Sir Keir Starmer has refused to rewrite the Equality Act to protect women, despite changing his view on whether biological men should be banned from using female lavatories.
The Labour leader ended a week of confusion in his party when he said on Monday that he believed trans women with a gender recognition certificate should not be able to use women’s facilities.
A week earlier, his education spokeswoman had refused eight times to answer the question.
The Tories say that to enable public bodies to protect women, the Equality Act must be rewritten to make it clear that “sex” in the legislation means “biological sex” and not the gender with which a person identifies.
This would make it clear that public bodies can stop trans women entering women’s lavatories or changing rooms, as well as preventing them from joining all-female sports teams.
At the moment the Equality Act, written in 2010, only uses the word “sex”. But since then, with the rise of gender ideology, the word has become ambiguous.
When Sir Keir was asked whether Labour would change the Equality Act in the light of his recent change of heart, he said: “I don’t think the Equality Act does need to be amended in that regard.”
A Tory source said that if the Equality Act was working, then nurses would not be being forced to change in a room with a biological man.
“Keir Starmer is embarrassing himself going round and round in circles on this,” the source said. “He has no idea and will just say whatever he thinks is the easiest thing to get him out of a tight spot. JK Rowling knows it. Labour MP Rosie Duffield knows it. Keir Starmer cannot be trusted on these issues.”
Harry Potter author Rowling, who was formerly a Labour donor, has said she cannot vote for Sir Keir’s party until it changes its stance on single-sex spaces.
Meanwhile, the party has been accused of nearly hounding out Ms Duffield, its candidate for Canterburywho is a staunch critic of gender ideology, to the extent that she faced an internal investigation.
Sir Keir’s comments came amid reports that Labour could bring in Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader, as the chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
Maya Forstater, the chief executive of the charity Sex Matters, said: “Whichever party forms the next government it must grapple with the serious lack of clarity about the law on single-sex services, which is undermining the rights and safety of women and girls in practice.
“If the Labour Party will not do this by amending the Equality Act, as Keir Starmer has indicated, the task will fall to the EHRC to issue usable statutory guidance.
“Across the UK, service providers – from pub owners to gym chains, as well as domestic violence shelters and rape crisis services – have been given misleading official guidance, which has undermined their confidence to protect women’s single-sex spaces.
“The Act’s provisions on single-sex services cover everyday services like toilets and showers, and specialist services like women’s refuges. Cases such as the nurses in Darlington and Fife, who have been forced to undress with a male colleague, girls in school forced to share toilets, changing rooms and sports with boys who want to be girls, and police forces that allow trans-identifying male officers to search women show just how far practice has drifted from the law.”
Ms Harman, who is stepping down as an MP, would be a controversial choice as EHRC chairman because she has said she believes trans women are women.
‘Act must be rewritten’
The current chairman is Baroness Kishwer Falkner, but her period of office comes to an end in a few months.
Lady Falkner is a key believer that the Equality Act must be rewritten to make it clear that “sex” means “biological sex”.
Kemi Badenoch, the equalities minister, had planned to hand her another five-month contract, but the election was called early, thwarting her plans.
Ms Forstater said: “There are international rules stating that national human rights bodies, such as the EHRC, must be independent of the government.
“Would the EHRC really be judged as independent if an incoming Labour government removed the current chair and replaced her with someone who has been a long-standing MP and a former leader of the party?”
