Sir Keir Starmer has urged MPs to “lower the temperature” of the transgender debate as he refused to just accept he had modified his stance.
Conservative chief Kemi Badenoch used Prime Minister’s Inquiries to press Sir Keir on earlier feedback he has made about transgender girls.
The prime minister has beforehand mentioned “transwomen are women”, however after the Supreme Court docket dominated final week the definition of a “woman” is a “biological woman”, he mentioned on Tuesday that “a woman is an adult female”.
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Ms Badenoch requested if the PM now accepts his earlier feedback have been “wrong” to which Sir Keir repeated he welcomes the ruling as “it brings clarity”.
He mentioned his and the federal government’s method is “to support and implement the Supreme Court ruling” and mentioned they’ll “continue to protect single-sex spaces” however may even guarantee trans folks “are treated with respect”.
“I do think this is the time now to lower the temperature, to move forward, and to conduct this debate with the care and compassion that it deserves,” he mentioned.
“And I think that should unite the whole House.”
Sir Keir additionally refused to apologise to Rosie Duffield, a former Labour MP who left the get together to turn out to be an impartial and who Sir Keir mentioned was “not right” in 2021 to say solely girls have a cervix.
Picture:
Impartial MP Rosie Duffield pictured because the PM mentioned he thinks totally different views ought to be handled with dignity and respect. Pic: Parliament TV
Ms Duffield was within the chamber when Sir Keir mentioned he “always” approaches the trans/girls difficulty “on the basis that we should treat everyone with dignity and respect, whatever their different views”.
The Tory chief had requested him to apologise to Ms Duffield, “the very brave member for Canterbury, for hounding her out of the Labour Party simply for telling the truth”.
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Ms Badenoch mentioned Sir Keir “doesn’t have the balls” to precise his views on the problem, hitting out at him for taking six days to react to it.
However the PM dismissed her, saying the road “sounded better when she did it in the mirror earlier” and mentioned it doesn’t matter what she says “because nobody believes she’s going to lead them into the next election anyway”.
Simply earlier than PMQs, Well being Secretary Wes Streeting insisted Sir Keir’s cupboard is “united in our position of the Equalities Act on the Supreme Court ruling and on making sure that the law is upheld”.
He additionally advised The Solar that trans girls are “not the same as biological women” however he would “always respect people’s identities and I have no trouble whatsoever referring to trans women by their names, referring to them as women as shorthand, or using pronouns like she and her”.
The well being secretary mentioned he “takes criticism on the chin” for beforehand arguing that folks ought to “get over” issues, admitting “there are lots of complexities”.
