Labour's trans toilet policy unravels as women’s safe spaces put into question | Bridget Phillipson

“I would think that in those cases people would be using female toilets.”
Kait Borsay presses shadow education secretary Bridget Phillipson on Labour's position regarding safe spaces for women.
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[@MackerelCat]

It’s not about making women FEEL safe, it’s about making women actually safe.

[@RobinHarris-nf4yv]

No it’s a culture war You can’t stop trans women entering women’s only toilets

[@krob2327]

Women aren’t safe in Britain. The grooming gangs still go on

[@NualaAhern-d5g]

Women need to BE safe not just to feel safe

[@ColaSpandex]

Has anyone done a proper risk assessment? I have a funny feeling that we should be more concerned about electric lawnmowers.

[@livelife5947]

Like a lot of women I’m a DV & r*pe survivor. The thought of having no female only spaces other than my home absolutely petrifies me. Labour have basically proudly announced that women, our rights, our opinions, our concerns, our safety means nothing. Well, unless you were born male. If that isn’t the very definition of misogyny, I’d like someone to tell me what is. 😡😡😡

[@ZarchAlDain]

Trans women are victims of violence even more frequently than other women are. We can all work together to protect everyone. No one should be scared to go out.

[@livelife5947]

⁠@@ZarchAlDain You’ve got no evidence proving that men who believe they are women are at greater risk of violence than women. None whatsoever. The trans movement isn’t a civil rights movement, it’s a misogyny movement aimed at disenfranchising women. It’s fundamentally anti women rights.

[@livelife5947]

@@ZarchAlDain There’s no evidence to support your claim, it’s a complete & utter lie intended to manipulate women into going against their own interests.

[@ZeldaKid5000]

Misogyny is discrimination and bigoted opinions towards women. Misogyny is not trans women being allowed to access female spaces. Also worth mentioning that it's men who oppose trans women's inclusion in women's spaces more than women do, women are in fact more supportive of it overall. I'd recommend getting out of these anti-trans echo chambers and into the outside world, where trans women have been using these spaces for decades without issue.

[@CheeseLovingGuy]

​@@ZarchAlDainNo we cannot. Stay out of women's spaces.

[@henryb160]

People who begin their answers with the weasel "So" are not giving answers but making statements.

[@cherry20106]

Oh my god who gives a toss about toilets!!! We don’t CARE

[@isabelcampelos8594]

I care. Speak for yourself

[@slinkiegirl2001]

i care

[@Milburt]

@@cherry20106 are you trans?

[@GairikGhosh-bx8ks]

So Isla Bryson would be housed in a female prison under Labour!??

[@lynnm6413]

Graham, double grapist, you mean?!

[@ZarchAlDain]

They would be risk assessed and sent to a male prison - as is what happened - as is what all the policies say would happen. The system worked.

[@tonyvogue3640]

@@ZarchAlDain eventually, and lets not forget what happened to the kranky thief in the meantime

[@ZarchAlDain]

@@tonyvogue3640 They were held in solitary, then transferred to a male prison once the risk assessment was completed. What did you think happened?

[@kylebeaton5604]

already happening in us, they have to distribute condoms.

[@nicolarose8026]

ALL the parties have abandoned women, promote policies that endanger our safety and ignore us for their own depravity.

[@Jack-e5t]

cry more dips.hit

[@gatvestreet9248]

Very well said. They talk inclusion while actually EXcluding women.

[@krob2327]

Reasonable people who aren’t depraved fail to understand that labour get off on this. They hate the average person and want them harmed

[@herbertlongfellow7702]

All parties except The Party of Women.

[@marym5664]

Why don’t politicians get that sex (what you are biologically) and gender (socially constructed roles that include behaviour & expression ) are 2 different things. It isn’t possible to change sex regardless of paper documentation.

[@janettesinclair6279]

And I don’t think it should be possible to alter a legal document for any reason. Apparently we are told this has happened.

[@Coelacanth1]

Hence why trans gender is called trans gender and not trans sex

[@TheSuperPsychoKiller]

Protect women and girls at all costs even if that hurts the feelings of the trans community.

[@Oceanfoxy]

Not rocket science men can not be woman, we needs to retain sex based rights as priority

[@RobinHarris-nf4yv]

What is a person born with female body parts but has X Y chromosomes

[@Franeeky]

​@@RobinHarris-nf4yvThat scenario doesn't justify transgenderism.

[@fritzwrangle-clouder6033]

@@RobinHarris-nf4yv They would probably be men with a congenital abnormality.

[@Hipporider]

The Western world has gone insane. 🙄

[@maccagrabme]

Only the pathetic far left who were insane anyway but now complete lunatics. Vote for sanity vote for Reform.

[@TheHerrUlf]

Yes

[@ZabZab-s3i]

It's being done

[@RobinHarris-nf4yv]

How would you police trans women being stopped from entering women’s only toilets or changing rooms? The only madness is thinking it can be done

[@808State21]

I haven't i think they should build their own loos with their own pennies.

[@DavidMeikle-ei7fr]

Does Labour realise that women have the vote ?

[@lynnm6413]

Right? I stand with J.K. Rowling….they are not votable for women

[@mr.mayhem7402]

Why should they care when those women will vote for him to destroy their rights anyway?

[@mr.mayhem7402]

​@-liv7Too late. I'm asking each and every last one of them: "what are doing?"

[@wendyholland2339]

They will when Reform come and take HER BACK SHES OURS WE ARE THE PATRIOTS

[@wendyholland2339]

LOVE WHAT LABOUR ARE SAYING MORE VOTES FOR COMMON SENSE REFORM ❤

[@paulinegray191]

They can't give a straight answer because they know they're throwing women under a bus. Going through a disabity assessment is much more stressful and instrusive than getting a piece of paper that lies about your sex!

[@BurningTNT]

You know maybe a disability assessment shouldn’t be that stressful and intrusive. Maybe we should make it easier for people who are disabled to get the appropriate support and benefits Trans healthcare is both stressful and intrusive, in ways that are a massive waste of nhs money vs just giving people the information on potential side effects and letting them make an informed decision

[@toastedsandwich1]

can't vote labour. Stammer is so wishy washy and his stance on women and trans is ridiculous. I always supported labour in the past but no more. My Dad was a shop steward and I think he would be rolling in his grave now. I'm with JK. and I'm female not cis just female.

[@RobinHarris-nf4yv]

So how would you stop trans woman entering women’s only toilets

[@suzanneportch113]

Look at Kelly-Jay Keen and the party of women. They are standing. They are very clear about what a woman is. Adult human female!

[@Coelacanth1]

I heard she lost her deposit

[@JulieMalone-oy1ll]

I wouldnt trust the labs with my safety

[@catherinemartin6258]

That’s because your a Tory

[@fayabogush2956]

@@catherinemartin6258 Both hate women.

[@walkingthroughpixels]

​@@catherinemartin6258I'm not a tory... always been Labour until 2020.. and now it will be Reform.

[@toddbrackett4277]

What is wrong with this woman?

[@CDee-if9og]

Absolutely nothing.She's coining it in,will say anything for a wage.

[@Vitalij_R2]

She if a leftist

[@catherinemartin6258]

@@CDee-if9og sounds like the Tory government

[@simony2801]

Nothing, she’s right.

[@Luton-Mick]

Her parents are related.

[@darrentaylor1414]

Was going to vote Labour, not a chance now.

[@fate9735]

good choice as this is just the start of it and our woman and children need protecting from all this

[@lynnm6413]

Totally agree….sell outs

[@mr.mayhem7402]

​@@fate9735And adolescence who may turn out to be homosexuals after they gone through puberty, may also need to be protected from the mind virus cultists trying to "Trans" them with life altering cross hormones.

[@catherinemartin6258]

Your lying your a Tory voter

[@TheSuperPsychoKiller]

I’m pretty sure there are more important reasons to vote Labour not just because of bathrooms.

[@DashRiprock513]

If one has a Y chromosome..you're male..like it or not. If some guy has a fantasy of being a woman, that's ok..but don't expect the rest of us to go along with it.....

[@andreaswiklund7197]

Yea, all right, you do you ... But in your opinion, which toilet should a trans woman go to then?

[@DacianRider]

@@andreaswiklund7197 bushes are plentiful

[@brianyule1289]

What's your take on people born with Swyer Syndrome who are born with female genitalia and secondary sex characteristics, but have a Y chromosome? medlineplus.gov/genetics/condition/swyer-syndrome/#:~:text=In%20Swyer%20syndrome%2C%20individuals%20have,they%20have%20female%20reproductive%20structures%20.

[@sasquatch2732]

@@andreaswiklund7197 perhaps the disabled toilet? They’re usually not communal

[@Hipporider]

Men's toilet. They're men genetically​@@andreaswiklund7197

[@stevetodd7030]

Why not have facilities for others who are not males or females. Then make sure the facilities are used by those who are what they actually are. Women fought for tens of years for equality and in the last few have lost almost all of them rights to men who say they are woman and that is just wrong.

[@dazjackson1972]

3:20 "You don't police how people use toilets in that sense, but....." Amazing.

[@christopheroliver8762]

We're talking about someone thats gone through a transition over a number of years, not someone who's just chucked on a dress one day. Yes, absolutely, a transwoman who is years into or completely transitioned should be allowed to use women's toilet and enter a woman's space.

[@martycrow]

@@christopheroliver8762 I think the proposal is that eg a bio-man who wants to trans has to see a friendly doctor, get a GRC, wait two years and then is free to go into 'women only' spaces and situations. They can retain male genitalia. Not sure about changing in sight of women or girls. Nor the other way, the bio-women to men situation.

[@dazjackson1972]

@@christopheroliver8762 No he shouldn't - regardless of the lengths he has gone to, in order to APPEAR female.

[@webbo9798]

@@christopheroliver8762 NO - the problem is how will you be able to tell the difference ? You start this now and you will soon a free for all. Why should we" change everything" to accommodate a very small minority. Ridiculous

[@BurningTNT]

I mean she’s right though When was the last time you saw a stop and search or an id check to enter the public bathroom? The world you want labour to promise doesn’t exist Let’s throw the reverse question and see how people feel: what about a trans man whose gone through the sake process? Would you insist they need to be in the women’s bathroom? You can’t say you don’t want both, either you accept that someone whose gone through that process can use the bathroom that matches their gender, or you say it’s not enough and force them into the one they’re not comfortable with.

[@stuartmunro2474]

Weasel words.

[@juliesuberg8965]

what a double speak woman. It is impossible to understand what she is saying about single sex spaces. Does she not know the words yes and no

[@mickraynor7957]

I've just given up. The UK has officially gone totally insane. Beam me up Scotty!

[@wendyholland2339]

If jk is wrong so are 95% of us REFORM FOR WOMENS SAFTY

[@stevegarrett2366]

Remove all Men/Women signs from the doors of single sex spaces. Replace them with Male/Female and end the argument and confusion.

[@iNsAnEwBiE]

Better yet, get rid of the big multi-person bathroom set up and stick with smaller, single person bathrooms. No gender association needed.

[@watchyoutb]

What if a "trans woman" identifies as female? Back to square one. And I'm not making this up, they do identify as female by the way!

[@watchyoutb]

But what if a trans woman identifies as female?

[@watchyoutb]

What if a trans woman identifies as female

[@arther4tuyn443]

Well there's now an attempt by the Trans lobby to conflate sex & gender, which means that if you change your gender your "legal sex" changes too = utter madness.

[@NualaAhern-d5g]

Secure safe spaces for women in law

[@mujiwala]

Woffle woffle woffle!

[@isabelcampelos8594]

As a woman, if I'm alone in a mixed bathroom and a man enters that bathroom, I feel alert and uncomfortable. A simple push into a stall is a risk. I don't want men or people who look like men (I don't know!!! And I don't want to need to ask) to enter the toilet that I'm using!

[@katywalker8322]

Forcing people to use toilets will force trans men to use the women’s toilets. You probably wouldn’t notice a trans women in the womens toilers but you would certainly notice a bearded trans man.

[@Coelacanth1]

You're not the only one with that fear for public toilets seem to attract all sorts

[@JulieMalone-oy1ll]

I wouldnt want to use the loos if trans men are using it, im a woman and i wouldnt feel safe, so in that turn i wouldnt bother going out id stay indoors where i would feel safer

[@lynnm6413]

Tndntified men or trans men aka females?!

[@maccagrabme]

No choice under Labour.

[@mica412]

Actually a trans man would be using the male toilet. Just shows you the absolute ignorance on the subject!

[@katywalker8322]

Trans women have been using women’s toilets for many decades.

[@Coelacanth1]

Though the option exits to go on e bay and buy yourself a radar key to access locked toilets

[@martycrow]

Can't they just hang up a sign saying "In Use by Trans" then others (men or women, or other trans) can decide if they want to go in or wait a few minutes? It will be such a rare thing that we'll look back and wonder what all the fuss was about.

[@ZarchAlDain]

This forces trans people to out themselves every time they use the bathroom. Within a month we'd have multiple reports of them being assaulted. Within a year some would be dead. That's the level of violence they face every day.

[@christopheroliver8762]

I kinda support the idea that TERFs would be inconvenienced by their own bigotry.

[@Thatssomebadhatharry1]

@@christopheroliver8762 shut up you absolute creep

[@Thatssomebadhatharry1]

@@christopheroliver8762think you are clever don’t you.. you are out largely outnumbered by us rational people .. drop the sexist misogyny

[@shrikeofterven6006]

​@ZarchAlDain That is a lie. If there were that many attacks taking place, the trans boosters would make sure every single one was a news event.

[@GeoffV-k1h]

Odd that a matter concerning a miniscule number of the population should be considered to vital. Is this weird debate going on everywhere in the world? I doubt it.

[@watchyoutb]

It impacts all women. That's roughly half the population

[@lynnm6413]

In the West…Yes!

[@MrsTabby1963]

Look at what is happening in sports, men winning medals/money in women's sports now. Men using women's facilities where they are showering or changing or using toilet facilities. Men being sent to female prisons, even when convicted of sexual or paedo offences. Men gaining entry to women;s refuges. Men gaining entry to home where elderly, sick or disabled women live alone to provide intimate care. Only predatory men do this and Labour (and other parties) are making it so easy for them to perform their evil deeds upon women everywhere.

[@katywalker8322]

It is a non issue, just the Uk and the USA trying to stir up hate against trans people based on something that has been happening without any issues for many decades

[@buffy2658]

Vote Party Of Women

[@kylebeaton5604]

wont answer the question

[@walkingthroughpixels]

I always tell my wife to just use the disabled one these days.. safer option.

[@deklane3139]

Jeesh, how much more mixed up can this world get.

[@MsElfdee]

Loonie left left me.

[@Goldstone93]

That’s just blah blah blah isn’t it

[@DacianRider]

but but but but but but but.........

[@streetaware]

There is only one solution for Woman.....Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform! Vote Reform!

[@TheTraveller20081]

Adam Boulton, your 'big political brain'. The one whose wife was Director of Government Relations for Blair and was described as "the most influential non-elected person in Downing Street". I'm sure he's properly impartial, ay?

[@GreenMorningDragonProductions]

I would consider giving my vote for any party whose stance would be thus: We are instructing trans women to use male toilets, in where the following signs would be displayed: "These toilets are also available for the use of trans women. Any form of verbal or physical harassment is a criminal offence. Your understanding and cooperation is greatly appreciated". Men are way more capable, emotionally and physically at accommodating trans women.

[@linzeubi4209]

I agree, I think the push should be for males to accept other males regardless of how they present themselves. I am yet to hear of a transwoman having problems in the gents, certainly not in the UK anyway.

[@kathrynkirk90]

This MP is a disgrace! God help us all...

[@helentomlinson6606]

J K ROWLING IS RIGHT

[@mcc5901]

JK Rowling is right and only a tiny minority disagree.

[@seancheung5153]

Phillipson: Let me say as many words as possible and choose the longest words I can think of and hopefully they won't notice that I'm not answering the question

[@emmaeltringham91]

Not sure why the shadow Education Secretary giving her opinion on trans women using women's toilets should unravel Labour's policy as it isn't her brief.

[@jeremysmith3786]

So you say that a shadow cabinet member can only understand and talk about their own department! Have you heard of collective responsibility. Typical, avoid the difficult questions, that is unsupportable policies have been forced through, throughout the ages.

[@emmaeltringham91]

@@jeremysmith3786 Not at all. She can give their opinion, but it doesn't change the party policy. You say she avoided a difficult question when in fact she answered it directly by saying a trans person should use the bathroom of their choice. Sounds like you didn't listen to the same interview I did.

[@BrassToff]

​@@emmaeltringham91 She didn't have a clue. She was clearly making it up as she went along. just like every other politician.

[@carltaylor6452]

It's presumably her brief when it comes to pupils and students being sexually intimidated by males in female toilets in schools and colleges.

[@carltaylor6452]

@@emmaeltringham91 Define a 'trans' person? Are you using the Stonewall definition? And while that 'trans' person is free to choose, what choice do the women and girls have? How does any woman know at the time that the man intimidating her in the bathroom is 'trans' and not a any male taking advantage of her inability to question him? You are aware that trans-identified males are more likely than the general male population to be in prison for sex offences (MOJ stats)?

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

I mean harry goes into the girls bathroom to explore the chamber of secrets. 👀

[@roders007]

Madness

[@keithtpc1508]

Don't worry Rishi, Nigel will sort it all out shortly LOL.

[@elizabethjohnston3549]

So if jkr thinks a man is not a woman shes wrong? Also what safe gaurding is going to happen for actual women , and what if you dont believe the gender opinion

[@josephmurray2234]

Im here for a laugh at labour also .kier likes this subject I find it so contradictory and unnecessary just my humble opinion .I do however understand and agree with Jk Rowling

[@lynnm6413]

Same, I stand with J.K. Rowling…..Labour are untenable

[@PtolemyJones]

Perhaps we need to move to only having single use toilet rooms, instead of bath rooms. When you open the door, you can see the entire inside for safety, and they are for everyone to use.

[@chrimbus71]

Just some toilets of any description in London would be nice. London has fewer public toilets than any major developed city on earth. Its pretty disgusting and embarassing fact

[@PtolemyJones]

@@chrimbus71 I was including toilets in businesses and work places.

[@ChancellorRat]

Why is Kait obsessed with the colour of Adam's pen? Does it make him look slightly less masculine to use a colour that is arbitrarily attributed to a sex? People need to grow up about this kind of thing.

[@ricdontap1]

Could you answer the question please

[@Eliocity]

Why not just make all public toilets individual lockable cubicles with their own sinks, and end this divisiveness?

[@rory7590]

Who cares?!

[@maxinesmith2193]

Keep talking this disgusting view from Labour is not going away 👍 and I’m here for it

[@thomasfellows4712]

And so it begins.....

[@tommymorrison6478]

Well ok. Will men have safe spaces too? If not, why not. We are all equal now, aren't we? S'ok, just kidding. Of course we're not.

[@lynnm6413]

No, we ain’t! Men commit 96% of SA‘s, no matter the gender identity

[@nickbutcher8389]

Would women only toilets and unisex toilets for everyone left work? With a few extra cubicles

[@tonyvogue3640]

no because the word woman has been corrupted, my solution would be "testes" or "non testes"

[@petemarchetto4998]

'Labour's trans toilet policy'? FFS, the Times, don't go the way of the Telegraph. Get a grip.

[@alanthomson306]

J.K. Rowling is spot on and these people want to dance around the issue.

[@larryfroot]

Current polling shows that although deserving attention, it's not a deal breaker for that many people.

[@toddunctious614]

This nonsense only started when state pension ages for men and women were equalised. What are the chances?

[@mr.mayhem7402]

Correlation is not causation. Transfeminism is the logical progression of feminism and the ideological insistence that to be absolutely equal then men and women have to be same, even though they're not.

[@usergiodmsilva1983PT]

It's not. ​@@mr.mayhem7402

[@suzannemanley6401]

Completing an online survey yesterday and thee were just two boxes male (including trans men) Or female (including Transwomen) I replied with don't lump women and trans into the same box. It was very insulting!

[@jonsteele7227]

Havent you got anything better to talk about. Its very easy. Many small cafes and establishments have one toilet for everyone. It has one toilet and a locked door. Everyone can use it. Perfect. Having special toilets does not reduce violent sexual offences. If it does then I would like to see the evidence. Trans people should be allowed to use the toilet they identify with their gender. I really dont think it offends many people and again I would ask for evidence of the number of people disturbed by or concerned about this issue

[@dazjackson1972]

The issue isn't "small cafes." How do you expect a single woman to feel if she enters a large shopping centre toilets, and finds herself sharing with 3 six foot transwomen?

[@watchyoutb]

​@@dazjackson1972 also changing rooms is a big issue

[@paulpaisley5291]

So trans woman can go into young girls changing rooms. Your a monster. You think that's OK.

[@sookibeulah9331]

Should trans women be able to use changing rooms with open changing areas?

[@paulpaisley5291]

@@sookibeulah9331 no. How many times. No.

[@robbiethepict2783]

They have been using the same toilet for years. What you going to do look up every woman's skirt?

[@Smallio1]

If a man walked into the toilets while my daughter was in there. There would be no way he would be walking out.

[@lynnm6413]

That‘s the reason most of us women carry hairspray and a lighter in our purses….for making biological facts clear to confused men

[@carltaylor6452]

Years ago the numbers of transsexuals was miniscule; today there are many many more, and they don't even have to have had surgery or even present as female.

[@Thatssomebadhatharry1]

You know as well as all of us Robbie love that trans Identified males NEVER FULLY PASS. We always know and therefore we would always know if they were using female toilets where they do not belong. And it would make a great deal of females uncomfortable

[@andreaswiklund7197]

Can someone please explain to me how a trans woman in the womens toilet is a problem.

[@commodiousvestibule]

More than 70 per cent of trans women prisoners are incarcerated for sex offences or violent crimes.

[@Brand131]

Since trans women are men, I think you can simplify your question to why men in women's bathrooms are a problem. And I can see why women would feel unsafe with men in their bathrooms, even though most men are harmless, a small group of them are predators. You can also this with the prisons' populations, where an disproportionate number (per capita) of trans women are in prison for sex-related offenses.

[@paulpaisley5291]

So you think it's OK for a man to go into a young girls changing room. Who's the monster.

[@sookibeulah9331]

It’s not just toilets, it’s changing rooms. Should trans women be able to use female changing rooms with common changing areas?

[@twisteddancer7773]

I and most other women would have a problem with a person standing up to go to the toilet

[@davidgardiner4720]

Why this unhealthy obsession with who goes to the loo where?

[@carltaylor6452]

You obviously don't care about the safety of your mother, sister, wife, daughter .... I wouldn't call being concerned for their privacy, dignity and safety an 'unhealthy obsession'.

[@mr.mayhem7402]

There's unhealthily obsessive men who want to ogle and sexually harrass women in women only spaces.

[@shrikeofterven6006]

Yeah, why can't the men in womanface just use men's spaces if this is a non-issue?

[@georgerodgerson4190]

Lunatics running the asylum

[@BennyBottom-n4j]

The Worlds gone nuts but but women will always be nuts free.

[@Jesus420.69]

Mad how we used to have an empire now we debate toilets.