Hampstead Heath swimming ponds considering limiting transgender users’ access
A consultation has been launched on transgender swimmers’ access to Hampstead Heath ponds, which could result in them being banned from using the pools for the gender they identify as.The Kenwood Ladies’ and Highgate Men’s ponds are gender-segregated, with trans people currently able to swim in whichever they feel most appropriate, or use the heath’s mixed-gender pond instead.The consultation, by the City of London Corporation (CLC), is now presenting six options for gender inclusivity in the historic institution, one of which would ban trans people from using their preferred ponds.It comes amid a battle between groups who swim in the natural pools, with a protest in 2018 in the men’s pond by women wearing fake moustaches and beards to draw attention to the organisation’s refusal to ban trans women from the ladies’ pond.While this was unsuccessful, the Kenwood Ladies’ Pond Association (KLPA) rejecting a motion among its 200 members last year that “only those born female in sex can use the pond”, pressure has since mounted after the supreme court ruled earlier this year that trans women were not legally defined as women.
The consultation appears to have come in response to threatened legal action by the campaign group Sex Matters.The organisation’s chief executive, Maya Forstater, said the association needed to change the rules after the supreme court ruling.She said: “Women who choose to swim at the ladies’ pond rather than the mixed pond are choosing a female-only environment for a variety of personal reasons, including privacy and dignity.Allowing men with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment to enter means that it is no longer a female-only environment.”Trans people called the campaigners “cruel and judgemental” and said they had been using the space for decades with no issues.
On social media, they also argued that it was not always easy to tell what gender someone had been assigned at birth and that the measures could result in a transgender man, who had undergone gender-affirming surgery and was taking testosterone, using facilities for women,They said it could create complications where people were being challenged on their eligibility to use the space based on physical characteristics such as their height or the shape of their jaw,Announcing the consultation Chris Hayward, the chair of policy at the CLC, said: “We recognise the sensitivity surrounding this issue,Our consultation will help ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, and that decisions are made in a fair, respectful and transparent way, in line with the law,“While the consultation will be an important source of insight, it is not the only factor.
The views we receive will sit alongside our wider responsibilities – including meeting legal requirements, assessing equality impacts, ensuring safeguarding, and considering how any decisions could be implemented in practice.”
Robert Jenrick complained of ‘not seeing another white face’ in Birmingham neighbourhood
Robert Jenrick complained about visiting an area of Birmingham where he “didn’t see another white face” and said it was not the kind of country he wanted to live in.After highlighting the lack of white people, the shadow justice secretary said it was not about “the colour of your skin or your faith” and he wanted people to live alongside each other.However, he has been criticised by the area’s MP for suggesting he could tell whether Handsworth was “properly integrated” based on whether there were any white people in the area during a 90-minute period.Jenrick made the comments, which were recorded, during a dinner at the Aldridge-Brownhills Conservative Association dinner on 14 March after he had recorded a video for GB News about litter in the suburb.He told the dinner: “I went to Handsworth in Birmingham the other day to do a video on litter and it was absolutely appalling
Has Kemi Badenoch sounded the death knell for one nation Conservatism?
In one popular reading of the history of Tory successes, the party’s last three election-winning prime ministers – John Major, David Cameron and Boris Johnson – all swept into Downing Street on unifying one-nation platforms.But for many people this year’s Tory conference, marked by its hardening rhetoric on asylum seekers and growing overtures to Nigel Farage’s brand of politics, feels a far cry from those broad principles.Kemi Badenoch kicked off the gathering in Manchester with a pledge to withdraw the UK from the European convention on human rights, a move which would have been controversial inside the party just a few years ago but now commands the support of the vast majority of Conservative MPs.The Tory leader has also committed to scrapping the UK’s net zero target by 2050, shattering the mainstream political consensus on the climate crisis.It is no surprise then that insiders are asking whether Badenoch’s leadership – and the direction the party is taking under the influence of rightwingers such as Robert Jenrick – sounds the death knell for one nation Conservatism
Tories set a low bar after misspelling Britain on conference chocolate
A chocolate bar given out by the Conservatives at their annual party conference misspelled the name of the country they are hoping to govern.The confectionery, in a blue wrapper, featured a slogan from the Tory party leader with an incorrect spelling of Britain.“When Labour negotiates, Britian loses,” read the message, signed by Kemi Badenoch.The chocolate bar was included in a goodie bag given out at the party’s conference in Manchester, the Sun reported.Organisers are reportedly blaming the mistake on a “printing error” and have since removed the chocolate from the bags, which also contained pictures of Rachel Reeves’s “fake CV” and a mock copy of Reform UK’s manifesto
Nearly two thirds of Tory members want pact with Reform, poll suggests, with close to half supporting full merger – as it happened
Andrew Rosindell is not alone in wanting a pact with Reform UK. (See 4.59am.) According to new polling by YouGov, almost two thirds of members want a pact, and almost half of them would support a full merger.The same poll found that half of members want Kemi Badenoch to be replaced as Tory leader before the next election, while 46% want her to stay on
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Jonathan Powell to face MPs over role in collapse of espionage trial
Jonathan Powell will appear before parliament for the first time amid questions about his role in the collapse of a trial of two Britons accused of spying for China.Keir Starmer’s national security adviser is due to be quizzed by senior parliamentarians at a private hearing of the joint committee on the national security strategy in the coming weeks.Powell’s appearance will mark the end of a year-long standoff between the committee and ministers, who refused for months to make him available for scrutiny before parliament. The prime minister’s spokesperson said on Monday that Powell “takes his accountability responsibilities very seriously”.The committee, chaired by the Labour MP Matt Western, is in discussions with officials over the date of the hearing
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