The Scottish Secretary, understated in his public utterances, “often makes the wittiest interjections in Cabinet discussions”.
There is no point having Westminster build safeguards into devolution legislation if no government will actually use them.
The UK’s equalities framework looks set to fragment because whilst the Equality Act is reserved, the Gender Recognition Act is not.
It seems they are more interested in gender identity than the concerns that have been raised in women’s prisons.
Government departments, local authorities, and some of the most successful UK companies are among those that have signed up.
Biologically male offenders who have a gender recognition certificate are being automatically housed in the women’s prison estate.
One of the most striking developments was Mordaunt criticising the use of the word ‘woman’ in the Ministerial and other Maternity Allowances Bill.
And this power struggle carries with it serious threats to free speech and democratic accountability.
The Women and Equalities Committee has been been captured by the self-ID campaign. So others should make their voices heard.
It has shown itself incapable of advocating for the one group specifically named in its title – women – and is too emblematic of identity politics.
The insidious idea that one’s sex is a solely matter of personal demand is seeping into policy and practice, almost unnoticed.
From tech giants, to Conservatives’ own MPs, arguments over the Gender Recognition Act are far from over.
Equivalent reform is being pursued in Scotland; in combination with its hate speech bill, this would be dangerously authoritarian.
We agree that clarity is required: but the pressing questions do not require a redefinition of “sex”.