UK Politics

Starmer and Sunak clash over transgender rights and NHS waiting lists during PMQsSign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster emailThe father of murdered transgender teenager Brianna Ghey has demanded an apology from Rishi Sunak, saying he was “disgusted” with the prime minister’s comments.Peter Spooner told Sky News Mr Sunak’s remarks during PMQs had been “degrading” and “absolutely dehumanising”. He said: “Identities of people should not be used in that manner, and I personally feel shocked by his comments.”Mr Spooner added that Mr Sunak “should apologise for his remarks”.Earlier Keir Starmer met with Brianna Ghey’s mother in a parliament after Rishi Sunak made a “crass” joke about trans people at PMQs.In an ill-tempered exchange, Mr Sunak accused Labour leader Keir Starmer of U-turning on his definition of a woman, saying it was “a bit rich” to hear about promises from someone who had broken every single promise he was elected on.Mr Sunak listed “pensions, planning, peerages”, among others, before adding that that the Labour leader had u-turned on “defining a woman, although, in fairness, that was only 99 per cent of a U-turn.”Mr Starmer replied: “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame.”Show latest update 1707350460ICYMI: Not the first time Sunak has attacked Labour on trans issuesThis is not the first time the prime minister has attacked Labour over the issue of gender identity policies, which have been a frequent subject of debate in Westminster in recent years.LGBT+ campaigners have condemned some of the language used by politicians to discuss trans people, with the issue often drawn into the so-called “culture war” by right-wingers.In his Tory conference speech last year, Mr Sunak told Conservative delegates in Manchester: “We shouldn’t get bullied into believing that people can be any sex they want to be.“They can’t – a man is a man and a woman is a woman.” More

Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inboxGet our free View from Westminster email British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism Wednesday after seeking to mock the position of the Labour Party’s leader on the definition of a woman, less than two minutes after lawmakers heard that the mother of a murdered transgender teenager was in Parliament.In response to a question from Keir Starmer, Sunak listed a series of issues that he said showed the Labour leader making about-turns, ending with a quip about his stance on “defining a woman, although in fairness, that was only 99% of a U-turn.” His remark was intended to embarrass Starmer, who Sunak’s Conservatives have accused of vacillating on the issue of self-identification, and who have pounced on his comment last year that “99.9% of women haven’t got a penis.”Starmer, who had welcomed the mother of Brianna Ghey, Esther Ghey, was visibly furious in response. He said the comments were inappropriate, and Sunak later acknowledged Ghey. “Of all the weeks to say that, when Brianna’s mother is in this chamber. Shame,” Starmer said. “Parading as a man of integrity when he’s got absolutely no responsibility.”Last Friday, the two 16-year-old convicted murderers of Brianna a year ago were handed life sentences with minimum prison terms of 20 and 22 years.The horrific murder shocked the nation. Brianna, who was 16, was stabbed with a hunting knife 28 times in her head, neck, chest and back in broad daylight after being lured to a park in the town of Warrington in northwest England on Feb. 11, 2023.Brianna’s mother has been widely praised for her dignified response, calling for the families of the convicted pair to be shown some empathy and compassion. In an interview Sunday with the BBC, she said she would be open to meeting the mother of Scarlett Jenkinson, one of Brianna’s two killers who according to the judge in the case was the ringleader.Esther Ghey is campaigning for restrictions on what under-16s can access on their cell phones and for the wider use of mindfulness in schools, as a way to help teachers and children to look after their mental health.At the end of Sunak’s weekly — and often rowdy — questioning in Parliament, he acknowledged the presence of Brianna’s mother in the chamber.“If I could just say also to Brianna Ghey’s mother who is here, as I said earlier this week, what happened was an unspeakable and shocking tragedy,” he said. “As I said earlier this week, in the face of that, for her mother to demonstrate the compassion and empathy that she did last weekend, I thought demonstrated the very best of humanity in the face of seeing the very worst of humanity.“She deserves all our admiration and praise for that,” he added.Stonewall, a group that stands for LGBTQ+ rights, urged Sunak to apologize for his “cheap, callous and crass” use of trans people as a “punchline.” The exchange has stoked concerns about the level of debate in the run-up to a general election later this year. With his Conservative Party trailing the main opposition Labour Party heavily in the opinion polls, Sunak has come under pressure from some of his own lawmakers to put so-called “culture war” issues on the agenda, in an attempt to create dividing lines that could begin to dominate the public debate. More

Sign up to our free Brexit and beyond email for the latest headlines on what Brexit is meaning for the UKSign up to our Brexit email for the latest insightThe chairman of Asda hit out at Brexit “lies” as the deputy prime minister was forced to deny Rishi Sunak was misleading the public. Oliver Dowden claimed Mr Sunak was simply using “robust language” when he suggested Keir Starmer was a terrorist sympathiser earlier this week.Labour reacted with fury at the incendiary claim. Mr Dowden said Mr Sunak was highlighting the fact that when he was a lawyer Sir Keir had represented the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which the government has proscribed.“I would say that is the use of robust language. I wouldn’t say that was the prime minister misleading,” he said, as he also denied the government lied.His claims come just weeks after Rishi Sunak was rapped by the official statistics watchdog for repeatedly claiming to have “cleared” the asylum backlog. The UK Statistics Authority told the prime minister his assertion risked eroding trust in the government.Meanwhile, Lord Rose, the boss of the retail giant, attacked what the British people were told about leaving the European Union. Following reports Brexit has cost the UK economy £140billion so far, Lord he told LBC: “The short answer is, we were lied to, we were gullible. We voted for it. And we now have to pay the consequence.”He added: “I don’t want to say I told you so, I was a very minor voice in a very difficult campaign when frankly, we were lied to. Where is the £300 million for the National Health Service? Where is the membership of Turkey to the EU, which was going to flood the EU with immigrants? Now we’ve got an immigration problem, which was caused by different things.” Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden (Stefan Rousseau/PA)The prime minister said the “the facts speak for themselves” when asked if Sir Keir Starmer is a terrorist sympathiser. Mr Dowden said he believed in “robust political discourse” but added “what I don’t believe in and have never believed in is lying or misleading people. Because in the end, I think you damage yourself and you do damage politics at large.”Asked “so you don’t think at the moment your party is doing that?”, the deputy PM replied: “No, I don’t, no.” More