Labour Manifesto

[AstonUniRank]

FWR relevant bits:

'Tackling violence against women and girls

For too long, violence against women and girls has been ignored. Our landmark mission to halve violence against women and girls in a decade will require a national effort. We will use every government tool available to target perpetrators and address the root causes of abuse and violence.
That starts with tougher enforcement and protection. With Labour, there will be specialist rape and sexual offences teams in every police force. The most prolific and harmful perpetrators will be relentlessly targeted, using tactics normally reserved for terrorists and organised crime.
Prosecution rates for rape are shamefully low with many victims dropping out of the justice system when faced with years of delays. Labour will fast-track rape cases, with specialist courts at every Crown Court location in England and Wales.
Victims deserve better support. Building on the success of the approach adopted by Labour Police and Crime Commissioners, we will introduce domestic abuse experts in 999 control rooms so that victims can talk directly to a specialist, and ensure there is a legal advocate in every police force area to advise victims from the moment of report to trial.
Violence and abuse against women and girls does not come from nowhere. Misogyny is one root cause, and therefore Labour will ensure schools address misogyny and teach young people about healthy relationships and consent. We will ensure police forces have the powers they need to track and tackle the problem.
Stalking has not been treated with the seriousness it deserves. Labour will strengthen the use of Stalking Protection Orders and give women the right to know the identity of online stalkers. Spiking is a devastating crime for victims, leaving many women feeling vulnerable when they go out. Labour will introduce a new criminal offence for spiking to help police better respond to this crime.
We will strengthen the rights and protections available to women in co-habiting couples, as well as for whistleblowers in the workplace, including on sexual harassment.'

Crime/Justice

'Labour will give His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary, Fire & Rescue Services new powers to intervene with failing forces. We will introduce mandatory professional standards on vetting, checks and misconduct for individual officers; and stronger training on racism and violence against women and girls. Anyone with a history of violence against women and girls will be barred from the service and we will introduce automatic suspensions if officers are investigated for domestic abuse and sexual offences. Particular care is required when investigating children. Labour will introduce new legal safeguards around strip-searching children and young people.'

...

'Even when criminals are found guilty, the sentences they receive often do not make sense either to victims or the wider public. This is particularly worrying for offences against women and girls. Labour will carry out a review of sentencing to ensure it is brought up to date.'

Equality:

'Respect and equality for all

Everyone in this country deserves a government that matches their ambition. Labour will ensure no matter whatever your background, you can thrive, and therefore we will enact the socio-economic duty in the Equality Act 2010.
Women’s equality will be at the heart of our missions. Our plan to Make Work Pay will transform the lives of working women, including by strengthening rights to equal pay and protections from maternity and menopause discrimination and sexual harassment. And Labour will take action to reduce the gender pay gap, building on the legacy of Barbara Castle’s Equal Pay Act.'

'Labour will protect LGBT+ and disabled people by making all existing strands of hate crime an aggravated offence.So-called conversion therapy is abuse – there is no other word for it –* *so Labour will finally deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, while protecting the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity.
We will also modernise, simplify, and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a new process. We will remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance; whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor, enabling access to the healthcare pathway.
Labour is proud of our Equality Act and the rights and protections it affords women; we will continue to support the implementation of its single-sex exceptions.'

Ensuring patient safety

'Childbirth should not be something women fear or look back on with trauma. Labour will ensure that trusts failing on maternity care are robustly supported into rapid improvement. We will train thousands more midwives as part of the NHS Workforce Plan and set an explicit target to close the Black and Asian maternal mortality gap.
Labour will digitise the Red Book record of children’s health, improving support for new families. We will also enable vaccinations for babies and children as part of health visits.
So much of the treatment in the NHS is dependent on the effective administration of services. Managers need support and accountability. Labour will implement professional standards and regulate NHS managers, ensuring those who commit serious misconduct can never do so again. And we will establish a Royal College of Clinical Leadership to champion the voice of clinicians.
We will work to implement the expert recommendations of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care.'

'Children and young people face significant harm online, with inappropriate content too easily available at their fingertips on a smartphone. We have seen an increase in extreme misogynistic content online driving a culture of violence against women. Labour will build on the Online Safety Act, bringing forward provisions as quickly as possible, and explore further measures to keep everyone safe online, particularly when using social media.'

It's me, by the way, namechange cockup.

Anyway, that's everything I could find that I thought relevant to FWR, broadly. If anyone else finds anything do stick it in the thread!

This may be of interest to mums:

'We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.'

Also this

Labour will ensure the safe development and use of AI models by introducing binding regulation on the handful of companies developing the most powerful AI models and by banning the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes.

Are there similar threads for the other parties please?

I did one for the Conservatives yesterday, there is one for the Greens and one for the Libdems.

'We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy, by giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.'

This would be totally amazing!
What a gamechanger

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5095458-conservative-manifesto?reply=135982453

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5095329-green-party-manifesto

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5093644-lib-dem-manifesto

So no definition if the word 'woman' or who they would include in the category 'women' anywhere in the manifesto?

Which half of women and girls will be protected?

From my experiences of working with and supporting 16/17 year olds plus my own kids I don't think it a good move at all!

The TRAs won't be happy with the medical gatekeeping on principle, despite all the other concessions.

No huge surprises then.

GRC process to require a "specialist" doctor" , so not just a GP. That is I suppose marginally less terrible than I anticipated. But still seems open to gender GP style diagnoses for cash.

"We will continue to support the implementation of its single-sex exceptions"
I guess this means leave the law exactly as it is then? With no further clarity or protection offered.

Q [From Sky’s Beth Rigby] There is nothing new in this. Rishi Sunak threw the kitchen sink at his manifesto. You won’t even take the safety catch off. Is this a Captain Caution manifesto?

Nailed it! This is such weak sauce - a shopping list of nice things with no real meat to it.

Except ...... they managed to promise a conversion ban and easy GRCs.

And what's with 'continue to support single-sex exceptions (sic)'?

Does anyone know when recording 'gender' for gender pay stats, whether trans women are included within women?

Because they will have had all of the male privilege and making it easier to 'officially' identify as a trans woman will increase the numbers and therefore artificially decrease the pay gap.

How can Labour accurately reduce the pay gap if they can't accurately identify the pay gap?

Just one of many contradictions in their desire to improve life for women.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/bulletins/genderpaygapintheuk/2023

https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/methodologies/aguidetosourcesofdataonearningsandincome

I'd imagine data on the 'gender pay gap' comes from individual employers, so I imagine it will depend on employers. I'm looking for guidance on recording.

Does anyone know when recording 'gender' for gender pay stats, whether trans women are included within women?

Its where it all gets confusing. Starmer will say that sex and gender are different, then talk about gender pay gaps.

Is pay really dependent on a sense of inner identity or presentation?

I work with many youth services and I know for sure that many many young people have clear ideas of how they'd like the country to prioritise.
There are seventeen 16-18 yr olds in my family and circle of friends, and they are sound as a pound and more switched on than many adults.

The one's that don't have much to say on what would help the country probably won't take part - much like with the adult population.

This. Also if the GRA law is "outdated" then that's because there's no need for it. No need as the Tories brought in same-sex marriage. The parallel "not marriage cos you're gay" civil partnerships was the height of homophobia and I still can't believe it was celebrated.

So if they're saying they're gonna repeal the GRA then great! Obviously they aren't and the actual plan is to give away Lady Tickets on cereal packets.

https://www.sdworx.co.uk/en-gb/resources/payroll/its-all-question-gender

Article from 2017.

'Under the Equality Act 2010, it is unlawful to discriminate against a person with protected characteristic of gender reassignment – a transsexual person, or a person mistakenly perceived to be a transsexual person.
For Gender Pay Gap Reporting (GPGR), the action is different. In cases where an individual does not self-identify as either gender, an employer may remove that individual from the GPGR calculations, even though for tax purposes a gender type of male or female has been applied.
Employers may be in a position of needing to be able to record legal Gender for tax purposes, and gender choice (which could be different) to meet the requirement of the Equalities Act 2010.
So yes, legal current gender on payroll must be male or female, but as for HR records, there may be a need for a separate HR gender preference or neutrality different to the payroll record gender.'

Where is the Beth Rigby quote from please, clavecinist?

DS, at 16, knew more about politics than most. What needs to happen is to capture those 16/17 year olds and ensure that they understand that voting is important

Ah, here we go. Recent advice from gov. [my bold]

'Recording employees’ gender

It is important for you to be sensitive to how an employee identifies their gender. The gender pay gap regulations do not define the terms ‘men’ and ‘women’.
You should not single out employees and question them about their gender. To reduce the risk of this, try to use information employees have already provided, such as in HR or payroll records.
If this information is unavailable or unreliable, find a way to allow employees to confirm or update their gender. For example, invite them to check their recorded gender and update it if needed.
If an employee does not self-identify as either gender, you can exclude them from your calculations.'

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/gender-pay-gap-reporting-guidance-for-employers/preparing-your-data