Deeply worried about direct or indirect discrimination against trans women and trans men as a result of the recent Supreme Court ruling that “sex” under the Equality Act of 2010 means biological sex, non-binary Green Party co-leader and MP Carla Denyer confirmed on Sunday with Laura Kuenssbeg that she “will not hesitate to push for further legistation if it becomes apparent that is necessary”. Presumably, she would “push” for this as one of the four Green Party Members of Parliament and funding for such undertaking on behalf of members will be made available by the Executive Committee.
In response to the BBC journalist’s question about the party’s position to the Equality and Human Rights Commisssion’s follow-up to the ruling with their Interim Guidance, Carla informed BBC viewers that she “had already been and will continue to be liaising with human rights and LGBT organisations to get their expert legal advice “. Claiming that such guidance was “clearly rushed and ill-thought-out”, she also commented that the Commission “had not consulted all the people who will be affected by the ruling”.
Speaking on behalf of over 60000 Green Party members who have not been allowed to debate trans rights and women’s rights since the adoption of policy “trans women are women , trans men are men …” by 1% of members 9 years ago, she further added: “We’re saying withdraw it, think again, consult everyone who’ll be affected by this guidance and then come out with something more thought out.”
As a leading inclusive feminist green, one could be forgiven to presume that what she means by “everyone”, is a consultation exercise which will include biological women and men affected too by the practical implementation of the guidance. But since that is unlikely to be the case, it is clear that at the end of the day, she must indeed be considering dragging the Green Party into a major legal challege to the Supreme Court ruling.
Oddly oblivious to the vicious witchhunt and accelerated purge of members under her co-leadership (members who have said all along that you cannot confuse sex with gender without erradicating women’s single sex spaces and that the EA’s definition of sex in law was always meant to mean biological sex ), her remark that the guidance ” fly in the face of a strong tradition of tolerance in Britain” shows a remarkable lack of self-awareness and political maturity.
However, rumour has it that she and her co-leader Adrian Ramsay who have now put out a joint press release as MPs in support of her comments on television intend to both stand down as co-leaders this year so as to put all their energies into their role as Members of the Parliament. Such decision could signal a turning point in the party’s direction away from the mire of identity politics and back to its ecological mission for the planet and humanity.
During the weeks ahead leading to the election of a new leadership team ( leader/co leaders, deputy leaders and Wales Green Party leader) in early September, 60000 members will have the opportunity to decide what kind of future lies ahead for the Party. In spite of worthy electoral success in the short term, there is no real future for our party in the medium and longer term if we continue to be divided ideologically and are run according to a hiearchy of identities whilst controlled by a wild bunch of sectarian zealots.
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