Reform gets confused by men in dresses

[fromorbit]

Looks like we need a thread to discuss how Reform finds it difficult to work out the difference between men and women after recent developments. This is not surprising at all remember it was the Tories who were key playing is promoting this stuff in the first place. Trump was previously fine with trans stuff. Gender ideas are regressive and conservative so they will always have a place on the right, though the left are pushing it hard as well.

Nigel Farage will NOT pledge to ban trans inmates from women's jails
By CLAIRE ELLICOTT WHITEHALL EDITOR

Nigel Farage has failed to commit to banning trans women from female prisons after his new justice adviser said they should not be automatically barred.

Vanessa Frake, a former prison governor who oversaw the detention of Rose West, said decisions on where to house inmates should be made on an 'individual basis'.

Asked for his views on her comments yesterday, the Reform UK leader told the Daily Mail: 'I've personally never worked in a prison so I can't answer [the question] but I think you'll find that the answer that you'll get from somebody who has worked in prisons at the highest possible level is, I think, basically it's about risk assessment, isn't it?

'But in terms of the problems in prisons, it's a relatively small one.'

A Reform spokesman later added of Ms Frake: 'An ex-prison governor... has a different opinion. That does not constitute party policy.'

In an interview to mark her appointment, Ms Frake said decisions about trans prisoners should be made on a case-by-case basis. But she told The Times that sexual offenders may need to be held in male prisons.

'It's all about the risk assessments for me, and each has to be done on an individual basis,' she said.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14970333/Nigel-Farage-NOT-pledge-ban-trans-inmates-womens-jails.html

Some sense from Joan Smith

Even Reform UK is falling prey to gender ideology Joan Smith
https://archive.ph/pIjQj

Even Reform UK, which has tried to position itself as a refuge for voters who are fed up with the trans-obsessed rhetoric of other parties, can’t keep its recruits on-message. A former prison governor, Vanessa Frake, had barely been announced as the party’s new justice advisor when she <a class="break-all" href="https://archive.ph/o/pIjQj/www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2025/08/04/reform-prison-tsar-vanessa-frake-trans-women-female-jails/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">declared that trans women should not be barred from women’s prisons. Her argument, which is unusual to say the least, seems to be that some female prisoners are horrible people, so it makes no sense to exclude trans-identified males.

Expect some big back tracking on this today...

Farage seems to be supporting Frake, or at least not contradicting her, according to an article in Politics Home:

'Reform UK leader Nigel Farage confused matters further when he was asked about the party's policy on trans prisoners at a press conference alongside Frake today.

'“Isn't it interesting that we run our country with people who become ministers, who generally have absolutely no idea of the subject matter they're talking about? I've personally never worked in a prison so I can't answer it,” Farage said.

'“Basically, it's about risk assessment, isn't it?” he added. “In terms of the problems in prisons, it's a relatively small one.”'

https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/reform-says-new-justice-advisers-view-trans-prisoners-party-policy

Edited to say that I now realise this quote is included in the Mail article. Sorry, everyone!

Hope not - I'm looking forward to transactivists taking on board that they're on the same side as the literal Nazis of Reform.

That's how it works, after all.

Exactly. Labour, greens and LDs are now aligned with Reform.

Still waiting for a politician with balls to show up, we have scarily few. Reform going out of their way to show they aren't it, ah well.

I can remember when St. Kemi was lauded for "knowing what a woman was".

Which makes me wonder how many Tory->Reform namechangers will have to find a new home now ? Or does racism trump that ?

I was just thinking the same thing!

This puts TRAs in an awkward position, doesn't it? A Reform politician basically taking the trans side.

I hope they realise they're aligned with the "far right" now...

Which does rather beg the question: What is Reforms policy ? On anything ? Elsewhere in the real world, a Reform council leader is calling for more immigration (as is Nigel Farage). So what's going on ?.

Kemi is loving this.

Kemi Badenoch
https://x.com/KemiBadenoch/status/1952347463534203172

A reminder that @Conservatives are the ONLY party standing up for women-only spaces. After the Supreme Court judgment, we shouldn’t be hearing anymore about men being put in women’s prisons. Yet here we are. As usual,
Reform have not done their homework and will make a big mess.

The election debates could be hilarious if Kemi and even Starmer [who finally managed to admit biology is a thing] can say women are real where Farage and the Greens are confused still.

Farage is being dismissive because he’s complacent and doesn’t see this as a major issue. He’s a fool. Doesn’t he realise how much it damaged Sturgeon?

Being strong on this is about the only weapon Badenoch has against Reform, so I hope she goes for it.

I hope they realise they're aligned with the "far right" now...

They always were. Look at the number of trans types who find it their natural home Willoughby etc. They are drawn to extremes.

It really is an open goal for her.

She already has... see my comment posted just before you.

I didn't realise that about IW 😬

This woman Vanessa Frake is clearly a hard nosed ex prison governor, who understands the dynamics of prisons as they were when she worked there. I think it’s wrong to just brush her away because like Farage the men in Reform are probably happy to just let her take the flak and defer to her assumed knowledge of female prisons - lots of GC voices need to get in the press refuting her view. Maybe Rhona Hotchkiss who was also a prison governor? Jo Phoenix.

Reform is just making up policy on the hoof. Which is what Labour appears to be doing as well. Reform can get away with this to an extent because they aren't currently in power.

They are but this woman is going to seem credible.

Possibly not by the end of the political day.

I hope not.

It actually suits Farage to have some blue water between Reform and the Tories. They are reaching a limit to growth based around the growing suspicion that they are really just a rebranded Tory party. And the more that perception grows, the less Reforms appeal to the non-Tory electorate (who are, let us not forget, the majority).

So a little bit of grey around trans issues is not to his disadvantage.

What would Hitler do ?

As much as I dislike reform he has a point about people running things they've no experience in.

I don't think it's helpful to compare Farage to Hitler. Hitler always wanted to kill each & every Jew alive. Even in his darkest day, Farage bears no resemblance. So it sounds like a fake thing, because it is.

Team Farage and Team Iran. He's a complete nutter.

He does, and that’s what people who aren’t invested in this issue will see. I’ll be very pleased if it pushes Starmer to affirm that women have the right to single sex prisons though, however much I think he is already dead in the water (Sorry Serendipity Jane).