has been cast amongst the defacement.

They are also counted and the number recorded.

I give no shits if my spoiled ballot is read, my point in spoiling is to say there is no one worthy of my vote even though I traipsed out to try.

Now we have someone to vote for. I dont need to spoil. Easy

The comments are not read aloud

I don't mean the comments are read aloud, I mean that the number of spoiled ballots is read out at the count.

My DD works for the Electoral Services Department for a council. She unequivocally says a spoilt vote is a wasted vote. They’re recorded but it doesn’t mean anything, they aren’t read unless the teller thinks it’s humorous, the MPs / councillors don’t care about them . It’s basically a wasted vote.

Your daughter is welcome to her opinion. Other people think differently.

Unfortunately though a wasted vote just risks the worst of parties getting in unhindered, and they won't care if it's on a 2% turn out. They'll still tell you they were voted in on women-hating, equality destroying, anti reality manifestos, so whoopee, let the batshit roll.

It is going to be a case for me of not voting FOR anyone really, but actively voting in a way that keeps the most dangerous parties out. It's a case of the least worst option for another five years, at the end of which we may have more sanity, more choice, and parties actually worth positively supporting.

You are just scaremongering, Labour and the LD have not proposed any such law to "remove" women.

Our sports may as well be renamed and good luck in prison, rape shelters, hospitals etc, and your local shopping centre toilets will be no go, your local park toilets, no go, etc etc

this is the case under the Tories, DV refuges shut down, single sex wards gone and female amateur sport allowed to be taken over by men... but apparently you all want some more of this, so advocate voting Tory or not vote.

Yesterday, despite being assaulted by a male patient previously in the week, it happened again... real life experiences under the Torys and their cuts... they can fuck off with their false rhetoric.

What on earth makes you think the Tories will help women with this issue Ourlady?

In the Telegraph:

Rishi Sunak indicates he will change the law to protect single-sex spaces for women

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2023/06/09/rishi-sunak-transgender-single-sex-spaces/

"Speaking on the way to Washington, where he met President Joe Biden, the Prime Minister said he would consider the proposed legal changes.
“I’ve been very clear that when it comes to matters like this, biological sex is fundamentally important,” he said.
“I’ve said that multiple times and with regard to the Equality Act, in particular, the Government has specifically asked for advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission on this particular topic, and then obviously, we will review that.
“It’s something I’ve spoken about in the past as being important to me, and we’ve asked the Equality and Human Rights Commission for advice on this particular issue.”
...

During the Tory leadership campaign last year, Mr Sunak said he wanted to ensure the facts of biology are written into the Act.

He said: “I think biology is critically important as we think about some of the very practical functions, like toilets or sports.”
The EHRC advice, published in April, concluded it would be better in most cases to change the word “sex” in the 2010 act to “biological sex”.
It recommended that such a change would “bring legal clarity” in eight areas, including sports and single-sex areas.
At the time, a Downing Street source said he had asked Kemi Badenoch, the Equalities Ministerr_, to take this work forward.
“The Prime Minister remains committed to his campaign pledge,” the source said. “This is a sensitive and complicated issue but the Secretary of State is taking that work forward and he supports her in doing so.”
But no proposals have yet been brought forward. One sticking point is a concern that MPs could seek to add amendments to any laws, giving powers to groups such as menopausal women to claim discrimination.
And since the EHRC advice was brought out, activists at the organisation were accused of trying to force Kishwer Falkner, the chairman, out as part of a “witch-hunt”, although the “coup” failed."

Get on with it then.

Well, two bye-elections coming up as of today, so KJK has a chance to stand in one. No need to wait till the general election.

That'll force Sunak to jump one way or the other and stop stringing us along.

Rishi is the father of two lovely little girls. It's in his daughters best interests to have single spaces. Think about your daughter's future Rishi & the future of all the little girls in this country.

I think the Tories will use the Westminster Debate to get some sense of how easy it would be to get ammendments to the EA through Parliament.

But if they see a lot of MPs speaking out against this on monday, I dont think that in veiw of every thing else on the agenda, and spoilt toddlers resigning to deliberately create by elections, Parliamentary time will be made for it.

And whilst the Telegraph (soon to be sold to ??? another woke institution ???) is doing a great job keeping the issue in the pubic eye, it certainly isn't any where else in the media. (For those who are blocked by a paywall go to archive.ph and copy in the Telegraph url)

Of course it would be different in there were enough Labour, SNP and Green MPs who were all standing up for women's rights.

Lets not forget it isn't because Sunak (according to this article) doesn't want to make the change, but because of the number of MPs from all parties who will take the line that it is unfair on trans people.

That is the threat to women's sex based rights. The fact that in terms of public statements most MPs have taken the side of trans rights over women's rights.

(For those who haven't seen at long last, and in terms of working days, very late the House of Commons Library has produced a briefing for the debate on monday https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/4800027-debate-relating-to-the-definition-of-sex-in-the-equality-act-2010-will-be-in-westminster-hall-on-12-june-2023-430pm )

“The Prime Minister remains committed to his campaign pledge,” the source said. “This is a sensitive and complicated issue but the Secretary of State is taking that work forward and he supports her in doing so.”

But no proposals have yet been brought forward. One sticking point is a concern that MPs could seek to add amendments to any laws, giving powers to groups such as menopausal women to claim discrimination

Sorry but excluding TWAW from grass roots sports, single sex wards and single sex spaces for vulnerable women does not need guidance from the equalities committee.

Quite simply, its easier to offer his supporters tea and sympathy, he knows these things will cost and highlight the cuts he and his party have made to public services.

He now has 2 by elections and a disunited UK to cope with, all of his making.

Sunak will renege. He has just overnight got a freshly divided party and his own position greatly weakened by Johnson and Dorries suddenly going and two new by elections to fight with huge scrutiny of those results, a very public reopening of Brexit wounds to try to manage, which has all happened before Johnson is likely to be discredited by the report.

So we’re going right back into the Tory Party in survival mode- Tories putting Party before Country which is the Tory way.

Sunak willl calculate that he needs every MP to support him that he can get, and he can’t afford to piss off anyone in the electorate. Women don’t count obviously. We never did, or the last 13 years wouldn’t have happened. He’s not going to change the Equality Act.

^this 100%

You need to take in the global situation. The UK is looking great because NHS England changed the way children are treated by this ideology.

If the USA is in uproar over this issue which it is, it can go global, Armenian men over there didn't like the cross topped with a pride dog paw for example - it all trickles into the UK. This isn't over yet.

Elon Musk is all over it too.