Mick Hartley

Last week I wondered if there might be trouble at the Conservative Party conference on the trans front, with Carrie Johnson due to speak at an event hosted by LGBT+ Conservatives together with Stonewall. Well, the issue has indeed come up, though not yet from Carrie.

Senior Tories are concerned that their conference will be the latest to be overshadowed by a row over trans rights, after the party said it was standing by its decision to host a group accused of expressing anti-trans views.

Several Conservative figures have called on the party to reverse its decision to offer a place at conference to the LGB Alliance, which states it campaigns for those “whose rights in law are based on sexual orientation not gender identity”. It has accused the LGBTQ+ movement of being “dominated by gender identity extremism”, but has denied it is transphobic.

Despite the concerns, the party said it was standing by its decision to allow the group a stall at conference in Manchester. “We host a wide range of groups that may have differing opinions on complex issues,” said a spokesperson. “We do so as a party that believes in open and respectful debate.” The row comes as Carrie Johnson, the prime minister’s wife, is set to give a speech to the LGBT+ Conservative group, which is affiliated to the party.

The LGB Alliance is only transphobic in the sense that it refuses to bow before the trans mantras of "trans women are women" and the rest of the gender identity nonsense, noting correctly that the way the trans movement is being taken by the likes of Stonewall sets them against gays and lesbians – insisting for instance that a lesbian who refuses to have sex with a man with a penis claiming to be a woman is being transphobic. In other words the Stonewall view that it's all about gender identity clashes with the lesbians and gays who know perfectly well that it's about sex. Of course the LGB Alliance was formed specifically on these grounds as a breakaway from Stonewall, and given that Carrie's speech is at an event co-sponsored by Stonewall, it's very likely that sparks will fly.

As Brendan O'Neill observes, we seem to have turned a corner since the days of Clause 28: it's the Tories now championing a lesbian and gay group, while the left look on in disgust.