NEARLY all the candidates in the race to be Britain’s next prime minister have voiced their opinions on ED&I and trans rights. The candidates have declared themselves feminists.
Some have vocally opposed trans rights on numerous occasions, while others have taken deliberate steps to block urgently required legal changes that would have helped the community.
In the first vote to choose who will succeed Boris Johnson as party leader and British prime minister on Wednesday (13), former finance minister Rishi Sunak received the most support from Conservative lawmakers, while two additional competitors were defeated.
Former foreign minister Jeremy Hunt and Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi were eliminated for not receiving the necessary 30 votes. Suella Braverman, the Attorney General of Goa-origin, received the fewest votes—27—and was eliminated from consideration in the second round that happened on Thursday (14). They join the other three candidates Sajid Javid, Grant Shapps, and backbencher Rehman Chishti who withdrew from the race in the beginning.
Here we take a look at each candidate’s stand on LGBTQ+ rights.
An associate of the former chancellor of the exchequer reportedly told on Sunday that if Mr Sunak wins the Tory leadership, he will stop “recent trends to erase women via the use of clumsy, gender-neutral language.”
Rishi Sunak plans to present a “manifesto for women’s rights” in which he would argue that transgender women should not be allowed to participate in women’s athletic events and urge educators to “be more careful” when discussing “issues of sex and gender”, reported by Daily Mail.
Mordaunt was the driving force behind commitments to outlaw conversion therapy for all LGBTQ+ persons and to alter the Gender Recognition Act while serving as Theresa May’s minister for women and equalities.
She has rejected the term “woke” while running for office and says she has “challenged the trans orthodoxy with real and genuine concern.” She stated on Tuesday (12) that she has never backed changes to the legislation governing gender recognition.
The Foreign Secretary, who doubles as the Minister for Women and Equalities, has received criticism from LGBTQ+ activists for her activities in the position, including scrapping long-planned Gender Recognition Act amendments.
Under her leadership, members of the government’s LGBTQ+ advisory board resigned, with one claiming that Ms Truss was the “minister for inequality” and that the government had created a “hostile climate” for LGBTQ+ persons.
Tom Tugendhat has demanded a “clean start” in the discussion of trans rights while simultaneously highlighting the value of “dignity” for all people and women-only areas.
He said: “Look, a woman is an adult human female but that doesn’t mean in any way that trans women have any less respect or any fewer rights. And the idea that you can answer this question with a sledgehammer when really what you are talking about is a very subtle understanding of people’s rights, people’s dignities, and the respect they need for each other, I’m afraid is not true.”
Members of the government’s LGBTQ+ advisory body criticised Kemi Badenoch, who served as Ms Truss’ junior equalities minister, for the delays in outlawing conversion therapy.
She opposes limiting the availability of gender-neutral restrooms in public buildings, and she voted against extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland in 2019. “Transgender people to be free to live and prosper in modern Britain,” she has stated.
[Source of Info: Independent, The Guardian, inews, PinkNews, Daily Mail]
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