Leaked video of Rishi Sunak talking about "women having penises"

[zibzibara]

https://www.thepinknews.com/2023/06/18/rishi-sunak-mocks-trans-women-leaked-video/

In the leaked recording, Sunak can be heard saying: “It shows his spectacular misjudgement and why he’s completely unfit to lead our country.”

It is unclear who Sunak is referring to, but likely to be the Labour leader Keir Starmer, who has also come under fire for appearing to support proposals for schools to ‘out’ trans pupils to their parents.

“Over the same period of time, you might have noticed Ed Davey has been very busy,” Sunak continues.

“Like me, you can probably see that he was trying to convince everybody that women clearly had penises.

“You’ll all know that I’m a big fan of everybody studying maths to 18, but it turns out that we need to focus on biology.”

This

I think you have the measure of it RedToothBrush. The Tories want us to vote for them but aren’t going to help us. Much like the Democrats in the US have dangled reproductive rights in front of women for decades and never actually done anything about it.

The only difference is that I do think there are some Tory women who genuinely believe in women’s rights and understand the issues. It all depends on them now, and on what they can get done towards the goal of securing women’s rights and freedom of belief for everyone. I’ll need more than this leak if I am to consider voting Tory. I’ll need something concrete.

Gender identity and identity politics generally is coming for me in my workplace now. The more it is pushed on us the more I see colleagues reaching their limits with it and turning against it. Ordinary people see the attempts at indoctrination into a new belief system for what they are… I think it would only increase the share of the vote going to the Conservative Party if they took a firm stance against gender identity ideology and did something concrete in favour of the sex based norms we have had in place for all of human history until now. I don’t think it would put off many who are currently committed Tory voters anyway.

Bear in mind that the Tories are in power NOW. They are the ones throwing women and children under the bus NOW. They could have stopped it years ago, they could have stopped it months ago.. .but actually they have no interest in stopping anything.

Do I think Labour will do everything better? No. Do I trust the Tories when they have presided over this shitshow so far? Also no.

Oh, give over.

If you feel like you and all women going to be fucked over by Labour or Lib Dem, don't vote for them. If you do vote for them in the knowledge they're going to fuck you over, then don't blame someone else. Accept the natural outcomes of your own decision.

They've told you what they're going to do. If you want that, vote for them. If you vote for a party that won't do the same, that's your perfect right. But you can't then moan if they carry out their manifesto of doing nothing.

Do you understand why it's cynical?

I agree. Give me a vote on this and everyone can take ownership of the outcome.

Accept it's not a bloody single issue referendum is it?

And if the Lib Dems/ Labour get in they will then say people voted for lady penises. Which we also know isn't true.

It's so bloody depressing.

I don’t have to listen to other people’s priorities when I vote.

You do you as will I

Sod the economy, Partygate, cronyism, incompetence, corruption. This has persuaded me to vote Tory for the rest of my life.

I emailed Ed Davey and Keir Starmer about their ridiculous comments that women can have a penis, stating that although I’ve always voted Lib Dem or Labour I would never do so while they persist in this biological nonsense. I didn’t get a reply!
I mailed the female local Tory MP on the evening before the Westminster Hall debate and she (or her staff) replied within 12 hours that she hoped to go to the debate and that she totally agreed with my views.
I can’t imagine ever voting Tory, but women’s rights are more important to me than anything else - this is going to be a huge dilemma for me. Anyone else feel the same.

Is it too much to hope that this bounces labour into a sensible policy?

Probably. Given that the tories and the SNP are tag-teaming to hand victory to KS. But oh for a Labour Party that supported women.

All political parties operate with a degree of self-interest. That's why parties leave their big attractive ideas close to an election so the other side doesn't steal them. If there was no self-interest, political parties would be co-operative rather than confrontational.

Is it cynical for Keir Starmer to waffle about the subject but never actually alter his position about changing sex and single spaces, while at the same time sending out his minions to try muddy the water so people will think their stance has changed.
Of course it is. But, you know, that's politics and how it operates. But you know that.

Surely to god political parties have people who monitor sites like this.

I feel like this too

There are millions of voters up for grabs here on Mumsnet. Why the fuck aren't we seeing a sign that the politicians care.?
Public opinion elsewhere is definitely changing as well!

My point is that instead of demonstrating commitment to women which they could, there's a cynical use of the subject to gather votes.

It's insincere. I'd have more confidence if they actually bothered to do something meaningful and worthwhile on the subject. Instead it's just words rather than action. And tbh after the whole brexit saga of words rather than deeds it's tedious.

I just feel the subject is being used rather than serious consideration given to the matter.

I mean what have the Tory's actually DONE? I don't want bloody manifesto pledges.

Equally I find the bullshit coming from others equally nauseating and implausible.

It's depressing on so many levels.

I believe in none of them. Give me something to BELIEVE in...

The thing that most depresses me is ‘no one is talking about it’

Well we are talking about it. And I’ll take a GE if it has to to get higher exposure

Shine a big old light on it and let people decide.

Worst case we don’t get the conversation at all. This could easily happen, so keep emailing or whatever

https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/leaked-video-rishi-sunak-trans-b2359829.html

Video here for those who don't want to click PN news.

This is what I don't understand, why have the Tories been sleeping on it? Leadership almost seems surprised by what's happened (under their watch!)

I'm not impressed that they've let it get this far 🤷‍♀️

Neither do I have any confidence in Lab/Lib Dem who aren't deviating from their stance at all.

The Tories haven't done anything because their party like others is divided. You cant blame Sunak for the fact that if all MPs were sane they could have a vote tomorrow and amend the EA (or even get rid of the GRA).

The idea that there are enough voters on mumsnet for any party to change a policy is just unrealistic.

And I dont think the tories gain by leaking this, because the Tories now that dont have enough parliamentary time to hold a HoC debate, nor that enough MPs would vote on principle and not on Party lines. Far more likely that Stonewall etc., want to portray the Tories as stoking the anit woke war.

And probably think that if they did give this parliamentary time when so much else is FU they would lose credibility ie even those who support women's sex based rights, do not think that in the face of cost of living, housing (lack of), NHS, Ukraine, that this is a priority. Why? Because it only benefits women.

The only way a vote will happen before the next GE is enough MPs of all parties indicate this is a priority. Then the Tories can feel they wont be setting themselves up for a defeat in the HoC.

So I'm afraid, that nice as it might be to blame one man, and even though Boris may have given the impression that politics is a one man show, it isn't. Its about getting a consensus, not only in your own party, but in the other parties.

Suspect they are also waiting on the outcome of the 2 legal cases due to be heard. From the intro to the Westminster Hall debate, the message is it isn't possible to discuss the issue openly until both court cases are completed.

May is fully committed to gender ideology, and as minister for women and equalities got to set the tone from the get go. Most of the other ministers who followed her seemed to be the same.

Neither Cameron or May, when she was PM, really address concerns . I remember a series of ministers coming on here either telling us we were bigots, or making empty promises - remember trans prison wings?

It wasn't until truss and badenoch were in the women and equalities department that things changed. Rather than the leadership being unaware of the damage, i think it was policy until around 2020.

At least now, things are changing. But it seems that they are tackle problems as they arise - changing prison policy as a reaction to the trans women rapist in Scotland, and commissioning the Cass report. Rather than getting to thr root of it all.

Thank you both, very insightful.

I thought that the way that this was reported on the ITV 10 o'clock news was interesting.

They played the video and then the main newsreader talked to a reporter who said that some people are finding the comments transphobic and offensive but other people would think that they were commonsense and that it was those people who Sunak would be trying to appeal to.

I'm sure that a year ago, the video wouldn't have been presented in such a low key way, with both points of view being given equal weight.

It wasn't the outrage that Pink News had been hoping for.

I'm sure that a year ago, the video wouldn't have been presented in such a low key way, with both points of view being given equal weight.

Interesting - good to know.

Not many news channelsreported the Westminster Hall debate, but I suppose in terms of news, a leaked video, PM and so on, is more "exciting".

I'm not a fan of the Tory Party, but remember that it's the left-wing that is pushing the culture war, and the Tory Party is just meekly pushing back.

If they are exploiting the issue for political gain, well they couldn't do that if the lefties hadn't gone mad and started the culture war in the first place.