Starmer hesitating on gender self-ID

News

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer signalled a shift in his party’s transgender stance last week, saying lessons have to be learned from Scotland.

He told reporters: “I think that if we reflect on what’s happened in Scotland, the lesson I take from that is that if you’re going to make reforms, you have to carry the public with you. And I think that’s a very important message, and I think that’s why it’s clear that in Scotland there should be a reset of the situation.”

Starmer is referring here to the gender self-ID law drawn up by former Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, which lacked public support and was blocked by the UK Government because it conflicted with UK law. It would have allowed anyone over the age of 16 to self-identify his or her gender without a medical diagnosis. The debacle is widely considered to be a significant factor in Ms Sturgeon’s resignation as First Minister after her uncompromising approach saw her come under huge pressure.

Starmer’s position on gender self-ID has been inconsistent. In 2021, he told LGBT website Pink News: “We are committed to updating the GRA [Gender Recognition Act] to introduce self-declaration for trans people.”

However, in January this year he waded into the Scottish debate by revealing he thought 16-year-olds were too young to legally change their gender.

No doubt aware of conflicting, strongly held views among Labour members and potential voters on the issue, Starmer has frequently appeared to sit on the fence. In May last year, he refused to say whether a woman could have a penis, only to eventually admit that “biology matters”, though without elaborating further.

No doubt aware of conflicting, strongly held views among Labour members and potential voters on the issue, Starmer has frequently appeared to sit on the fence. In May last year, he refused to say whether a woman could have a penis, only to eventually admit that “biology matters”, though without elaborating further.

In January, he committed to unspecified changes to remove alleged “indignities” in the current process of changing gender, though again with no details. He told the BBC: “We want to modernise the system. We’re looking at what the options are. There are all sorts of different definitions in relation to self-certification.”

It’s hard from these varied public statements to know for sure what Starmer really thinks on the issue or what Labour would do in office. The latest muddying of the policy appears to be in response to unfavourable public opinion and the fallout in Scotland rather than any obvious shift in conviction.

At C4M, we call on politicians of all parties to recognise the biological truth that human beings come in male and female and cannot change sex. This basic scientific fact has ramifications in all kinds of key areas, not least marriage. Losing sight of it will only lead to problems.