A Week in the War on Women: Monday 7th June - Sunday 13th June GOOD NEWS SUPPLEMENT
It Was The Best of Times
Obviously, the biggest and most joy-inducing news of the week has to be Maya’s Forstater’s stupendous court victory.
It Was The Worst Of Times
But that car crash interview on Radio Four deserves an honourable mention for giving us all such a great laugh.
Benjamin Cohen, CEO of Pink News, demonstrated why ‘no debate’ is a much safer strategy when he went on the Today programme to talk about Stonewall.
Campus Chaos For Stonewall
Hot on the heels of all the other organisations dropping out of Stonewall’s ‘diversity champions’ programme, it seems the varsity set will be the next to jump ship.
University College London have already gone.
And it looks as if other universities will be following suit.
Stonewall Continues To Get Pummelled In The Press
THE TELEGRAPH (7th June): Tim Stanley writes about Stonewall’s overreach in the pursuit of ‘continued power and relevance’.
“Obsessed with pronouns and lavatories, the charity has got itself caught in a war between trans rights and feminism, though as with all institutional upheavals, it’s as much about money and power as it is ideology.”
THE TIMES (7th June): Libby Purves writes about Stonewall’s Orwellian language policing and the damage it is causing.
“LGBT charity that bravely fought Section 28 is now becoming the bully itself in its Orwellian insistence on rightspeak.”
THE TIMES (7th June): Ben Ellery on the projected ‘Exodus’ of government departments from Stonewall’s ‘diversity champions’ scheme.
“The Ministry of Justice is preparing to leave Stonewall’s diversity scheme leading to an ‘exodus’ of government departments severing ties with the charity, sources suggest.”
THE LAWYER (7th June): Catrin Griffiths says that city law firms must ask some ‘hard questions’ about Stonewall.
THE DAILY MAIL (8th June): Sarah Vine writes about Stonewall’s attempt to erase womanhood, particularly its diktats on the language around motherhood.
“The awful truth is, when it comes to Stonewall's mission to eradicate biological sex, much of the damage is already done. Over the past few years, it has slowly but surely infiltrated countless government organisations, pushing its agenda and rewiring society from within.”
THE TELEGRAPH (8th June): Ewan Somerville and Hayley Dixon write about the legal action police forces could face from campaign group, Fair Cop.
“Former constable Harry Miller has warned forces that their affiliation with Stonewall breaches police rules on political activity and association with groups that could create a conflict of interest… Fair Cop will issue Pre Action letters to any force which remains in the Stonewall Champion’s Scheme.”
THE DAILY MAIL (9th June): Jenni Murray writes about the need to stand up against ‘Stonewall zealots’.
“Feminists would have been an easy group to keep on side when it came to trans rights — if we had not been attacked and cancelled as bigots. We are not transphobic. Trans people are human beings, deserving of respect just as we are, but the aggression and unreasonable demands of some activists and the ongoing extreme stance of Stonewall will not bring sympathy to their cause.”
THE JEWISH CHRONICLE (9th June): A JC reporter writes about the ‘gross insult’ of Stonewall CEO, Nancy Kelley, comparing gender criticism to antisemitism.
“It is a gross insult to the millions of victims of antisemitism, both past and present, to compare a reasonable belief in sex and gender to Jew hatred. Stonewall is in the grip of fundamentalism when it comes to its gender ideology and this just shows how far it has travelled from reality.”
HEALTH SERVICE JOURNAL (11th June): Former NHS trust chief executive, Kate Grimes, describes her worries about Stonewall.
“My concerns are three-fold. First, and most importantly, Stonewall’s influence is undermining our ability to keep our patients safe. Secondly, it stifles free speech and creates a culture of fear amongst some staff. Thirdly, it gives misleading and potentially unlawful advice… I believe that working with Stonewall is no longer compatible with NHS values and risks the reputation of the NHS and the safety of our patients and staff.”
THE DAILY MAIL (13th June): Sanchez Manning writes on the ‘inaccurate and unlawful’ advice given by Stonewall to the schools on its ‘champions’ scheme.
“Embattled diversity charity Stonewall is making hundreds of thousands of pounds by enrolling schools on to a programme of transgender guidance that critics have branded ‘dangerous’.”
Elsewhere In The News…
Women Have Vaginas
THE HERALD (9th June): Lisa Keogh has been cleared of all charges by Abertay University.
Keogh, a final-year law student, faced disciplinary action after she challenged the view that transwomen should be permitted to compete in female sports in a seminar. She was reported by classmates after saying “Women have vaginas”.
She has now been informed by the Student Disciplinary Board that all the complaints against her have been dismissed.
Lib Dems Facing Legal Action
THE TELEGRAPH: A former party official is suing the Liberal Democrats after she was barred from standing for office.
In 2018 domestic abuse survivor, Natalie Bird, was bullied on social media by Lib Dem trans activists, hounded out of her role within the party, accused of ‘dangerous transphobia’ and subjected to an investigation for expressing her belief that trans-identified males should not be accommodated in women’s refuges.
A year later she was barred from holding or standing for election to any party office for 10 years and barred from holding or seeking election to any public office on behalf of the party for 10 years because, it was claimed, she had disseminated ‘transphobic material’. She was wearing a t-shirt that read “Woman: Adult human female”.
Now she has launched a legal action for discrimination under the Equality Act 2010. Her solicitor, Elliot Hammer, said that this case could well be a landmark case on the freedom of speech.
If you’d like to contribute towards her legal costs, you can do so here.
And Finally…
Thank you Candy Walker of Govan Law Centre. May the man - yes, I said it - called Gregor Murray shut the f*** up.
Love that last story and the reply - basically it was NO.