Keir Starmer refused to confirm whether he’ll allow trans women to use women’s spaces in a toe-curling interview.
Speaking to GB News’s Olivia Utley, the Labour leader said his party is committed to the Equalities Act.
But when asked to clarify if that commitment extends to trans women with penises using women’s facilities, Starmer did not give a clear answer.
“It is already guaranteed in the Equalities Act and we will double down on those spaces for biological women because we have long championed them and they are very important”, he said.
Starmer was quizzed by GB News’s Olivia Utley
GB NEWS
“I want to ensure that whatever the facility, it is a safe and secure place for women.
“That is why we have long championed women’s spaces and nothing we have proposed changes any of that.”
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Sir Keir Starmer has been under pressure over his position on women’s space
PA
Starmer has been keen to stress throughout his campaign that he intends to treat transgender people with empathy and respect if he is to become prime minister.
He said during Wednesday’s debate with Rishi Sunak that it is “very important that we protect female-only spaces”.
Starmer added that he treats transgender people “as I treat all human beings – with dignity and respect”.
The Labour leader has faced criticism from within his own party on the matter with MP Rosie Duffield consistently arguing that sex is a matter of biological fact, an argument Starmer said in 2021 is “not right”.
Rishi Sunak says he is committed to safeguarding women’s spaces
BBC
But in a recent BBC Question Time debate, he agreed with Sir Tony Blair’s suggestion that “biologically, a woman is with a vagina and a man is with a penis”.
JK Rowling is among those to be critical of Keir Starmer’s position, and she took to X, formerly Twitter, to hit out at the comments he gave to Olivia Utley yesterday.
“Is there a Labour embargo on the words ‘yes’ or ‘no’?”, she asked.
She added: “This isn’t complicated. Just tell us whether you believe women have the right to single sex spaces.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has committed to protecting single-sex spaces and championing women if he is to secure another term.
Asked by the BBC on Wednesday if this would be the case, Sunak said: “Yes, unequivocally yes. And we will do that by changing the law, so that the old Equalities Act recognises that sex means biological sex.”
