Politics

Dylan Tippetts for Compton in Plymouth, Kira Lewis for Higham Hill in Waltham Forest, Isla Wrathmell for Vauxhall in London's Lambeth, and Elaine Gallagher in Glasgow were all successful in the vote, earning their place on their local councils.

If you are transgender and despaired at reading all this, I can only apologise. However, as a community, we will get through it. We are being made the focus of the tory leadership race to distract from the real societal problems such as the cost of living crisis because they have no solutions. The Conservatives have been in power for over a decade, these issues are of their own making. Transgender people existed long before they were elected, and we’ll be around after they leave government. We will win.

The debate was attended by so many, from different parties and nations. Yet all came to the same conclusion: conversion “therapy” is abuse. The overrepresentation of LGB+ MPs (the only openly trans MP, Jamie Wallis, was not present) shows that as much as the media attempt to divide us, we are a united community. 

So they sort-of debated the idea of non-binary representation, but mostly didn't. Instead opting to just do fearmongering and spread hateful rhetoric through parliament. Democracy! The whole thing wraps up with them patting themselves on the back for a job well done and deciding not to move forwards with any plans to include non-binary people in our legal system.

When you take away someone’s name, you take away their right to live their life peacefully: their right to work, to study, to interact with others, and even to consume products and services without having to share their personal (and medical!) history with complete strangers.

It removes the need to have anything signed off by a doctor, it opens it up to 16 year olds and the wait is cut down significantly from 2 years to 3 months. Though it is still an arbitrary wait nonetheless which could certainly be improved by simply not existing at all.

So far this language and the severity of the concept has helped to stave off attempts by transphobes to employ single-sex exemptions with a blanket approach. Meaning it can only be employed on a case-by-case basis and there must be a truly legitimate aim. However Kishwer Falkner's EHRC has been making moves to support transphobic groups who would like to see the exemptions employed more liberally.

I see this for what it is, a cynical political move designed to support the (now successful) ousting of a crap Prime Minister by those like Mike Freer. It has nothing to do with constituents, supporters, LGBT+ people, diversity or Margaret Thatcher's evil bones. It has everything to do with playing the game and making sure there's still a Tory party after the end of all this scandal. All so they can all keep their nice cushy jobs blowing smoke up each other's arses and paying lip-service to their job titles.

Stonewall UK have issued a statement regarding a recent and still ongoing transphobic backlash that has seen hashtags like #StonewallOut trending for multiple days.

"We have received multiple complaints regarding online posts from two members, one of whom is standing in current elections for committee. Separately, we have been informed by Conservative Central Office, having received similar complaints, both these members have been suspended from the Conservative Party."