I’m not a Tory. I still believe that fundamentally Keir Starmer is a decent human. I normally vote Labour.
And yet, despite some outliers, the Tories have become the party more willing to speak out about the issues with gender ideology and the importance of biological sex.
I think there are a tiny handful within the Tories who really do believe the rights of women are important, but largely I recognise that most of them don’t give a shit - they just know it’s a vote winner. Boris is the perfect example. He doesn’t care about women but he knows it’s a popular thing to say.
Labour have historically been poor on this issue and were very keen on introducing self-ID until it became clear that it would be electoral suicide. There are a few lone voices within Labour, like Rosie, but on the whole, the prominent Labour figures have been vigorously TWAW. Even now, the individuals appointed to promote women’s rights are vociferously TWAW and a very poor fit for the position.
As I said earlier, Wes Streeting seems to have had a change of heart and has refused to back down on Cass. I hope that as the tide turns Labour will row back from their previous position and accept that biological women deserve consideration too. It doesn’t yet seem to be a widespread view but I think Streeting is usually a good bellwether.
I’m not convinced that Cass would have happened under Labour, even though it was technically commissioned by NHS England. These things always have a root in politics, wrong though that may be. The Tories adopting a gender critical stance has helped, undoubtedly.
The Tories are horrendous for women in practically every other way, doubly so if you’re not wealthy or have a disability. But on gender they have been better, even though they did make a few missteps in the past.
Doesn’t mean the Tories are a good bunch, or that they got everything about gender right. But on gender alone, they’ve been the best party for a while - just a shame they’re so shit about everything else.