After this year's Spring Conference, where Lib Dems voted on a motion backing self-ID the @Telegraph ran an article highlighting that Lib Dem members did not agree with self-ID. Lib Dem voters feel the same as shown in various YouGov polls. 🧵
However @LibDems sources told the journalist @DominicPenna that our characterisation of the motion at conference was wrong - that the Lib Dems had sensible policies and did not back self-ID. But yesterday in the Westminster Hall debate @cajardineMP stated we backed self-ID...
Here are a couple of clips of Christine, Lib Dem Women and Equalities spokesperson, discussing our gender recognition proposals and saying the Party is committed to self-ID. She wasn't the only Lib Dem MP supportive but - as she says - she is in charge of this area of policy
Here is Lib Dem MP @VikkiSlade72 calling for self-ID and @pippaheylings joining calls for self-ID, saying getting a gender dysphoria diagnosis is "dehumanising and daunting"
We made an earlier thread pointing out the disparity between the statement given to the @Telegraph and how our policy is sold as self-ID by trans activists - including the chair of @LGBTLD
So is our policy self-ID or not? Or only for certain audiences (certainly not the @Telegraph audience it seems but definitely for reddit and in Parliament). Like our inability to state a position on Cass, eventually this will all catch up with us. We can't obfuscate forever
People have been shocked at MP Ben Maguire's outbursts this week. Firstly implying that @jk_rowling had only spoken out for women for "attention" and secondly saying @ForWomenScot has a "fascist agenda". Clearly unacceptable however not unusual behaviour within @LibDems - 🧵
In 2022, unlawful Defn of Transphobia was changed to say "Holding and expressing gender critical views, whether in internal debates or publicly, is protected by law under the Equality Act, Article 9 ECHR and Article 10 ECHR and is permitted." So English Party passed this motion
GC views were equated with 'white supremacy and anti-semitic views.' An emergency meeting of the English Party (EP) - consisting of EP executive and regional chairs was called and passed this motion. The full English Council (~150 people) were prevented from discussing it.
Today in HoC LD Women and Equalities spokesperson took aim at the Equality Act & Supreme Court ruling - questioning "whether we need fresh legislation in this country to deal with all the issues in the Equalities [sic] Act which have been raised by the...Supreme Court Ruling?'🧵
@cajardineMP also said issues were raised by EHRC 'interim guidance.' Leaving aside W&E spx referred to the Equality Act as the 'Equalities Act' and referred to the interim update as 'guidance' (despite being told it wasn't guidance by Bn Falkner last week') this is v. worrying
In 2024 the @LibDems committed in their manifesto to upholding the Equality Act. The deputy leader @libdemdaisy when questioned just ahead of the 2024 General Election confirmed that a GRC was about birth/marriage/death certificates and did not change access to single-sex spaces
Interesting article by human rights lawyer & academic, revealing it was discussion of the spousal exit clause that provoked him to say “Trans rights don’t trump everything else!” Discussion in the @libdems party of spousal exit clause is v. different 🧵 telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/05/2…
Last week during a Westminster Hall debate about gender self-ID two Lib Dem MPs spoke against the non-transitioning spouse (typically a women) having the right to consent to a fundamental change to their marriage contract @VikkiSlade72 & @cajardineMP
Instead of considering the rights of the non-transitioning spouse, and understanding that (typically) women also have rights - hence trans people’s rights do not get to ‘trump everything else’ (see Prof Wintemute) – some @libdems MPs seem to have reached the opposite conclusion
Some astonishing exchanges on a question about women's sport in House of Lords yesterday. @SarahLudford spoke about women and girl's participation in sport, the fact many teen girls gave up sport and some women/girls excluded themselves due to males in their teams and sports.
However in response Bn Twycross said this was tangling two issues. Only if someone thinks female participation in sports is not relevant to the Supreme Court ruling could that be true. Of course if the Bn listened to the voices of women & girls on this issue she would know this
@fairplaywomen has collected dozens of stories about male inclusion leading to women and girls excluding from sport. Other reasons also exist of course for W&G giving up sport but this issue cannot be ignored. W&G have been badly let down by legislators fairplayforwomen.com/transgender-in…
It is now 13 months since the publication of the Cass Review. @LibDems have had 2 recent opportunities to state a formal position on Cass - the 1st at Spring conference with motion F9 and the 2nd in the recent puberty blocker debate – yet still we wait…🧵
Firstly, conference. Motion F9 was supposed to address @LGBTLD & @libvoice4women calls for a debate on Cass – both groups presented motions for Autumn conf. in 2024 but were told there would be a Spring spokesperson paper. However, F9 did not mention Cass at all
@libvoice4women submitted a lengthy amendment to F9 calling explicitly for the acceptance of the Cass Review (see below) but our amendment was rejected by the conference committee. Feedback included “It was, in effect its own motion” – well yes given the issues in F9 we saw 😉
Important bill coming through parliament right now #DataBill where MPs voted last night not to collect accurate data on sex. This goes against the recent #SullivanReview (which @UKLabour sat on for 6 months) and is at odds with the Supreme Court ruling on collecting data. 🧵
One @LibDems MP spoke against amendment NC21 which would have ensured accurate collection of data on sex - showing a fundamental understanding of how digital ID would work. Currently to prove age people hand over a drivers license with name, address and age on for example
Who wants e.g. a bar man having that info? But with digital ID you can just share the data you need to e.g. age. The same would be true of sex. There would be no 'mass outing' of trans people (unlike the suggestion by @VikkiSlade72). She also irresponsibly links with suicide.