Tories plan to amend Equality Act to protect single-sex spaces

[IwantToRetire]

Government considers manifesto pledge to overhaul New Labour’s equality laws in effort to protect women-only spaces and female sports

The Conservatives are preparing to revive Rishi Sunak’s leadership pledge to overhaul New Labour’s equality laws, in an effort to protect single-sex spaces and women’s sports.

Senior government figures are considering a manifesto commitment to amend the Equality Act, which the Prime Minister previously said had become a “trojan horse” for “woke nonsense”.

The commitment would include an <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/5ZIFq/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/03/13/fix-equality-act-restore-sanity-to-trans-debate/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amendment to the 2010 Equality Act, passed while Gordon Brown was prime minister, “to make it unambiguously clear that sex means biological sex,” said a source familiar with the discussions. Such a move would “remove the current vagueness which is exploited to undermine women’s rights, security and competition in sport”.

It would mean sex being defined by someone’s biological sex rather than their affirmed, or “acquired” gender, making it easier to bar those born as men from women-only spaces and female sporting events.

It could also include <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/5ZIFq/www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/04/biological-women-protected-equality-law-change/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">a wider review of the legislation, which Mr Sunak said during his 2022 leadership campaign was used to “engage in social engineering to which no one has given consent.”

Part of a longer article at https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/03/16/rishi-sunak-amend-equality-act-single-sex-spaces-sport/

Note: title says plans, sub title says considers!!

Article can also be read at https://archive.ph/5ZIFq

Why a manifesto commitment for a potential new term? If they were serious about it rather than wanting to use it for political point-scoring, they'd do it now.

Still, it's better that the Tories are now talking about this and not talking about implementing self-ID policies.

Why a manifesto commitment for a potential new term? If they were serious about it rather than wanting to use it for political point-scoring, they'd do it now.

Not sure they can just decide to do it and shove it into the parliamentary schedule at short notice?

Encouraging. KB talks about trying to do it this Parliament and if it isn't possible, only then making it a manifesto commitment.
There's an element of kite flying, clearly, but they must be starting to see women's rights as a potential vote winner. Or at least a vote loser for Labour if they oppose the clarification and amendments.
Bit nervous about what they might consider "woke nonsense", though.

I think both PPs have misread the first paragraph.

ie it is saysthere was a pledge, they didn't act on, now they are thinking of reviving it - it is spelt out in the article. Have provided link both to original source and archive source.

Personally I wouldn't have thought they have time to push this through even if the GE is delayed to the very last moment.

Or maybe it is easier than any of us thought?!

Yes, but the previous pledge was only RS in the leadership campaign, less binding than the manifesto (not that the manifesto is truly binding, but at least it's meant to be, politically - or 'persuasive'). Now they're considering putting it in the manifesto.

I can't see anything in that article that says they might try and get it through this term of Parliament, only that it might be a manifesto pledge.

And I don't remember a leadership pledge from Sunak about this. I suppose he might have said something vague about the Equality Act but I'm pretty sure any specific promise would have attracted a lot of discussion on this board.

What I do remember is that they made some positive noises about clarifying the EA at least a year ago, when there still might have been time to present a bill this Parliament.

So given that plus their apparent lack of enthusiasm for Liz Truss's PM bill, and the way some Tory MPs joined Labour in the ferret chat that prevented it being heard on Friday, this sounds to me like cynical behaviour of the highest order.

@IwantToRetire Personally I wouldn't have thought they have time to push this through even if the GE is delayed to the very last moment.

Or maybe it is easier than any of us thought?!

Deapite a few recent by-election defeats, they still have a big majority. They could try this if they really thought it was important and make the opposition and House of Lords actually say out loud that women’s rights don’t matter compared to males’ desire for validation in a paraphilia…

That the Tories aren’t doing this is an indication of how trustworthy they are(n’t)

They really will say anything to buy votes. They've been in power for ages and could and would have done this if they wished to. Now they need to desperately get votes (having already done irreparable damage to the country) and are saying whatever they feel will make them popular. It's a bit like the childcare thing, I wonder how long the new 'free' aspect will last if they get voted in again.

This, in spades. Just get on with it now.

Depressing, for all the above reasons. Just do it now please, tories 😔

they’re all utter bastards on this issue, dangling women’s rights as some kind of prize IF they get in next time. Vote for us ladies and we might consider undoing some of the damage we’ve allowed to happen.They’ve known for a good 18 months now how bad the damage is that’s already been done and how much women have lost and could have done something. The fact they’ve chosen not too but to instead use it as a stick to beat Labour shows they give no more of a fuck about women’s rights than Labour do

I’m not sure why people are depressed this is what is required

My preference is for debate not this ludicrous avoiding by Labour

Not everyone agrees, let’s vote on it

It’s not going to just happen it needs mandate

I wouldn't say I'm depressed, more utterly jaded.

If this is genuine why didn't they put it in the Kings Speech for debate this Parliament? Surely they were talking about this at least a year ago - they've had time.

And why the lack of enthusiasm for Liz Truss's bill?

We’ve never really been asked about any of this. The GRA was introduced and wasn’t highlighted or even in the Labour manifesto

Since then the harms have mounted up where previously very few noticed now it’s clear with males entering more spaces

There was a thread on here from the GRA about what would happen, eg males wouldn’t want to compete with females in sports well that was pretty bloody hopeless and lacking foresight. They couldn’t have been blinder to the impact on women and children if they tried.

What I want is there to be a debate and a vote

They could have done this whilst in power, but they would rather “save” it inorder to play politics.

The Tory’s do not give a damn about women and girls rights. I will never vote for them.

What I want is there to be a debate and a vote

Me too. Get it all out in the open, let sunlight in and let the public SEE what is being demanded by the genderists and then see what sane MPs would like to happen to ensure the protection of girls and women.

But sooner rather than later please.

There could have been a debate last Friday.

Sunak could have openly supported Truss's bill. Instead Tory MPs played their part in preventing it from happening.

If they do this and Labour respond at least we’ll know what we’re getting

If people vote for it then they’ve made their decision

I might vote for them if they actually do bring in legislation in this Parliament, but not otherwise. Two can play at the game of dangling carrots.

Not voting Labour, unless they commit unequivocally to supporting women's rights.

Again that debate could have happened on Friday. I agree it would have been very instructive to see Labour's response.

Yes I really want to see them out themselves as the MRAs that they seem to be - it would be an eye opener for some people no doubt.

Sunlight!

KB does say they want to try to get it through this Parliament, it's some way so the article.

The King's Speech had a (deliberately?) opaque line at the end about bringing in other legislation. So they could do it. There seems to be one place in that article where it can be read as though they're doing it now. Then another - possibility two - where they say it's for the manifesto.

IIRC a conversion therapy ban was never in the Tory manifesto and yet that's been forced by the loud shouty TRA lobby so I doubt the technical point of a manifesto even matters.

They need to do it now. It's gone on long enough. They can legislate on XL bully dogs and put us all in an extended lockdown can't they? Then they can do this. It's another public safety issue, if that's how they need to frame it.

I will also say that I agree with Eastern in that a manifesto commitment will force Labour to stop fart arsing about too. And like Floisme, by this point I just feel jaded.

I have no objection to it earlier, that would be great. It would still force Labour to respond via MP votes

I also will take a GE debate and people can decide

My bigger fear is Labour continue to push this to the background no one is talking about it nonsense and we don’t have any debate

The TRA lobby is still very powerful in the tories. The chair of Stonewall was a tory for 30 years until he realised that supporting labour instead might continue to enable his career better. He displayed considerable levels of incoherence in this interview with Beth Rigby, only to reverse all his attempts to offer constructive debate when he got back to the Stonewall office:
Lots of extracts in this Sex Matters piece:

https://sex-matters.org/posts/single-sex-services/stonewall-chair-speaks-and-then-recants/