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Labour will 'simplify burdensome and bureaucratic' gender transition process, Wes Streeting says
24 June 2024, 09:50 | Updated: 24 June 2024, 10:10
Wes Streeting has said that Labour will make it easier for people to change their gender by simplifying the current "burdensome and bureaucratic" process.
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The Shadow Health Secretary told LBC's Nick Ferrari that a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria would still be "important", with a doctor involved to sign that off.
But he said that the current process also enforces "outdated gender stereotypes, which "lots of trans people find... dehumanising".
Mr Streeting also played down a suggestion by Shadow Health Secretary Bridget Phillipson that Labour could rip up schools guidelines banning schools from teaching children that there are more than two genders
He said there was consultation ongoing that Labour would respond to, but added that "ultimately, what we want to do is make sure that children are being taught about things like sex and relationships in an age-appropriate way to help them to live their lives in 21st century Britain."
Nick Ferrari speaks to Wes Streeting | Watch Again
Mr Streeting said: "Frankly, in terms of our order of priorities, we're more worried about the fact that we haven't got qualified maths teachers teaching maths and qualified science teachers teaching science than we are about... wider social issues up for debate in our newspapers."
He also said he would take criticism from JK Rowling "on the chin", after the Harry Potter author said criticised the Labour Party's stance on transgender rights.
He said that "clearly... there's work to do" on the transgender issue.
The Harry Potter author, who has often been outspoken in her views on gender recognition, expressed her dissatisfaction with the Labour party’s approach to the matter.
Ms Rowling criticised Sir Keir along with several members of his shadow cabinet for “abandoning” women and being “dismissive and often offensive” approach to their concerns.
Mr Streeting said: "I have a lot of respect for her both in terms of what she's done on children's literacy, but also violence against women and girls. She's an outstanding campaigner in that area. And secondly, I do feel like the Labour Party has been listening.
"I feel like we've been learning reflecting on the opposition is in a much better place than it was. But clearly there's work there's more to do.
"So I sort of take her criticism on the chin and the way in which we want to, to move forward on on this issue is to try and bring people together to see some of the challenges as problems to be to be solved rather than divisions to be exploited."
Labour said it was "the party of women’s equality, with a manifesto that puts women front and centre".
Rowling's comments come after a recent leaders debate in which Sir Keir appeared to shift his stance on transgender rights.
The Labour leader previously said "99.9% of women" do not have a penis and in 2021 said it was "not right" for Labour MP Rosie Duffield to say that "only women have a cervix".
During a debate on Thursday, he said he agreed with former Labour leader Sir Tony Blair's stance on the issue, saying "biologically, a woman is with a vagina and a man is with a penis".
Asked about his previous comments on Ms Duffield, he said the debate at the time had become “very toxic, very divided, very hard line”.
Rowling said she thought she "misheard" Sir Keir in 2021 when he criticised Ms Duffield.
She added: "The impression given by Starmer at Thursday's debate was that there had been something unkind, something toxic, something hard line in Rosie's words, even though almost identical words had sounded perfectly reasonable when spoken by Tony Blair.
"For left-leaning women like us this isn't, and never has been, about trans people enjoying the rights of every other citizen and being free to present and identify however they wish.
"This is about the right of women and girls to assert their boundaries. It's about freedom of speech and observable truth."
Rowling also criticised shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper for saying she was "not going to get into rabbit holes on this" as well as shadow equalities secretary Anneliese Dodds for saying what a woman is "depends on what the context is".
The author said: "As long as Labour remains dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain the rights their foremothers thought were won for all time, I'll struggle to support them.”
Rowling claims to "have been a Labour voter, a member (no longer), donor (not recently) and campaigner (ditto) all my adult life" - and she wants to see the end of the Conservative government.
According to Electoral Commission records, she gave £1m to the party in 2008, and £8,000 in 2015.
While on the campaign trail in south London last week, Sir Keir responded saying: "I'm determined that one of the changes that we will bring about if we win the election is a reset of politics, to make sure that as we make progress, we do it in a context that brings people together, and all dialogue, all debate, is always done with respect for the views of everybody involved in those progress and in that discussion."
A Labour spokesperson had previously said: “Sex and gender are different, as Labour’s Equality Act makes clear.
"That’s why we have consistently said that we will not introduce self ID and that we will protect single sex spaces for biological women.
“Keir was right to say that the discussion around these issues can become too polarised.
"After years of division under the Conservatives, Labour will bring the country together and ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect.”
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone because of "protected characteristics".
These are a set of identifying traits that are protected by law and include age, disability, religion, race, sex and sexual orientation among others.
The Conservatives have said they would alter the Equality Act to apply to biological sex while Labour and say single-sex spaces do not have to be open to those who are biologically male but identify as female.
Labour have said this change is not necessary as the act already protects single-sex spaces for biological women but the party says it would produce "clearer guidance" on the matter.
Ms Rowling has received significant criticism for her position on the matter that biological women should be able to have separate spaces that trans women should not be given access to.
She once claimed she would rather go to jail than refer to a trans person by their preferred pronouns.
Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe previously criticised her position and said the fallout with the author “makes me really sad”.
Transgender newsreader India Willoughby recently said she was "genuinely disgusted" by Rowling’s comments. .
She added: "Grotesque transphobia, which is upsetting. I am every bit as much a woman as JK Rowling."
