Rowling: Labour can no longer be trusted to defend women’s rights

JK fury over Starmer’s trans comments

‘Trans women are women, and that is not just my view – that is actually the law.’

Keir Starmer @Keir_starmer

AUTHOR JK Rowling has accused Labour of no longer being a party that can ‘be counted on to defend women’s rights’.

Her angry attack comes as Sir Keir Starmer weighed into the debate on gender identity, saying ‘trans women are women’ and calling for a ‘respectful’ conversation on the issue.

His comments follow those last week of frontbench colleagues Yvette Cooper, who refused to be drawn on the definition of a woman, and Anneliese Dodds, who said it depended on ‘context’.

Now Harry Potter author Ms Rowling, a highprofile supporter of Labour who once donated £1 million to the party, has taken to social media to criticise Sir Keir’s comments and warn that women’s anger across the UK is ‘growing’.

She also accused the Labour leader of ‘publicly misrepresenting’ the 2010 Equality Act, which legally protects against discrimination.

Sir Keir, who was previously Director of Public Prosecutions for England and Wales during his legal career, said: ‘A woman is a female adult and, in addition to that, trans women are women, and that is not just my view, that is actually the law.’

Yesterday, Ms Rowling, 56, wrote: ‘I don’t think our politicians have the slightest idea how much anger is building among women from all walks of life at the attempts to threaten and intimidate them out of speaking publicly about their own rights, their own bodies and their own lives.

‘Among the thousands of letters and emails I’ve received are disillusioned members of Labour, the Greens, the Lib Dems and the SNP. Women are scared, outraged and angry at the deaf ear turned to their well-founded concerns.

‘Now Keir Starmer publicly misrepresents equalities law in yet another indication the Labour Party can no longer be counted on to defend women’s rights.

‘Women are organising across party lines and their resolve and their anger are growing.’

Sir Keir also backed changes to the Gender Recognition Act so that transgender people can achieve legal recognition of their gender

‘Now Keir Starmer publicly misrepresents equalities law, in yet another indication that the Labour Party can no longer be counted on to defend women’s rights. But I repeat: women are organising across party lines, and their resolve and their anger are growing.’

J.K. Rowling @jk_rowling

based on self-declaration, without needing a medical diagnosis.

The Scottish Government has proposed similar reforms in its Gender Recognition Reform Bill that would make it easier to gain a Gender Recognition Certificate.

The Labour leader said: ‘The process people have to go through does need to be looked at.

‘If you talk to anybody who’s been through the process, there’s a real issue about respect and dignity.’

Sir Keir said he fully supports one of the key demands of feminists who have clashed with transgender activists by insisting on safe spaces, such as toilets, for those born as women. He said: ‘I believe in safe spaces for women – I’m very clear about those too.

‘I think the 2010 Act, the Equality Act, which does provide for safe spaces for women, is right. And therefore I’m very straightforward about this.’

Jackie Doyle-Price, Conservative MP for Thurrock in Essex, joined Ms Rowling in taking issue with Sir Keir’s intervention. She said: ‘Trans women are trans women. You cannot change your biological sex. Women must not be forced to accept otherwise. Keir Starmer is wrong.’

Other women also took to Twitter to address his comments. Alison Ann-Dowling wrote: ‘As a councillor, I’ve lost count of the number of times constituents have raised these concerns with me.

‘A lot of anger on attempts to marginalise parents by schools promoting gender ideology as well. I speak out publicly, others don’t through fear of professional damage.’ Another Twitter user added: ‘I will not vote for any candidate that doesn’t know what a woman is.’

Last week Shadow Home Secretary Ms Cooper refused three times to offer a definition of a woman, saying she was not going to go down a ‘rabbit hole’. Her colleague Ms Dodds, who is Labour’s equalities spokesman, had already said the day before that the meaning of the word depended on ‘context’.

Her stance also angered Ms Rowling, who said she needed both a dictionary and a backbone.

Last night, a spokesman for the author said she had no further comment to make.

‘Women are scared, outraged and angry’