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 this is not just the U.K. it’s more global than that, and the US is going loggerheads over it.

In comparison Rishi taking small steps and Starmer no one is talking about it is quite muted

Starmer is hoping it won’t blow up in the same way.

It’s massively disappointing to presume Sunak will renege given how badly we need this change and after all the good work that’s gone into this from Sex Matters and others. But I think it’s only realistic. I didn’t expect it to happen because they hadn’t made any moves to make it happen in 13 years but absolutely it is/was worth trying because that raises the profile of the key issues and builds campaigning relationships.

However, given that clarification of the EqA was only ever a damage limitation exercise without being accompanied by the repeal of GRA, and given that we’re about to have a huge clear out in the House of commons anyway with loads of MPs standing down*, plus a likely shake up of the composition of the Commons after 13 years after the 2024 GE, then women going along with getting what we can expediently get because the Tories have an 80 person working majority right now, just isn’t serving us any more. That ship was torpedoed by Johnson and Dorries last night.

So I hope Posie is drawing up her byelection plans because that would be a fabulous way to raise profile on these issues.

And I hope we can all start afresh taking into account everything learned so far with the EqA reform campaign. I hope that women’s groups can build on their amazing work so far, and can coalesce in a sustained way over the next few years around a longer term goal of

1. review the 2010 Equality Act to see how GRA repeal would affect people with GRCs and making provision for them to be treated fairly accordingly
2. repeal GRA for whole of UK

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9808/ *this is a weekly updated log of how many MPs have said they will stand down before next election

It won't cause me to vote Tory, not least because I work in the public sector which the Tories are gutting, but also because there's no way of monetising it and therefore I don't believe that Rishi Sunak actually has any interest in it. This government has a track record of abandoning promises - what makes anyone think that this is the one they'll stick with after they've got your vote?

Meanwhile disabled adults starve, and disabled kids have no schools to go to.

It's a no- win situation. I too am politically homeless right now, and I hate it.

Tories jumping ship? We should work out what to do once Labour's in power. Seems inevitable.

I'm so fucking depressed. They've proven themselves to be the most mendacious woman hating bastards of all. Worse than the SNP even, because they offer the pretence of sticking up for women while screwing us over at the same time.

Whilst he took a swipe at JKR for refusing to participate in his film "what is a woman" Matt Walsh in his podcast this week, give some time to the cross party woman lead successful pushback in the UK.

We need the USA refusal to accept Gender ideology and they need our continued pushback. I actually think it's been less violent here because it was woman lead and the UK has maintained a lot of peace due to it, that won't continue much longer if this does not get sorted soon. UK men will see men abroad and it will trickle through.

Support for KJK is important as is SFW fielding in Rusilip, Uxbridge will be flooded with Labour activists, she needs to split the vote there. It's a Brexit area and she has accepted the vote. People there will not like what the NHS and Labour have planned for Granny with Dementia.

We need a political party.

I agree that the global picture playing in will be very important. Great to have lots of people with huge platforms talking about the issues- although further entrenching of ‘sides’ seems a given with divisive figures like Musk etc now getting involved.

This entrenching is bad because the prioritty politically on welfare of children will get dialled down still further to validate offended adult choices but that seems an inevitability. As ever the ongoing onus is on women (not men inexplicably) to continue to stick up for women and children’s rights.. I hope detransitioned people’s voices will also be heard more clearly.

My main point is that UK women’s strategy should not be based on the current composition of the UK Tory party any more. We can’t rely on them and we don’t need them because they can’t or won’t help. That’s feels done with now.

Now is the time to ask for everything we want rather than looking for ‘modest but achievable’ type reforms any more. And we all need to press EVERYONE standing for election in 2024 on exactly these points and need to require specific party commitment in manifestos. Opinion polling will back us up over time as the message spreads. Politicians will have to listen eventually. Reality is on our side.

I agree. I'm totally fucking pissed off. The Tories have destroyed the country and are positively salivating at destroying it even more. The so-called progressive parties are at war with material reality and in the grip of authoritarian thought-control.

And people on one side scolding me for not voting Tory, the other scolding me for not voting Lab/Lib/etc, yet another scolding me for spoiling my ballot. You can all get in the sea.

Now is the time to ask for everything we want rather than looking for ‘modest but achievable’ type reforms any more. And we all need to press EVERYONE standing for election in 2024 on exactly these points and need to require specific party commitment in manifestos. Opinion polling will back us up over time as the message spreads. Politicians will have to listen eventually. Reality is on our side.

Reality is what we want.

The GRA has to go.

We are in the right side of history not LOJ.

Mental illness and beliefs are protected and some rights requested such as dementia patients being used as servants to narcissistic paid AGP NHS staff should be excluded.

I also want lots of prison sentences. Professionals received safeguarding training they should be shamed with DBS employment never open to them again, for being participants. The lesson learned needs to be that they will be punished for not safeguarding the vulnerable, not how to safeguard themselves rather than the vulnerable better each time, after so many expensive inquiries and training they have not stopped abusing the public. Punishment is now required, they knew what they were doing.

You can have a shortage of bin men, if the bin men you have won't do their job properly - painting lorry in rainbows wasting time and money, refusing to collect bigots waste, causing a build up of rubbish and a rat issue then those bin men need to be sacked. Maybe those bin man are why there is a recruitment and retainment issue.

but also because there's no way of monetising it and therefore I don't believe that Rishi Sunak actually has any interest in it.

Opposing the GRR in Scotland doesn’t fit with this though?

Labour whipped their MSPs whereas Rishi is taking them the court. There’s no money in this and not that much political gain even. Labour likely would have waved it through

On Scottish politics:

https://wingsoverscotland.com/the-next-government-of-scotland/?fbclid=IwAR36eUUZJCTFXlpz0e51uJtHUWZsQN0SpbOvlBuUQyuvAyRWjn7vDs4WHBw

Looking like a Labour/SNP coalition coming up. Faaaaaaaaark.

Let’s see how the Westminster Hall debate goes on Monday about the EqA and what Sex Matters say about the situation after that. None of their/our effort will have been wasted whatever happens with EqA under Sunak and it’s great that they have built up good connections into the current Tory party and that SM is now the go-to organisation for comment on these issues. Soon there will be electoral candidates to brief and they will be a key source.

The Tories never actually helped with any of this, and they were a hair's breadth away from forcing gender self-id onto the country. The sole reason why they've paid lip service to some gender critical arguments in their rhetoric is to give Labour a slap, not because they want to do anything about it.

So how will they differentiate from Labour now? I predict they will try to kick it down the road rather than rock the boat either way.

I think both parties take support from women for granted. They need to be shown that a lot of women (and men) of voting age do care about this

The Tories probably don’t feel the need to distinguish themselves from Labour on this issue. They haven’t so far. They brought in the £5 GRC that’s their big policy claim.

I genuinely think that the Tories think, that them having pulled back from their own policy of imposing self ID on the UK ( only when the Tories realised that was electoral cat sick for themselves) means they’ve already done more than enough for women. They’ve got their own stuff to prioritise now. Women are other, despite being 51% of the population

In comparison Rishi taking small steps and Starmer no one is talking about it is quite muted

What small steps? what has he actually done? bare in mind Starmer isn't in power and has no means to change anything.

I know you want to paint Labour as the anti women party but the reality is Sunak and the Tories have the majority in Parliament to do whatever they want and they have chosen to kick it all into the long grass by seeking further consultation, despite making promises 9 months ago, he has done SFA, tells me all i need know about his views on women.

I know you want to paint Labour as the anti women party

They do their own painting well enough. Dinosaurs, shrill, whipping MSPs in Scotland on GRR, shrill and bigoted and no one is talking about it.

That’s their own doing

Vote for who you want, I’m beyond caring what other people do.

This gender identity shit has been building up unchecked over 13 years of Tory government but apparently we should vote for them because they now know what a woman is. Sorry I just can’t. All the parties are terrible on this issue and we just need to keep banging on about safeguarding and safety, privacy and dignity to all of them.

Who will deliver on it though?

Who would you vote for or are you spoiling / abstaining

Vote for whoever you want.

They all fell for it. The entire lot were taken in.

My own vote, being my choice, will go to the one party still dragging its feet and at least asking questions since every other party will gallop us at high speed into Gilead, and once these rights are gone in law, it will be hell to get them back. Not to mention, once it's established that equality and inclusion can be removed from one group who are declared subhuman and to have less cos Reasons In Word Salad (insert burble here) then which group is next?

The TQ+ lobby are too thick to notice or care about this, which is in large part why no one in hock to them should get anywhere near power.

But if you want to try and make the looney left see sense on this, good luck with that. I hope your daughters don't come to bitterly regret it.

But if you want to try and make the looney left see sense on this, good luck with that. I hope your daughters don't come to bitterly regret it.

The remain Tory MPs may think it's funny now, they were idiots and I don't like Boris. The left scammed them like in America and I don't like Trump, they turn everything into a Kangaroo court, banana republic like Scotland or China.

The USA had men refuse to drink beer with an womanface in the can and the boycott worked. UK women are more loyal to 🌈 than their own children in school and 🌈 along with political parties known this. We are in a bad way, we have been for years.

This gender identity shit has been building up since before the 2004 gra.
I could see the signs in around 1998, although I never thought it would get this far. I think some other women saw it before then.
So to my mind all the political parties had a hand in today's fiasco.

So I just want one to say stop, no more and that's the party I'll vote for.