JKR calls Labour's Bluff - Offering Meeting leadership only on her terms

[fromorbit]

JKR is playing at a different level. After Starmer and Reeves offered to meet with her she gave them her conditions.

I'll be happy to meet after NoXYinXXprisons, Lesbian Labour, Womens Rights Network, WomansPlaceUK and Alliance LGB have been given in person meetings with the Labour leadership. I'd also like to know whether Angela Rayner still considers the last two organisations hate groups.

They are trapped either they now have to meet with gay and women's groups and listen to them something they are desperate not to do. It is not impossible then that Reeves at least can be made to see some sense. Even talking with these groups and JKR will also make TRAs go ballistic and many will leave the party. Chances are that Labour will promise a bunch of stuff to JKR which If Labour still follow gender nonsense after that they can be fully held to account for. If they promise single sex spaces are safe then every time that is breached Labour's credibility will be on the line

Or if they refuse to meet with the groups they prove EVERYTHING JKR said in her essay was right.

The media are now hyping the meeting further locking Labour in

BRING IT ON
Keir Starmer insists he WILL meet with JK Rowling to thrash out trans and gender rights & ‘respects’ her views
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/28714134/keir-starmer-jk-rowling-trans/

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/jun/24/labour-gender-transition-recognition-process-trans.

Placemarking. Partly to watch JKR run rings around KS but also to enjoy TRAs having a meltdown at her demands.

It is kinda delicious.

She even gave us the heads up to buy shares in popcorn not so long ago.

I'm just watching Wes Streeting on Peston.
He's saying we've been too slow as a party to listen to women.
Or did I mis hear?

It is. I'm idly wondering now, if I was in Starmer's shoes, what would I do? I think I'd bottle it, try to kick the can down the road, plead the demands of an imminent election campaign, so many other issues, etc etc. There is now clearly no chance of facing JKR and coming out of it well, so why pursue it? Obviously nothing he does is going to look good.

Hun

He's been saying that for some time. He's previously apologised to Rosie D and has acknowledged that labour have treated women very badly. He actually gave ne hope that labour were starting to get it - and then Starmer spoke up and I gave up again.

I don't think Starmer will be Labour leader for long.

Thank you JKR!!! You're an amazing woman and I'm in awe of you!

Well bloody played. Its about time Labour listened to women and committed to protecting our and children's rights.

I doubt he'll come up with a straight answer, he'll weasel around it like always.

Thanks MrsO he's clearly very ambitious.

What do you think @duc748 will Wes go for it at some point against Angela/Jess?

LGB Alliance submitted an amicus curiae brief to ECtHR in support of the successful case brought by gay and lesbian Russians who want the Russian state to give some form of legal recognition and protection (e.g. civil partnerships) to same-sex partnerships. Granted, Russia is currently suspended from the Council of Europe and hence likely to disregard the ruling, however the ruling is binding on other CoE nations such as Romania. This ruling materially improves the lives of LGB people across Europe. Stonewall did nothing.

LGB Alliance have also started a helpline for LGB youth, some of whom no longer feel safe in "queer" spaces because they don't believe in gender identity and define their attraction as same-sex, not same-gender-identity. Stonewall's CEO considers these same youth to be "sexual racists".

Forgive me if I don't support your mischaracterisation of LGB Alliance.

Streeting will do whatever works for Streeting. Go back 20 years to his CUSU presidency and he showed that.

If Labour does want to meet gay amd women's organisations, why haven't they already done so? Why have they previously banned their own women's group from their conference?

Probably, yes. I agree with @MaidOfAle Although 'more adept than Starmer' is a low bar for any politician.

I think the closest you'll get to that is this podcast series where the interviewer (who left the Westboro Baptist Church) interviews separately Jo Rowling and trans people, and she is taking really the best faith arguments as possible - Steelmanning rather than Strawmanning. She also puts the whole thing into context.

It's really fascinating
https://open.spotify.com/show/2K186zrvRgeE2w0wQjbaw7?si=FJAIhsK6Tf21ENKZg84mYg

I think Jo says in this interview that people ask her to meet with them all the time, because they sincerely believe that if they could only explain it to her she would agree with them.

But she has read all their arguments and she doesn't. And the idea that someone could hear all the arguments and sincerely and reasonably disagree and still be a good person doesn't seem to occur to them.

Edited to correct spelling of Westboro

Didn't Rochdale happen under his watch?

'And the idea that someone could hear all the arguments and sincerely and reasonably disagree and still be a good person doesn't seem to occur to them.'

This attitude is extremely prevalent of late with some of the thread-ploppers on FWR 🤷‍♀️

No. Streeting wants his job and probably has the political smarts to get it. It's why he's coming out of all this sounding the most reasonable. I don't say that because I trust he's being truthful, he's just better at politicking than the others.

It doesn't matter whether Starmer ducks out the question for the next ten days or not. Sooner or later he either has to say YES to meeting JKRs terms or NO.

The press can see it and they will keep asking him about it.

JK Rowling issues ultimatum to Labour over 'hate groups'

https://www.thenational.scot/news/24408738.jk-rowling-issues-ultimatum-labour-hate-groups/

The Ultimatum will set the tone for any gender legislation Labour wants to do later on. It will be still be talked about in the 2028 election.

JKR is so good! Just when you think her approach can't get any better she surpasses herself. I'm sure she's not spending her evenings here, but a massive thank you to her and to everyone who is working on this. Feeling a lot more hopeful today.

Wouldn't it be class if she was an FWR Viper too?? 😍

I just love to imagine her posting "Fuckity Bye!" to someone who doesn't like beetroot or someone who objects to women having their own sex-based rights.

I know this isn't the top story for every news outlet, but thanks to JKR in what is nearly the last week of electioneering, she has put women's sex based rights at the top of questions in interviews.

Just to know that, when you think how long the media held out about talking about the attack on women's rights.

And not ignoring the groups that have been writing statements, campaigning on so on.

Although it probably wont change the outcome of the election (Starmer could just go to bed for a week as day by day the Tories make terrible headlines) it is something to celebrate.

If only all news channels were covering this. C4 news went out of its way not to have women's sex based rights as an issue, whilst basically devoting one segment of its news report to giving Labour an additional PPB.

Every time I think I couldn’t admire JKR anymore, she goes and proves me wrong.

Almost certainly the only person in an election campaign who's telling the truth, so there's that. Sadly, we don't hear enough of it from our politicians.

When the whole Diane Abbott fiasco happened, Rayner and Streeting were so quick off the mark, I said to my DH they are already fighting over who will replace him. I did watch Peston tonight, Streeting did quite well. Better than Starmer.