EHRC single-sex spaces guidance being adapted under ‘constructive’ new chair
Guidance on how to implement the landmark supreme court ruling on gender is being adapted to lessen its impact on businesses and to ensure it tries to balance single-sex spaces with the lives of transgender people, the Guardian has been told,Lawyers from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are understood to be in discussions with government lawyers over the practicalities of guiding businesses and other institutions about last year’s ruling that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex only,While talks have been going on since the EHRC’s guidance was sent to ministers in September, there has been what is viewed as a change in approach from the equalities watchdog since its new chair, Mary-Ann Stephenson, took over late last year,Under law, the EHRC cannot unilaterally change a code it has submitted – this can happen only if ministers reject the draft and request amendments,But Stephenson is viewed as more open to listening to concerns about its implementation than her predecessor Kishwer Falkner.
Falkner oversaw interim advice from the EHRC on implementing the new legal landscape, which prompted alarm that it could effectively exclude trans people from the public realm, saying they should not be allowed to use toilets meant for the gender they live as, and that in some cases they could not use toilets consistent with their birth sex either,The watchdog withdrew that advice in October,Falkner repeatedly criticised ministers for not implementing the subsequent code of practice rapidly, despite worries among officials and some MPs about its potential impact,“We have to get this right, and this takes time,” one government source said,“But it is fair to say that we are finding the EHRC more constructive under the new chair than the old one.
”Any changes will not water down what the government says is a commitment to single-sex spaces, which was the central repercussion of the supreme court ruling.However, the hope is that a more pragmatic approach could limit the impact on trans people, and avoid excessive costs and confusion for businesses in terms of changes to toilets and changing rooms.A number of MPs, many of them Labour, who had warned about the possible impact of being too literal in implementing the EHRC’s guidance, have also said they are reassured by the approach taken under Stephenson, who has a particular background in women’s rights.Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, who also holds the equalities brief, has faced criticism for the delay in publishing the final guidance, with some opponents suggesting she has been motivated in part by efforts not to annoy Labour MPs.But officials argue that the guidance must be legally watertight to avoid it being stuck in judicial review challenges.
There is also a desire to wait for a verdict in a high court challenge to the EHRC’s response by the Good Law Project campaign, in case this changes the legal picture,Rachel Taylor, a Labour MP who is a member of the Commons women and equalities committee, said: “The EHRC’s interim guidance was disproportionate, unfair and unworkable, so I would welcome efforts by the government to work with the new EHRC chair to ensure the final guidance upholds the rights of women and trans people and can reasonably be implemented by businesses,”A government spokesperson said ministers were reviewing the EHRC’s code of practice “with the care it deserves, engaging with the EHRC to ensure that it provides clarity for service providers”,An EHRC spokesperson said the watchdog was “convinced that our updated services code of practice is both legally accurate and as clear as it is possible to be”, and that it was waiting to hear from Phillipson’s office about whether or not it had been approved,
30% of Britons think Burnham would do better job than Starmer as prime minister, poll suggests – UK politics live
Reform UK has announced that Matt Goodwin, the campaigner and former academic, as its candidate in Gorton and Denton.In a news release, Reform said:Matt is a leading writer, broadcaster and academic. He was made by Manchester - which he calls ‘the greatest city in the world’. He lived in the city for many years and considers it home.Matt’s family is from Manchester
Was Labour right to block Andy Burnham’s return as an MP? | Letters
The argument that it would be too costly to run a mayoral election in Manchester and run the risk of its being won by Reform UK is perfectly valid (‘Huge mistake’: Labour in turmoil as Burnham blocked from byelection race, 25 January). The problem is that that is not how the decision of the Labour party’s national executive committee will be read. And this is now a pattern.Kicking off with the foolhardy acceptance of luxury goodies from Lord Alli, fast followed by the removal of pensioners’ winter fuel payments and going on to a failure to read the runes over the grooming gangs and many other depressing own goals, this government has demonstrated a quite astonishing lack of self-awareness.Keir Starmer is now beginning to resemble, of all unlikely people, Boris Johnson in his seeming inability to grasp how badly some of his decisions – and subsequent reversals – reflect on him
‘Not surprised at all’: Fareham voters size up Suella Braverman’s Reform switch
For Jamie Jewell, the pub owner at the Golden Lion, there has been radio silence from his local MP, Suella Braverman. In January last year, the MP for Fareham and Waterlooville visited the pub, offered to help the owners with removing a protected tree that was damaging the property, and posted photos with the staff on her Facebook page and for local media.Jewell has not heard back from her since. “I’ve sent emails saying ‘we need support here’ and never received a response. Not even an acknowledgment,” Jewell said
Burnham accuses No 10 sources of lying about byelection decision
The Labour party’s civil war over the Gorton and Denton byelection has intensified after Andy Burnham accused Downing Street sources of lying about his decision to apply to stand in the Manchester seat.The Manchester mayor was reacting to suggestions by unnamed Keir Starmer allies that he had been told “in no uncertain terms” that any request to the NEC committee to put his name forward for the byelection would be refused.Responding to a post on X by ITV’s political editor, Robert Peston, which suggested sources close to the PM therefore saw Burnham’s move to stand as an explicit attempt to destabilise Starmer, Burnham wrote: “This is simply untrue.” Peston then sent a follow-up message saying a second source had backed up Burnham’s version of events, adding that Burnham was “seeking an urgent call with No 10 about the briefing”.A No 10 spokesperson said it was not true that anyone close to Starmer had told Burnham the NEC would refuse his application
Labour’s Gorton and Denton byelection campaign hit by fallout from ‘vile’ WhatsApp chat
Labour’s campaign for a vital byelection has been dealt a fresh blow after six local councillors were found to have breached standards rules in a “vile” WhatsApp chat.Andrew Gwynne, a former health minister, was suspended last year over offensive messages he sent in the “Trigger Me Timbers” group, including one saying he hoped a 72-year-old woman “croaks it” before an election.Six Labour councillors have now been found to have shown “complete disregard” for standards in public life, the Guardian has learned – including one judged to have made “several remarks that a reasonable person would find racist”.The findings of a damning independent investigation into the WhatsApp group are due to be considered by councillors next week, less than four weeks before the Gorton and Denton byelection expected on 26 February.Gwynne apologised again last week for messages he sent as he announced his retirement as the MP for the south-east Manchester seat
Deacon Blue ‘appalled’ by Reform UK’s Scottish leader quoting their song lyrics
One of Scotland’s most celebrated rock bands, Deacon Blue, say they are “appalled” that one of their greatest hits is being used by Reform UK’s new Scottish leader to bolster his party’s “poisonous rhetoric”.Malcolm Offord quoted at length on Monday from the group’s song Dignity at his first major speech since he was announced as Reform UK’s first Scottish leader, three months before a crucial Holyrood election in which the party is expected to win up to 18 seats.Responding overnight from Perth, Australia, where the band are embarking on a two-week tour with songs from their new album, The Great Western Road, Deacon Blue told the Guardian: “Once a song is released into the world it can be sung, listened to and loved or hated by anyone; that is just the nature of releasing a song.“However, it appals us to see the lyrics of any of our songs being used to bolster a campaign and ideology which is completely at odds with what the song, and we as a band, believe”.Describing it as “one of my favourite songs”, the multimillionaire financier said the lyrics encapsulated his own journey from growing up in modest circumstances on the Clyde and admiring the yachts he “couldn’t afford to sail”, to making his money in the City of London and now being able to afford several yachts of his own
‘She was a bitch in the best possible way’: the life and mysterious death of drag queen Heklina
‘I don’t go around telling people I love the Spice Girls’: Mo Gilligan’s honest playlist
The Guide #227: A brain-melting sci-fi movie marathon, curated by Britain’s best cult film-maker
My cultural awakening: A Queen song helped me break free from communist Cuba
From Saipan to Take That: your complete entertainment guide to the week ahead
Tell us your UK town of culture nomination