Starmer furious that Sunak should mention his definition of ‘woman’

[HagoftheNorth]

PMQ’s today, Sunak highlighted Starmer’s famous comments that some women have a penis. Starmer was furious that Sunak should make that comment while Mrs Ghey was in the chamber. Surely Starmer should realise that it is possible to be respectful and compassionate about trans people without parroting the insane lie that transwomen are women (because ‘woman’ is sex not gender)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-68229785

Me, I'm quite happy in the 'neither of them come out of it with much credit' camp. But some posters seem to be searching for a hero harder than Bonnie Tyler! 😄

You may agree with Sunak's ideology, you may disagree with it.

But we can all agree that he's just awful at politics.

Always such bad optics, every time.

Blossomtoes have you watched PMQ or just the little snippet that was linked earlier?

You clearly have no idea how PMQ works, it's rather like a pantomine. I don't like it much. Too much heckling but lots of accusations thrown BOTH ways. The opposition starts questions then the PM makes rebuttals.

None of that takes away from the fact that Starmer is the one who has used Brianna's murder to silence debate.

I know exactly how PMQ should work - and used to when we had grown ups in government.

Oh come on it's perfectly reasonable and usual for the PM to heckle the leader of the opposition as well.

Agree.

Your version of PMQs bears no resemblance to any I've ever seen. Of course the PM bites back.

Starmer tries to make jokes and carries on just as much

Yes but they could have that debate when Brianna’s mother isn’t sitting in the public gallery. Wasn’t that the issue?

I doubt very much that anyone would have reacted to this in any way had Starmer not used Brianna's murder to avoid answering questions.

Are people on these boards really so
ignorant? Starmer isn’t there to answer any questions. It’s his role to ask the PM questions and for the PM to answer them. Sunak NEVER answers a question, he’s the one doing the avoiding by attacking Labour.
And has used the “Starmer doesn’t know what a woman” is about every other week!

Also how anyone can say it’s appropriate to talk about the definition of a woman, when you’ve just been told the mother of a murdered trans teenager is in the vicinity, is sickening. I’ve just listened to R4 and even the Sun newspaper reporter said dispite the vast majority of the public agreeing we must talk about women’s rights in the light of Trans rights, doing so when you know Brianna’s mother is there, is not a decent thing to do. If The Sun is having a go at Sunak he’s well and truly jumped the shark.

That’s probably because you’re too young to have seen it done in the way it’s intended. There was a time when we had grown up MPs with some gravitas, not buffoons trading cheap gibes.

Yes it is. It annoys me a bit because I think both sides gloss over important points too much in a bid to dig at the other rather than actually explain their positions. BUT the format has been that way for as long as I can remember. Both sides heckle each other.

Answering questions was perhaps the wrong turn of phrase.

Is to silence debate better?

PMQ starts of by asking questions of the Prime Minister but ends up with a debate with heckling from both sides.

Either way it was Starmer who used a child's murder to stifle debate not Sunak.

This

Her daughter was brutally murdered for no reason, I highly doubt she gives a shit about some perceived “transphobia”. She’s got bigger things plaguing her mind I imagine. Poor woman

Have you ever watched PMQs from start to finish? It’s not a debate at all! A debate entails both people being able to speak, back and forth. PMQs is a series of questions being put to the Pm. He’s supposed to answer the question but never does, he waffles on about what a fantastic job he thinks his goverment have done then sits down.

And Starmer wasn’t silencing debate, he was pointing out that as he’d just mentioned that the mother of a murdered teenager was in the house, it was despicable of the PM to make that jibe at Starmer.

Either way it was Starmer who used a child's murder to stifle debate not Sunak.

The bulk of public opinion disagrees with you. They had to close the comments on this on The Telegraph website (of all places) because Sunak was getting such a pasting.

Agree with you. As I said above I’ve just heard a Sun journalist on R4 stating Starmer was completely out of order. So the two most right wing and Government supporting newspapers in the country disagree with the view that all this is Starmer’s fault.
I’m as GC as they come and have been for years, but Sunak’s comment was despicable today.

Starmer was right to intervene - honestly, it was basic manners for anyone to do so at that point.

Sunak’s comments were deeply inappropriate. The arguments on here saying otherwise show that people don’t understand what PMQ stands for. It certainly isn’t to hold Starmer to account.

Yes I watched today. Heckling from both sides as usual 👍

I think it’s a shame that people have been manipulated to believe that some topics/ women’s right should be off limits in the HoC. The only person who politicised a child’s murder and even raised it was Starmer.

The topic isn't off limits.

Insensitive point-scoring when a bereaved mother happens to be in the vicinity is.

Public opinion isnt btl comments and journalists views.

Half the problems we have are because politicians take too much notice about social media comments and journalists.

Agree shame on Starmer for doing that .

Was there a reason why Brianna's mum was there today?

Sunak wanted to meet with her. She’s campaigning for social media controls etc.