Thread by @benjamincohen

Breaking: @PennyMordaunt says that she didn’t ever support changes to the Gender Recognition Act to de-medicalise the process. This will surprise many in the LGBTQ+ community as it was the policy of the department she was the cabinet minister for (1/

In her full answer, @PennyMordaunt implies that it was the policy of her predecessors and ultimately Theresa May but not her. As someone who first met Penny a decade ago, it’s the first time I’ve heard that she didn’t agree with this (but I may have been out the loop!) (2/

What is clear though, is that when @PennyMordaunt was appointed as Minister for Women and Equalities, it was the policy of the government already. Here is what Theresa May told the @PinkNews Awards 2017 (3/

In 2019 just before Boris Johnson took over and she was sacked from cabinet, @PennyMordaunt said the results of the GRA consultation would be released “soon”. (4/ pinknews.co.uk/2019/07/04/pen…

Later that year when @PennyMordaunt won Politician of the Year at the @PinkNews Awards, she said that she had seen the results of the GRA consultation and they showed Brits “want people to be able to live their lives to the full.” (5/ pinknews.co.uk/2019/10/17/ex-…

The following year during @PinkNews #Prideforall event in lockdown, @PennyMordaunt compared the culture war against trans people to the situation for gay men (like her twin) in the 1980s. Again no word to say that she didn’t support GRA reform (6/

I know from all the messages that I’ve received that @PennyMordaunt’s recent words have surprised some of her supporters in @LGBTCons as well as Parliamentary colleagues from across different parties. (7/

What @PennyMordaunt has said is certainly not as problematic as things that the other remaining leadership candidates but they are not what many in the LGBTQ+ community thought or believed she had advocated previously (8/

My belief is that @PennyMordaunt’s words will not be accepted by ‘gender critical’ people either because of the various apparently contradictory things she has said on the topic. (9/

I forgot to add this important interview with @PennyMordaunt on @PinkNews from 2018- in this she stated “Trans women are women, that is the starting point for this consultation.” This predates what she said in Parliament by 3 years (10/ pinknews.co.uk/2018/07/02/pen…

I just wanted to add to this thread that Theresa May hasn’t changed her position on these issues. This is what she told @PinkNews tonight at #PinkNewsWestminster (11/ pinknews.co.uk/2022/07/13/the…