WEC to question the EHRC Chair and Chief Executive 11 June 2025 2:20pm

[IwantToRetire]

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) will question the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Falkner of Margravine in Parliament on Wednesday, 11 June during its annual scrutiny session of the EHRC.

Venue: The Thatcher Room, Portcullis House
Watch live: Visit parliamentlive.tv Women and Equalities Committee

The Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) will question the Chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, Baroness Falkner of Margravine in Parliament on Wednesday, 11 June during its annual scrutiny session of the EHRC.

MPs on the cross-party committee, chaired by Labour MP Sarah Owen, will discuss the EHRC’s work and resources and wider equalities policy, including the implications of the For Women Scotland Supreme Court judgment and the EHRC’s subsequent consultation on the Code of Practice.

The Committee will hear from the EHRC’s Chief Executive, John Kirkpatrick, alongside Baroness Falkner.

Witnesses
Starting at 2.20pm
Baroness Kishwer Falkner of Margravine, Chair, Equality and Human Rights Commission
John Kirkpatrick, Chief Executive, Equality and Human Rights Commission

https://committees.parliament.uk/committee/328/women-and-equalities-committee/news/207403/wec-to-question-the-ehrc-chair-and-chief-executive/

(I came across this by chance whilst looking for a date for the WEC interview with Mary-Ann Stephenson but could find nothing - anybody know when it will be.)

oooooooh - now she's said it.

Trans community may have had more faith in previous EHRC Chair, but then they had formerly been Chair of Stonewall!!

Falkner pointing out that they can’t win, they would have been hauled over the coals if they hadn’t put out any update quickly.

CEO suggests that the consultation guidance is followed right now, as "the best that's currently available".

“We’ve heard a lot about the biological sex interpretation of the judgment” - yes, that’s what the whole thing was about and what the ruling was 🙄

Ideas for new names for the WEC?

Committee for Abolition of Female Rights

Royal Society for the Prevention of Women

Down With Women

Is it just me, or are almost all the members of the committee making an argument on the basis that you can't possibly clock a TW unless they're not allowed to use the ladies?

Maybe like the WEP suggestion, the Whatever and Equalities Committee.

I'm not being funny, but watching the WEC sometimes feels like an argument against female suffrage. Thank God for Rosie.

Wimpund and Equalities Committee

The Chair asked Falkner how she could tell she was a “cisgender woman” whatever she means by that.

Do these people not understand that the Supreme Court has made a ruling.

If they think it is wrong they are MPs and can re write the act.

This hostile personal attack of one woman, because the law has pointed out the TRAs have been in the wrong.

Falkner, like me, thought the SC would rule in favour of the Scottish Government. The EHRC intervened to say that the EA would need to be clarified. I’m pleased that I was wrong.

A 'better act' would be to destroy women and homosexual people's equalities and protections in law (and disabled peoples too in a number of ways) in order to remove all boundaries from men with trans identities.

Lets be honest about this. It would be a male supremacism act if all the inconvenient bits about having to respect other people's rights were removed.

Baroness Falkner is phenomenal isn’t she? Her abilities are particularly highlighted by the contrast.

I can only hope that the TRA controlled narrative is really, really pissing her off and helps her realise the need for absolute clarity in the guidance.

When I filled it in I made the point that there was no room for ambiguity as it would enable the spreading of misinformation.

I did the same. Mention of 'very small words' might also have been in there.

I dont think that it the issue at all. She will, as she keeps saying just get on her do her job.

The problem is the MPs are going out of their way to undermine anything she does.

They are trying to make her the issue.

Not that the EA a Labour construct is undermined by the inclusion of the GRA into the EA.

You forget, democracy is about the tiny lobby group that screams the loudest

The reason they don’t like the update is that they don’t want to abide by it. It’s not really the fault of the EHRC that they disagree with the ruling.

Oh yes of course they put the guidance out without legal advice 🙄 🙄

As if the Supreme Court ruling would stop the debate and hostilities.

This has all been a nightmare for Falkner, and sadly by the time she leaves it will still be a full on battle.

egged on by these hopelessly biased MPs.

they did take legal advice of course, I’m being sarcastic

What we have here is a room full of feckless MPs who don't like the SC ruling that makes trans identified males sad; who could push for legislation to reflect their viewpoint but know there's little appetite from the government for that; and who are trying to badger the EHRC into finding ways for the law to be ignored.

Select committees usually do a fairly good job, but I've seen nothing to undermine my view that the WEC is parliament's Muppet Show.

Perfectly put 👏