Caroline ffiske was a Conservative Councillor for Eight Years. Published on 11 April 2021.



Last week the press updated us on the Government's plans to reduce the cost associated with individuals acquiring a legal change to their gender. 

According to The Daily Telegraph, the cost will be cut from £140 to a 'single figure' next month. The Telegraph quoted Lee Clatworthy from the 'national transgender charity Sparkle' arguing that the process for legal gender change nevertheless remains 'overly longwinded'. Never having heard of this charity, I looked them up. They organise 'Manchester’s Transgender Day of Remembrance event'. Hardly a 'national charity'. I looked for the Telegraph's balancing comments from women's groups; you guessed it, there wasn't anything.

Over at the BBC, Nancy Kelley, chief executive of LGBT charity Stonewall, said any fee "creates a barrier for some trans people". Also "It's also important that the government commit to a clear timeline of further changes to streamline the application process, and move it online. However, none of these changes are a substitute for meaningful reform to the Gender Recognition Act". In a bizarre coincidence, the BBC also interviewed 'Lee Clatworthy from national transgender charity Sparkle'. He said 'the process remains "overly long-winded" and a reduction in cost "won't compel more to apply"'. 

Who did the BBC call to get an opinion from the wide variety of women's groups concerned about these changes? No-one.

The Government Equalities Office told the BBC ' "The government is committed to making the process of applying for a Gender Recognition Certificate as straightforward and dignified as possible.' 

That surely is a misrepresentation from the GEO that Liz Truss might want to correct. The government specifically decided to keep some checks and balances in place in the GRC process; in other words not to make the process as straightforward as possible. The Government Equalities Office seems to fail to understand that one of the reasons for this, is to keep in place some protections for women's single sex spaces and opportunities. This is despite the GEO having the remit to oversee equalities legislation. Here's a quote from their website: 'The Government Equalities Office leads work on policy relating to women, sexual orientation and transgender equality.'

The GEO is surely not fit for purpose - it's captured by gender ideology and seems to be blind to its impact on women's rights and vulnerable children. This is glaringly obvious, yet in my view the Tories remain too slow in bringing about change. What is going on? We know that Liz Truss is onside and she is the responsible Minister. Surely other senior Tories know that biological sex is binary and immutable, and have concerns about the wider impacts of gender ideology on the basis of society in science, reason, and free speech. No-one voted for gender ideology, so its continued roll-out within our public institutions is also undemocratic.

We need to know where senior Tories stand on these issues. Why the ongoing silence?