WOMAN'S HOUR TODAY!

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Today's WH is as follows - Woman's Hour Election Debate. In a special extended 90 minute programme, Nuala McGovern hosts the Woman's Hour Election Debate. Senior women from the main political parties of Great Britain outline their priorities for women and answer your questions. Taking part are: Scottish National Party spokesperson for Consular Affairs and International Engagement Hannah Bardell; Reform UK candidate Maria Bowtell; Green Party spokesperson for Housing and Communities Ellie Chowns; Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats Daisy Cooper; Conservative Minister of State for Disabled People, Health and Work Mims Davies; Labour Party Chair and Shadow Secretary for Women and Equalities Anneliese Dodds, and Plaid Cymru’s Westminster Leader Liz Saville Roberts.

Questions via text 84844 or WhatsApp - 03700100444

I intend to send something like the following - Given that you are all designated senior women politicians, speaking as such on Woman's Hour, can we possibly decide an answer to the question - What is a woman?

Send in yours!

I wish there were two extra boxes:
'I can't be arsed to think about it so not voting for anyone' (though those people tend to stay at home)
and
'You're all a bunch of incoherent tossers and I can't in conscience vote for any of you'.

I don't think that's in the Reform policies though is it? 😂

And it's an unhinged leap from people should have children to: you are a Nazi.

I think people should have children. I think on balance family is good for individuals and society and leads to a fulfilling life.

I don't think howveer they should be made to have children, and I think there are people for whom it's not true. That's fine.
Both things can be true without shouting Nazi.

Why did you start another thread when there already was one??!

I started listening to this on the way to work and was raging at what I heard. Asked what’s a woman? all the women candidates apart from Reform and the conservatives didn’t answer the question asked but instead started banging on about something else mainly trans rights. I’m an undecided voter so this maybe what decides how I vote because what’s the point of taxes, public services, employment/ education reforms etc if it becomes so unsafe for women and girls in the UK due to the TRAs we eventually become trapped in our homes unable to go out with a chaperone due to the threat of male violence which is a reality for my colleague when she visits her family in Delhi, India. I’m absolutely sickened by these women politicians who have benefitted massively from women’s rights sacrifice all of it on the altar of their ideology.

I really don't know how to vote in my constituency. We had a hustings where the 'what is a woman' question was posed.

Labour: knows what a woman is (interestingly, also used 'adult female' - maybe they've been told to miss out the human?)
Conservative: knows what a woman is
Reform: knows what a woman is but didn't think much of us as a category, frankly
Independent: genuinely surprised by the question, has clearly not thought about it (twat)
Green: Judith Butler is my girlfriend and you women are all horrid
Lib Dem: couldn't be arsed to turn up because he's too busy being very important (tub of lard candidate)

I want to vote for the Labour candidate who knows reality when he sees it but how can I vote for his party? I need some arguments to persuade me that voting for a candidate is not the same as voting for the party - I'm afraid history (and the election) won't see it that way.

Please don't. They have zero interest in women's rights.

I've written this feeling in different words before 🤣😁 you won't keep me from the ballot box, but I won't vote for lies,or an unwillingness to think critically and debate,or cowardice to speak reality!!

The problem with this is that other parties will interpret a vote for Reform as a sign that the UK wants a Right of Centre, Populist government and potentially move to the right (so you’ll get more politicians like Farage and Bravermen). I don’t want this, I want a left wing government that cares about women and children (who are actually quite vulnerable) not just men who want to be women ( who do not seem to be vulnerable at all really).

My wife has a vagina and breasts, she is a woman and identifies as such!
I have a penis and testicles, I am a man and identify as one!
Cannot think of a more obvious definition.

Well, I would say Brianna Ghey had a pretty tough time

The only way I can vote is by candidate, not party. There are better and worse candidates in all parties.

Indeed. I feel great sympathy for all those who die violently and for their families. In addition, Brianna had been bullied and that's inexcusable too. Bullying is a problem in schools (and workplaces) and has been for a long time, for all sorts of reasons.

I do think, however, that it should be a given that mental health practitioners (and everyone else) should be honest with distressed youngsters. Nobody can change sex and the medical treatments associated with the affirmative approach are not going to lead to an improved quality of life, will destroy fertility, have a high chance of making it impossible to have a normal sexual response and may actually shorten life expectancy. These are difficult and unpalatable facts to face given that some people's lives have already been ruined by this approach, but they do seem to be facts, and I want politicians to get to grips with them.

@Tiredalwaystired - Briana's murder was shocking and I have nothing but sympathy and respect for her family.

You bringing her into this debate about trans people having a tough time is pretty low IMHO.

If you really want to use victims of violent crime to make your point (and using individuals in this context is v disrespectful) then you are on a hiding to nothing. Women and girls are having much more of a "tough time" in our society than trans people.

@maltravers trust me, the parties now know that woman = AHF is a decider for many women. And they know that Reform will pick up votes because they are clearer on this issue than almost everyone else.

The Communist Party is also clear on this, vote for them if they have a candidate in your constituency!

I'm so proud of the 1,000s of women who have made this an election issue.

The Lib Dem woman seemed to be making a good argument for repeal of the GRA. She said having a GRC had no impact on single-sex spaces and it was purely for the purpose of falsifying information on birth and death certificates.

She implied that there's absolutely no point to a GRC, since there's no point in having incorrect information recorded on official documents, so we should just scrap the GRA (obviously she didn't say that).

When Labour say “Adult Female”, they’re saying what they think we want to hear so that we vote for them. When you dig a little deeper, you find that many of them include TW in that category. It’s a very cynical, disingenuous answer.

yes, about the sum of it 🙄

I just said the same thing to dh!

If you’re against everything else they stand for, then it’s not necessarily sensible to vote for them as a protest vote. They are an anti immigration party first and foremost and there is no way of making clear that it’s their position on trans stuff that is the basis of your vote. If they get a significant percentage of the vote (albeit not likely to be seats) it will be taken as a signal that people are anti immigration, not that it’s about the trans stance.

I’m not suggesting not voting, but I would spoil my ballot paper by writing a GC slogan rather than vote Reform. Spoilt ballot papers are read by the parties so it still gets your message across.

WTF? Why exactly do you think she was murdered?

Your argument is lacking. It was precisely because she was a trans woman she had a tough time.

there are equally lots of women out there having a tough time because they are women. I could bring in Sarah Everard here. Or is that disrespectful too? Because I think that also valid.

I somehow feel if her name had been raised in this debate your response would have been the same.

If you think Reform know what a woman is, then please read their manifesto/contract. They plan to repeal the equality act!

@Tiredalwaystired - yes bringing Sarah Everard in to this debate is disrespectful too. HTH.

I thought it was widely accepted that Brianna Ghey wasn’t killed because of transphobia?

The killers had others on their hit list but Brianna was just easier to pick off, unfortunately. Brianna was eager to please, anxious and that meant Brianna was a prime target. Trans hate wasn’t the reason for the murder so it feels a bit disingenuous to point to Brianna as “proof” of the fact that trans people have tough lives.

Not trying to be an arse but it is an important distinction.

Spoilt ballot papers are read by the parties so it still gets your message across

Only to check that it is actually spoilt (ie they’re not missing a vote they could have had). They don’t read the crap people write on them. They look through and occasionally pick out one and dispute it. They only watch the spoilt pile to make sure there aren’t any votes they can squeeze out of it. Nobody cares what you write on the spoilt ballot paper. The amount of spoilt votes are simply read out as part of the result, eg Con 5498, Lab 4123, LibDem 976, and 23 spoilt ballot papers.

WTF? Why exactly do you think she was murdered?
The judge directly stated that it should not be recorded as this.
And yet here we are, posters who think they know best.