Thursday, December 07, 2023

Former Labour minister says he does not feel safe as a gay man in the UK anymore

Rhiannon James, PA Political Staff
Thu, 7 December 2023 at 1:25 am GMT-7·2-min read

Sir Chris Bryant said rhetoric used by equalities minister Kemi Badenoch in the Commons had contributed to his safety concerns.

Speaking after the women and equalities minister gave a statement on gender recognition reforms, Sir Chris said: “I feel today, as a gay man, less safe than I did three years or five years ago.

“Why? Sometimes because the rhetoric that is used, including by herself (Ms Badenoch), in the public debate.”

The MP for Rhondda added: “Many of us feel less safe today and when people over there cheer as they just did, it chills me to the bone, it genuinely does.”


Kemi Badenoch (James MAnning/PA)

Sir Chris also asked what the minister had done since being in power to make more countries recognise same sex civil partnerships and marriages.

In response, Ms Badenoch said: “He says that my rhetoric chills him to the bone, I would be really keen to hear exactly what it is I have said in this statement or previously that is so chilling.”

Conservative former minister Sir Conor Burns later sought to counter suggestions that life was becoming worse for gay people.

The Bournemouth West MP said: “Could I invite her to agree with me that despite some of the rhetoric that we have heard in the House today, the United Kingdom is an immeasurably better place to grow up as a gay person than it was in decades gone by?”

Ms Badenoch commended the Tory MP’s “measured tone”, adding: “It is a model I think for members on the other side of the House. There is so much that we have done even under this specific Government, even under my watch.

“A lot of the work we have been doing around our HIV action plan, around trans healthcare. We have established five new community-based clinics for adults in the country.

“There is a lot that we are doing, so it is wrong to characterise us as not caring about LGBT people.

“It also sends the wrong signal to our international partners. If they feel that we are doing well, it is not because of what we are doing, it is what members across the House are saying.”



SNP equalities spokesperson Kirsten Oswald meanwhile told the Commons the Conservatives “seem much more interested in culture wars than looking after the rights of some of the most vulnerable”.

The MP for East Renfrewshire added: “The UK is travelling rapidly backwards on the rights of LGBT people and that this decision is very much out of step with other progressive countries around the world.”

Ms Oswald also accused the Government of being “missing in action” in regards to banning conversion therapy.

Meanwhile, Labour former minister Ben Bradshaw (Exeter) said Ms Badenoch was “attacking transgender people” by introducing the new measures

Charity 'Disgusted' By Liz Truss' New Bill Targeting Trans Rights

Kate Nicholson
Wed, 6 December 2023 

In this article:
Liz Truss
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from September to October 2022

Liz Truss will present a bill which attacks trans rights on Wednesday.

Liz Truss will present a bill which attacks trans rights on Wednesday.

Liz Truss has been blasted over her new proposed bill which a charity claims will undermine transgender rights.

The former PM, known for her 49 days in Downing Street, is looking to present an amendment to the Health and Equality Acts on Wednesday to the Commons.


The bill claims to protect single sex spaces by amending the Equality Act so “sex” is unambiguously referred to as biological sex.

It also suggests preventing formal state – or school – recognition of social transitioning for anyone under 18.

Truss’s bill wants to make sure anyone under 18 cannot undergo body-altering hormone therapies which are used to treat gender dysphoria, either – that includes puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

A spokesperson from the transgender youth charity Mermaids, told HuffPost UK: “We are disgusted by this blatant attempt to roll back hard-won rights for the trans community.”

They continued: “Trans people, young and old, deserve the same autonomy and respect as cis people to live their lives authentically and access the services they need.

“We know firsthand from the young people we support how transformative it is to their mental and physical wellbeing, when they are in an environment where their pronouns are respected, and they have the space to explore their identity.”

Truss’s plans to redefine sex were also slammed as it would risk “removing the rights and protections trans people have fought tirelessly for, following decades of discrimination and marginalisation.”

“Sex rights and trans rights are not at odds with each other and do not need to be treated as such,” Mermaids concluded.

Ex-PM Liz Truss

Ex-PM Liz Truss

While promoting her bill, Truss said: “It has become clear that the law as it stands is not providing sufficient protection for young people or indeed adult women.

“Getting this law onto the Statute Book would not only safeguard the rights of women and protect the wellbeing of our children, but it would also be a significant victory for common sense.”

The bill is being sponsored by former home secretary Priti Patel, along with nine other Tory backbenchers and one DUP MP.

This is not the first time Truss has campaigned on such issues.

Speaking to The Times in September, Truss pushed for her successor Rishi Sunak to publish guidance “stating that schools should be clear about biological sex and not officially sanction social transition”.

At the time, she said: “There needs to be clarity about biological sex in school, particularly for toilets and changing areas, which should be single sex spaces.”

The former PM also claimed transitioning is “not a neutral act” and so should not be officially sanctioned for those under 18.

“I do not believe that this contravenes the Equality Act but if there are any legal issues, the government should legislate,” she said.

Previous reports suggest a complete ban on pupils transitioning would actually be illegal under the 2010 Equality Act.

Truss also oversaw the exclusion of trans people from a planned government ban on conversion therapy when she was equalities minister.

She dropped bills for gender “self-identification”, too. This would have allowed the trans community to officially change their gender on certain documents without going through a medical approval process.

Shortly before she got into No.10, Truss said she did not think trans women are women, and said: “Under-18s shouldn’t be able to make irreversible decisions about their own future.”

Truss’s bill comes at a time when the government has already been criticised over its anti-transgender rhetoric.

Charities told HuffPost UK earlier this year that its policies had left people “scared, tired and alone”.




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