UK Pride groups suspend involvement of political parties
Four of the UK's largest Pride organisations have suspended political parties' involvement in their events in "unequivocal solidarity" with the transgender community.Birmingham, Brighton, London and Manchester Prides announced that political parties would not be welcome at their events in an official capacity until they demonstrated a "tangible commitment to trans rights".The announcement comes after the Supreme Court ruled that the term "woman" in the Equality Act was defined by biological sex.The ruling was welcomed by some campaigners representing lesbian, gay and bisexual people who say it protects single-sex groups, while others shared concerns about the impact on the trans community.
A statement from the group of Pride organisers said there was a "disturbing global trend... where LGBTQ+ rights are being systematically rolled back".It said: "The UK must not follow this path of regression. Instead, it must rise as a global leader in human rights and equality."It said the Supreme Court ruling "underscores the urgent need for immediate action". "In this moment, we choose to stand firmer, louder, and prouder in demanding change that protects and uplifts trans lives," it said.It said the move to suspend political party participation was a "refusal to platform those who have not protected our rights".The recent Supreme Court ruling clarified existing equality laws, and means that the term "woman" in the Equality Act refers solely to biological women.The legal dispute began in 2018, when the Scottish Parliament passed a bill designed to ensure gender balance on public sector boards.For Women Scotland complained that ministers had included transgender people as part of the quotas in that law.After the ruling they said women could "now feel safe that services and spaces designated for women are for women".The ruling was also welcomed by some other gender critical groups including Scottish Lesbians, which describes itself as a grassroots campaigning organisation with around 70 members, made up of "lesbians of all ages across Scotland."Directors of the group, which made submissions to the Supreme Court in the case, told the BBC: "The Supreme Court decision, which was a clarification of existing law, protects the rights of lesbians as same-sex attracted women."As lesbians we're very relieved that our rights have been protected, and disappointed that Pride has once again abandoned lesbians."Some UK organisations - including in sport and politics - have changed or updated their policies around single-sex teams and spaces such as toilets and changing rooms in response to the ruling.The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which enforces equalities law and provides guidance to policymakers, issued interim guidance for service providers which said access to such spaces must be based on biological sex.The EHRC said the impact of the ruling was that "if somebody identifies as trans, they do not change sex for the purposes of the [Equality] Act, even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC)".In this respect, the EHRC says, "a trans woman is a biological man" and "a trans man is a biological woman".As part of the judgement, Supreme Court judge Lord Hodge stressed that the law still gave protection against discrimination to transgender people.The four Pride groups which took the decision to exclude political parties represent some of the most popular Pride groups in the UK, with a combined average attendance of over one million people.The groups have called for "full and enforceable protections under the Equality Act", "timely and dignified access to NHS gender-affirming healthcare", a reform of the gender recognition certificate process and "sustainable funding for trans-led services and support organisations across the UK".Birmingham Pride had already announced its own ban on some political parties, as had Belfast and Southampton Pride events.Political parties are often involved in marches and demonstrations at Pride, often with notable politicians using the opportunity to share their parties' beliefs around LGBT+ issues.Sir Keir Starmer, Sir Ed Davey, Carla Denyer and Boris Johnson have all previously publicly attended Pride marches in a political capacity.A spokesperson for LGBT+ Lib Dems said the group was "sickened to our core" at the ban, and accused Pride organisers of creating a "blanket suspension" which was "lumping them in" with other political parties.They told the BBC: "We look forward to a constructive dialogue with Pride organisers so we can come back bigger and better."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
8 minutes ago
- Reuters
UK police studying Glastonbury performances after anti-Israel chants
GLASTONBURY, England, June 29 (Reuters) - British police said they were considering whether to launch an investigation after performers at Glastonbury Festival made anti-Israel comments during their shows. "We are aware of the comments made by acts on the West Holts Stage at Glastonbury Festival this afternoon," Avon and Somerset Police, in western England, said on X late on Saturday. Irish hip-hop group Kneecap and punk duo Bob Vylan made anti-Israeli chants in separate shows on the West Holts stage on Saturday. One of the members of Bob Vylan chanted "Death, death, to the IDF" in a reference to the Israel Defense Forces. "Video evidence will be assessed by officers to determine whether any offences may have been committed that would require a criminal investigation," the police statement said. The Israeli Embassy in Britain said it was "deeply disturbed by the inflammatory and hateful rhetoric expressed on stage at the Glastonbury Festival". Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier this month it was "not appropriate" for Kneecap to appear at Glastonbury. The band's frontman Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh was charged with a terrorism offence last month for allegedly displaying a flag in support of Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah at a concert in November. He has denied the charge. A British government minister said it was appalling that the anti-Israel chants had been made at Glastonbury, and that the festival's organisers and the BBC broadcaster - which is showing the event - had questions to answer. Health Secretary Wes Streeting said he was also appalled by violence committed by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. "I'd also say to the Israeli Embassy, get your own house in order in terms of the conduct of your own citizens and the settlers in the West Bank," Streeting told Sky News. "I wish they'd take the violence of their own citizens towards Palestinians more seriously," he said.
Telegraph
11 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Starmer: Iran ‘distracted' me from dealing with welfare bill rebellion
Sir Keir Starmer has said he did not get to grips with the growing rebellion over welfare reforms earlier as he was focused on international affairs. He also said he took ownership for his decisions and believed as leader he should 'carry the can' when things did not go well. 'I'd have liked to get to a better position with colleagues sooner than we did,' Sir Keir said.'I'm putting this as context rather than an excuse. 'I was heavily focused on what was happening with NATO and the Middle East all weekend. From the moment I got back from the G7, I went straight into a Cobra meeting. My full attention really bore down on this on Thursday. At that point, we were able to move relatively quickly.' The Prime Minister also insisted there had been 'a lot of outreach' over the bill to backbench MPs but acknowledged more should have been done. 'Would I rather have been able to get to a constructive package with colleagues earlier? Yeah, I would. [But] I believe in the world we live in, not the world we want to live in.' Rebellion prompts U-turn The comments came after over 100 Labour MPs rebelled against the government's welfare bill, prompting a last-minute U-turn on the planned reforms. 'Getting it right is more important than ploughing on with a package which doesn't necessarily achieve the desired outcome,' Sir Keir told The Sunday Times. There have been reports that rebel MPs blamed Sir Keir's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney for the Government's approach. Sir Keir said: 'My rule of leadership is, when things go well you get the plaudits; when things don't go well you carry the can. 'I take responsibility for all the decisions made by this government. I do not talk about staff and I'd much prefer it if everybody else didn't.' Tax rises? Ministers had hoped the reforms would get more people back into work and save up to £5 billion a year, but the concessions have left Chancellor Rachel Reeves needing to find money elsewhere potentially in tax rises in the autumn. On Saturday, the Prime Minister told the Welsh Labour conference the 'broken' welfare system must be fixed 'in a Labour way'. He said: 'We cannot take away the safety net that vulnerable people rely on, and we won't, but we also can't let it become a snare for those who can and want to work.' Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party leader, will hit out at Sir Keir as 'incapable of sticking to a decision' after he backed down on his plans. The reforms would only have made ' modest reductions to the ballooning welfare bill ', but the Prime Minister was 'too weak to hold the line', the Conservative Party leader is expected to say in a speech next week. Change in welfare reforms The Government's original welfare package had restricted eligibility for Pip, the main disability payment in England, as well as cutting the health-related element of universal credit. Existing recipients were to be given a 13-week phase-out period of financial support in an earlier move that was seen as a bid to head off opposition. Now, the changes to Pip will be implemented in November 2026 and apply to new claimants only, while all existing recipients of the health element of universal credit will have their incomes protected in real terms. The concessions on Pip alone protect some 370,000 people currently receiving the allowance who were set to lose out following reassessment. As a year in office nears, more than half of voters think Labour has underperformed in that time, polling released on Saturday showed. The Opinium survey showed 54 per cent think Labour has done a worse job than expected, while 18 per cent think the party has exceeded expectations.
Daily Mail
31 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Calls for staff vaping rooms at work: Behavioural science expert says forcing vapers to go to same area as smokers outside is 'totally barbaric'
Forcing people who vape to huddle outside in doorways with smokers is 'totally barbaric', behavioural science guru Rory Sutherland has claimed. The vice chairman of advertising giant Ogilvy called for designated vaping rooms in offices so workers trying to quit cigarettes can stay away from temptation. He also accused politicians and campaigners of a having 'knee-jerk' desire to ban vaping, which he described as his 'salvation' because it stopped him relapsing into cigarettes. 'It probably came from a lot of middle-class people who didn't have a lot of smokers in their milieu,' he said. 'The chattering classes probably saw vaping as a kind of reversal because their own social set doesn't have many smokers. 'But it seems extraordinary that people who are well-intentioned [want to ban it]...with so little evidence to the contrary. '[The law] is being formulated by people who are not only non-smokers but probably have never smoked.' Mr Sutherland's analysis of how human behaviour affects society and influences marketing have made him a cult social media star, with 240,000 followers on TikTok. Speaking on the Smokeless Word podcast, he said he had a row with his bosses at Ogilvy, which inspired the TV series Mad Men and whose clients have included Rolls Royce, Dove soap and BP. Mr Sutherland's analysis of how human behaviour affects society and influences marketing have made him a cult social media star, with 240,000 followers on TikTok 'They said we're going to ban vaping,' he said. 'Why can't you have a vaping room in the office? There's no legal prevention on this. It's bull****. People say it's illegal, it's not. 'By forcing the vapers to go outside and stand with the smokers you are exposing people to temptation. 'It's like holding a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in a pub. You wouldn't do that, would you? Forcing vapers to go and stand outside next to the smokers strikes me as totally barbaric.' He added that the best thing the Government can do sometimes is 'just stand back and get out of the way'. 'The balance of probabilities is that this is harm reduction, at least,' he said. 'We should at least give it a fair watching-brief trial and see what happens.' Smoke-free legislation was introduced in England in 2007, banning smoking in nearly all enclosed workplaces and public spaces, following similar bans in Scotland and Wales. The rules also put an end to smoking rooms which had provided a haven for smokers at work until then. They were so prolific that one of them was used as the setting for the BBC sitcom The Smoking Room, which starred Peep Show's Robert Webb and ran from 2004 to 2006. The TV show ran from 2004 to 2006, but had to close when the smoking ban came into force Then-Public health minister Caroline Flint launched a 100-day countdown to a ban on smoking in public places at a Wetherspoon pub in London Victoria station on March 22, 2007 Employers now have a legal obligation to make sure no smoking occurs on the work premises and in certain workplace vehicles. And although employers aren't required to provide smoking shelters or designated smoking areas, if they do it must be outdoor and not fully enclosed. But the smoking ban does not cover vapes, meaning employers have varying rules on using them at work. Since June 1, disposable vapes have been banned in the UK. With the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, the government also aims to ban tobacco products for anyone born after January 1 2009, and bring in further restrictions on the advertising and sale of vapes. Politicians have called for shops selling vapes to be licensed like alcohol outlets to prevent them getting into the hands of children. Caroline Johnson MP, a paediatric consultant, said: 'The market for selling vapes and other nicotine products needs to be tightened. If people needed a licence to sell vapes, it would make it easier to enforce the law, because they could immediately lose their licence if they sold them to children.' 'I would also like to see a restriction on vaping in public places, to match smoking. People may say it's 'nanny state', but most people don't want to live in a candy floss and blueberry-scented fog.' In a recent nationwide poll, think-tank Britain in Focus found most people are concerned by the number of youngsters puffing on brightly coloured disposable vapes, and shocked to learn that shops do not already need a licence to sell them.
