JK Rowling skewers Labour 'complacency' after Campbell attacks Tory vow to protect 'biological sex'

As it stands, "sex" is one of the identifying traits protected under the act which makes it illegal for someone to discriminate against.

However, the term "sex" has become a disputed characteristic with some arguing that it can apply to people who have a gender recognition certificate, something that allows them to change their legal sex on their birth certificate.

The Tories' plans for it to only apply to biological sex at birth is part of the party's pledge to "tidy up the law so that we can create a better space for this conversation and make it less toxic", according to Secretary of State for Business and Trade and President of the Board of Trade and Minister for Women and Equalities, Kemi Badenoch.

But Campbell isn't persuaded, taking to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday to comment: "I’m sure the world of trade and business will take note that the actual Secretary of State for trade and business has decided that the biggest issue on her agenda on her first big election outing is the weaponisation of trans rights.

"Anyone might be tempted to think @KemiBadenoch has less interest in the general election than the internal ideological s**tshow likely to follow it."

One person quick to hit back at Campbell's claim was Rowling, who is no stranger to sparking national debate with her views on trans rights.

She slammed Campbell and Labour as a whole as she replied: "Badenoch is also Minister for Women and Equalities.

"Thanks once again for highlighting Labour’s complacency and indifference towards the rights of half the electorate."

Badenoch is also Minister for Women and Equalities. Thanks once again for highlighting Labour’s complacency and indifference towards the rights of half the electorate. https://t.co/ioChg8ELgV

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) June 3, 2024

The proposals by the Tories ahead of July's General Election have sparked questions as to why to implement it now and whether it will diminish the "confusion" the party claims it will.

Speaking to Isabel Webster and Eamonn Holmes on GB News on Monday, Badenoch stood by the plans as she told the People's Channel viewers: "(The issue) has been toxified. There's a lot of confusion about what the law actually says because terminology is changing.

"So what we're doing is clarifying the terms of the act which says that the protected characteristic of sex in the Equality Act refers to biological sex.

"That will also help those parts of the Equality Act which creates exemptions for single-sex spaces."

When Eamonn probed further by suggesting the plans were part of a "penis prominence" change, Badenoch replied: "If you wanna put it that way. It's not quite how I would put it.

"It's about your biological sex being what you were born as being protected in the act. Over the last couple of decades, people now talk about sex and gender. In law, those used to be the same thing but now when we talk about them, they're different things.

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"One is the biological sex the other is maybe what you choose to present as or how you identify.

"But the problem we're solving is for many organisations like Rape Crisis Centres (and) prisons where people may identify as a woman even though they're biologically male and they don't know what to do.

"We're clarifying what public authorities need to do, what private institutions' rights are, a lot of them are worried about being sued even when they're doing the right thing.

"So this is a tidying up of law so that we can create a better space for this conversation and make it less toxic, less heated, protect women and children and also most importantly protect those trans people who have had their issues used by many others who have nothing to do with them but are exploiting the law for other purposes."

Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey has had his say on the proposals, telling BBC Radio 5 Live the change "isn't needed" and that it was "an election distraction from the really core issues that matter to people ".

He said the Equality Act "already protects single-sex spaces for biological women" but did acknowledge there was a need for "clearer guidance", something he promised Labour would produce.