Bridget Phillipson is failing to enforce judgment on female spaces - Akua Reindorf

[IwantToRetire]

For ten months many employers and service providers have ignored the High Court ruling and continued to allow males to use women’s facilities. ...

What is not a surprise is that this widespread defiance of the law has been brought about by a campaign of disinformation waged by trans rights activists. It was just such a campaign that convinced employers and service providers they were legally obliged to allow trans people to use opposite-sex facilities in the first place. That false idea should have been laid to rest by the judgment in For Women Scotland. Instead, activists claimed that the judgment is “not yet law” until parliament passes the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s statutory code of practice.

Simultaneously, they tried to ensure the code would not see the light of day by launching ill-conceived attacks on the judgment. Since September the code has been gathering dust on the desk of Bridget Phillipson, the women and equalities minister. ...

Extracts only - full article at https://www.thetimes.com/comment/columnists/article/bridget-phillipson-failing-female-spaces-t53tx67p0

And at https://archive.is/WboHt

Thank you! Ive registered to hear her on a WRN webinar tomorrow night and am looking forward to hearing her views. She’s a fabulous speaker

Have to say it is the last paragraph in the article that sums it up for me:

The High Court dismissed all the arguments deployed by GLP’s barristers against an interim update published by the EHRC last year. It also rejected the submissions made on behalf of Phillipson, who was an interested party in the case. Having stated that she was taking a neutral stance, her submissions were obviously aligned with those of GLP.

A letter sent by GLP to Phillipson on the same day demanded that she return the code to the EHRC to be rewritten, on the basis that it was now clearly “wrong about the law”. Nothing in the High Court’s judgment remotely resembled this egregious spin.

Depressingly, at least three MPs immediately went in to bat alongside GLP. It is likely that these backbench interventions will intensify the pressure on Phillipson. Earlier political leadership might have headed off these outcomes. Its absence has created the ideal conditions for this most toxic of the so-called culture wars to escalate.

ie

Earlier political leadership might have headed off these outcomes.

Its absence has created the ideal conditions for this most toxic of the so-called culture wars to escalate.

IANAL
Is there any way of taking legal action directly against Phillipson/the government for. Failing in their duty to get the guidance sorted out?

I wish there was.

I suppose I have become a bit complacent and sort of think I am sure Sex Matters or FWS will take it up if possible.

I suppose it would come down to is the accepted practice of getting guidance from the EHRC and it being taken to HoC within a set number of days.

I am sure on an earlier thread 40 days were mentioned and at the time Parliament was going into recess or whatever it is called.

But by know it must be 40 days.

Maybe an option is to set up a Petition on the Parliament Petition process.

Maybe there already is one?!

There seem to be a few Petitions about schools / education aimed at Bridget Phillipson. But nothng came up about the EHRC guidelines.

Organisations up and down the country are relying on Bridget to continue to sit on the guidelines, though, so they too can say, "Sorry, we can't do anything yet, guv!"

Exactly, and it seems Labour MPs as well.

That's why I thought the final paragraphs of the article are so telling.

ie it isn't politicians deciding how important an issue it is, but are waiting to hear what the TRAs want them to do - or not do.

She is sitting on the SEND reform document too - despite holding conferences on it. To gain people's insights (and find out the problems they havent thought of yet) without anyone having seen the paper.

This withholding of key things while wittering vaguely isn't a one off, it's a pattern. She seems unable to let anything go.

Might be worth a few emails to Claire Coutinho (shadow for women & equalities - among other things…) She has made the right noises in this area in the past, and she would be able to find out if there is a breach of process

Edited to add that might apply to the SEND stuff too

Can we elect Akua Reindorf as Women and Equalities Minister? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind and would whip the PM into shape. She could teach him a few things about the law.