Tomorrow Wes Streeting will remove trans minors ability to access, and doctors to prescribe, cross-sex hormones.
Try as it might Labour will never eradicate trans people. They cannot, and should not, change who they are. All Labour will do is make trans lives harder - with more harm and more death.
Female athletes must pay £185 to prove their sex Matt Lawton - Chief Sports Correspondent British female track and field athletes are being asked to pay £185 for a sex test if they want to compete internationally. World Athletics requires all athletes to take an SRY gene test before competing in the female category at major championships and Diamond League events to guarantee fair competition by excluding trans and DSD (differences of sex development) competitors. Before the World Championships in Tokyo last September, World Athletics gave $100 per test for the thousand or so female athletes needing one. More money will be provided by the international federation for this year’s World Junior Championships. But British women have been advised by UK Athletics (UKA) to pay for the test themselves, urging them to have the cheek swab, which indicates the presence of a Y chromosome, “as soon as possible to avoid delays around selection”. However, some women have complained it is unfair when the test is not required for men. UKA has a hardship fund to pay for the test and will assess requests on a case-by-case basis. But the situation is symptomatic of a national federation already facing financial challenges, made worse by UK Sport cutting its funding for this Olympic cycle. While almost £32 million was given to the relatively niche sports that won five medals at last month’s Winter Olympics, athletics has had its funding cut from £22.18 million to £20.45 million despite winning ten medals in 2024. It was only last year UKA returned to some form of financial stability, posting a profit of £107,588. But it is now facing a big fine after admitting corporate manslaughter over the death of Abdullah Hayayei, who died in 2017 after a metal cage fell on him while he was training for the World Para Athletics Championships in London.
"Feminism" [Times]
Endlessly embarrassed by the geographers who show their neoliberal selves - pretending otherwise was just their career move. Get that ladder pulled up, says Tickell.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Continuity Badenoch is not the change I believe Labour promised in 2024.
Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …
Dear Shabana,
Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.
This situation further compounds the misery of being a fixed-term/precarious academic. Why would universities hire an ECR if they can hire an established academic who has been made redundant?
But fundamentally, this shows why first past the post isn’t fit for purpose. If the government doesn’t introduce proportional voting, a far right party could win the next general election outright on a minority of the vote.
sex matters trustee charlotte cadden
gorton and denton by-election result: she gets 706 votes, 1.9% of the total
underappreciated but very funny gorton and denton sideplot: the conservatives nominating literal sex matters (uk terf group) trustee charlotte cadden, only for her to get the worst result for the conservatives in by-election history and lose her deposit
Sorry but Matt Goodwin losing to the Green Party, I just love good news, this is delicious
Read Ruth’s post and then take action by 22 April
Utterly extraordinary that Hilary Cass on the BBC this morning said if some young people had "taken more time" they might not have pursued medical treatments, when her own report last year found that children routinely faced multi-year waiting lists for gender services.
![UK Government). SR2 presents adherents to a binary model of sex as possessing 'ordinary mainstream views about the reality of sex' (SR2, 32) that align with 'scientific and scholarly norms which are essential to the production of knowledge' (SR2, 12). SR2 construes 'some aspects of gender-identity theory [as lying] outside of truth-seeking norms', and it describes 'threat[s] to the norms of the reality-based community'— which it contrasts with the 'norms of propaganda and disinformation'—as a 'threat to democracy' (SR, 31). SR2 also recommends universities consider 'paring back the scope and power of ethics committees' in various ways (SR2, 16-17).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:k3okprkp6mqdikp4xrowxb5x/bafkreibl2mg72m3yrpum72tybqxptwjalmum2g75avlo5wivqwt6h76aqi)
UK Government). SR2 presents adherents to a binary model of sex as possessing 'ordinary mainstream views about the reality of sex' (SR2, 32) that align with 'scientific and scholarly norms which are essential to the production of knowledge' (SR2, 12). SR2 construes 'some aspects of gender-identity theory [as lying] outside of truth-seeking norms', and it describes 'threat[s] to the norms of the reality-based community'— which it contrasts with the 'norms of propaganda and disinformation'—as a 'threat to democracy' (SR, 31). SR2 also recommends universities consider 'paring back the scope and power of ethics committees' in various ways (SR2, 16-17).
City St George’s VC spoke at event last week www.citystgeorges.ac.uk/news-and-eve... focused on 2nd report of Sullivan Review (SR2).
@jaytoddgla.bsky.social and I want everyone to be clear about who & what SR2 positions as “threats to democracy” rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
City v-c backs Sullivan Review on gender question in research Failure to use biological sex as 'basic variable' will make research 'weaker and less reliable', says City St George's head Anthony Finkelstein Published on February 13, 2026 Last updated February 13, 2026 Jack Grove
The vice-chancellor of City St George’s, University of London has publicly lent his support to the Sullivan Review.
Read @jaytoddgla.bsky.social’s and my critical article to understand the full stakes of this Review rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
(Covered by the THE)
It’s very exhausting Cal. X
I assume the government is delighted that the Supreme Court has brought clarity to this situation
A review of public data collection and research that recommends ensuring that data about ‘sex’ is prioritised over data about ‘gender’ or ‘gender identity’ has been criticised in new research The Sullivan Review, which was widely viewed as skewed towards gender-critical biases, has been criticised in a new report that warns that if it is adopted it will "undermine the quality of public institutions’ research, erode academic freedom, and threaten the rights of trans and gender diverse people".
“Streeting’s view that the Sullivan Review ‘will lead to better, more inclusive and fairer outcomes for everyone', is wrong,” @jaytoddgla.bsky.social
Source: www.wearequeeraf.com/understand-t...
Being trans is not a medical condition nor is it an unwanted life outcome to be guarded against, it is a healthy way that many people choose to express themselves.
Being trans is not a medical condition nor is it an unwanted life outcome to be guarded against, it is a healthy way that many people choose to express themselves.
It’s absurd for this Government’s proposed guidance to suggest that schools need to seek clinical advice if a young person wants to change their name, uniform or hairstyle.
It’s absurd for this Government’s proposed guidance to suggest that schools need to seek clinical advice if a young person wants to change their name, uniform or hairstyle.
There's a lot going on - bear with us as we take the time to understand the ruling on the EHRC's guidance on the Equality Act, but in the meantime...
Our statement on Government 'guidance for gender questioning children':
Donate to the @goodlawproject.bsky.social crowdfunder to appeal the decision from the courts today.
goodlawproject.org/crowdfunder/...
264. Schools and colleges should take a very careful approach in relation to social transition. The Cass Review acknowledged that there is a lack of good evidence on the long-term impact of social transition on young people, but it is clear that social transition should be viewed as an active intervention that may have significant effects on the child or young person in terms of their psychological functioning and longer-term outcomes. Primary schools should exercise particular caution, and we would expect support for full social transition to be agreed very rarely.
This explicit transphobia is spelled out in excruciating detail. Direct from Cass again.
Again, this is transcribed direct from Cass. And *why* do we need to be careful? Because Cass doesn't like the idea that a child could turn out to be trans. Because bigotry.
Of course NOT accommodating social transition if requested is EQUALLY an active intervention. A transphobic punishment.
261. The Cass Review is clear that outcomes for children and adolescents are best if they have a supportive relationship with their families and, in the vast majority of cases, we would expect schools/colleges and parents/carers to work together to establish what is best for the child. Involving a child's parents/carers will enable schools and colleges to promote a child's wellbeing and protect them from harm.
Did they consult with a single LGBTQ+ organization?
This view that parents are saintly, that being outed to them is automatically some kind of safety measure, is just fucking wild.
247. Schools and colleges should keep in mind that it is common for children to engage in activities that are less typically associated with their sex. For example, at primary school age, girls may play with trucks, or boys may dress in clothes that are perceived as feminine. Sometimes young children also go through a period of questioning their gender but for the majority this will not continue into adulthood, while a small proportion may continue to question their gender and this feeling may intensify into puberty.
Rewind a bit, we can see that the transphobic assertions from Cass, based on repeatedly debunked pseudoscientific work and opinion pieces, have been directly transcribed into this as "fact".
259. Schools should keep in mind the emphasis in the Cass Review on early clinical involvement when families are considering social transition for pre-pubertal children, including how to support their children in a non-directive way, whilst also keeping options open and flexible. The Cass Review emphasised that clinical involvement in the decision-making process should include advising on the risks and benefits of social transition as a planned intervention, referencing best available evidence. This is not a role that can be undertaken by staff without appropriate clinical training.
This draft guidance reproduces Cass insisting that clinicians must be involved in decisions about *social transition* which actually should be none of their damn business
They take the line that this "non-directive" intervention should force things to be "keeping options open and flexible"...
Also noticeable in this guidance is how it reinforces gender stereotypes, you know exactly the type of messaging used, as in US, but obviously elsewhere, to attack women's rights. This may seem minor, but why is girls playing with trucks treated as something to "grow out of"
bsky.app/profile/lous...
Don't hold back there, Stonewall...🙄
Labour has brought back section 28 against trans and non-binary individuals. I lived through section 28 last time. I suffered the harms of it. This will do the same thing. Not even allowing young people to socially transition is plain wrong. It prevents them finding their own identity.
If you were trying to come up with more harmful guidance towards trans and non-binary young people you would be hard pressed to find it. The fact it is backed by Cass shows how wrong it is.
We are already seeing an increase in suicide rates among trans young people.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
