House Of Communions, Early Day Motion tabled - Draft Code of Practice on Services, public functions and associations

[SingleSexSpacesInSchools]

https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/65938

This is not a prayer motion, the only thing that could reject the draft guidance.

See here for more info https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/edms/

I do not think there is much chance of a prayer motion being voted on, given the timetables, who controls the timetable etc etc. But the chances are not zero.

Well well. My MP no longer appears as a signatory, though he does not either appear in the list of withdrawn names. He hasn't replied to my email, so I have no more info on what might have happened. Do we think that LibDem staffers have been adding MPs names without asking them?

Perhaps he's a trans-signatory and therefore feels he doesn't belong on either side? Neither inny or outy.

Sorry, too much?

Do we think that LibDem staffers have been adding MPs names without asking them?

It's one of those questions, like "When we write letters of complaint to our MP, does he/she even get to see the letters?", isn't it?

Haven't had a response from my email to my LD MP yet. We were previously on nodding dog walking terms but he's getting a Paddington hard stare next time I see him.

Another 7 signed today taking the total to 101, 2 more Lib Dems 5 Labour.

Still no Sir Ed or Corbyn.

Jeremy Corbyn has signed.

He has now replied, saying his signature was added in error, and the Table Office have now removed it.

So maybe my suspicions had some basis.

I see weird the list not in date order. Says he signed today.

The 8 June signatures seem to be mixed in with the 5 June 🤷‍♀️

Another 9 signed yesterday 7 Labour 2 Lib Dem.

Total 111 - 17.08% of Commons.

Whittome celebrating.

Nadia Whittome MP

More than 100 MPs have now signed the motion I tabled alongside colleagues to disapprove the Equality Act 2010: Draft Code of Practice for Services, public functions and associations.

This motion is currently the only available mechanism by which MPs can reject the EHRC’s Code of Practice; if debated and passed within the 40-day scrutiny window, it would prevent the EHRC from issuing the Code and bringing it into force. This is unfortunately unlikely, but it is important that as many MPs as possible sign the motion.

Please email your MP asking them to sign EDM 240 if they haven’t already.

Noticeable that there has not been a move against code in the Lords that I have heard of they don't do EDM but you can trigger debates to protest things more easily.

It’s a very bizarre woman that makes it her absolute mission to remove women’s rights.

I know that removing the guidance doesn’t change anything but she is so determined. The question is, will Nadia ever grow up and see what she’s doing?

It shows how futile having the session with Mary Ann Stephenson from the EHRC was today.The Women's and Equalities Select Committee is stuffed full of TRAs like Nadia Whittome, and it doesn't matter how patiently MAS explains to them what the law is and that rejecting the code won't change the law, they will still behave like this.

In fact I noticed there was a flurry of signatures from some of the MPs who were at the session yesterday, in what I assume is a petulant fuck you to Rosie Duffield, who mentioned the EDM and the legal illiteracy of the MPs who were signing it.

Oof it must be so frustrating dealing with these people. They are performing at the lowest level of student politics and, I know the word is bandied around too much, the very dictionary definition of bigoted.

lowest level of student politics

It also shows what a dire state our education system is if this passes for student politics.

Great anaylsis

Lucy Hunter Blackburn
2h
The EDM against the EHRC's revised Code of Practice gives a useful window on where lobbying at Westminster against women being able to benefit from boundaries based on sex is now finding the most fertile ground. 🧵with some analysis of signatories as at last night. (1/12)
https://nitter.net/LucyHunterB/status/2064728482270101683

Labour really really doesn’t want to get re elected and LDs want to consign themselves to history. Paving the way for the likes of Reform to hide its anti-women policies on the back of appearing to support this one issue that’s no skin off their nose. All v messed up.

It sure looks that way. I'm almost starting to think, God help me, would a Tory govt even be the least bad option? Not that that looks the slightest bit likely.

Total 127 signed 16 today.

A surge. MPs are probably getting a lot of TA letters.

Also worth considering this as gesture politics for some of them. How many would openly advocate for the implications of what they are supporting if they have to justify it in debate.

Surely it is just that, a gesture? Which will have no practical effect, but as you say, is susceptible to activist pressure.

A pessimistic scenario is that ultimately about 50% of labour seats the large majority of lib Ds and about 50% of seats outside the conservative party vote for it - that gets you to something like 250 votes or 35 - 40 %. That's a lot, and under ordinary circumstances would almost certainly result in an Alternate Debate. Under Starmer that still doesn't change the trajectory or the EHRC guidance. But it's quite possible that it would come under the environment of major leadership challenge to Starmer, and it's even conceivable that it would come in the first few days of a Burnham premiership. That's troubling.

It's sounds like the Wokey Blokey's are doing all the damage, imagine that, men in the Labour party being sexists.

I imagine that there’s a lot of teamed omnicause activism going on behind the scenes from and to uninformed MPs who think adding their name signals their progressiveness whilst Nadia and Stella will be feeling smug and virtuous. What is the matter with these people? Why is the obvious not obvious to them?

And all of this posturing a) detracts from the real crisises in this country and b) adds further fuel to fire of division, pushing a conservative backlash towards Reform. If nothing else, you’d think they’d hesitate on this trajectory because of wanting to save their own seats. Can they not see what’s happened in the US? Or maybe they think the UK will go the way of Canada going further along the gender road but I think that’s less likely.

Ultimately you have to ask why we have so many hopelessly inadequate MPs who manage to get themselves elected.

Some of the trans orgs have been pushing it and have done templates for people to email their MPs.

I would hope that they are also getting emails from people who are unhappy about them signing it. I haven't email my MP as I don't want to draw her attention to it (she is very much Be Kind), but if she signs it I will be emailing her straightaway.

Ultimately you have to ask why we have so many hopelessly inadequate MPs who manage to get themselves elected.

Because Labour and others, especially the Greens, have prioritised selecting activists and putting them up for election and people vote for the party not the person.
People might be good at focusing on the one issue that they're interested but that doesn't translate into the bandwidth to understand anything outside their niche interest area.
None of them take any steps to increase their knowledge base when they get elected, they can only operate in their comfort zone, so we end up with hopelessly inadequate people in parliament.
Maybe. 🤷

I’ve just discovered that my local MP Josh Dean, who’s one of the very young ones, has signed the EDM. I have e-mailed him, but I’m very sad to see he’s signed, as he is doing a great job as a constituency MP, unlike the last one who did sweet FA.
I did say that I could never vote for a party that reduced women’s rights or did not prioritise their safety.