Mick Hartley

Jo Bartosch in the Telegraph on Wes Streeting and the end of puberty blockers:

Puberty blockers, such as Lupron, were developed for end-stage prostate cancer and are used to chemically castrate sex offenders. Side effects include bone density loss, impacted fertility and lowered IQ. Despite this, they were widely prescribed to children off-label and without proper scrutiny.

Yet Streeting, once a Stonewall stalwart and member of a Facebook group targeting suspected Terfs in Labour, was previously reluctant to address such evidence. Thankfully, he has now broken away from the partisan briefings of lobby groups. Following in the work of his Tory predecessor Sajid Javid who commissioned the Cass Review, Streeting has done what any responsible politician should; he put the best interests of children ahead of his own career. Trans activists can no longer pretend that caring about children’s health is a part of some Tory culture war plot….

Nearly a decade ago, I learned about the harm inflicted on children by transgender ideology. Campaigners – whether motivated by concern for women’s rights, safeguarding, or faith – connected through underground networks to expose the scandal within NHS Gender Identity Services. Groups like Transgender Trend, founded in 2015 by Stephanie Davies-Arai, spearheaded efforts from living rooms, not boardrooms. Undeterred by what seemed to be consensus amongst the establishment, and threats from trans activists, grassroots organisers forced the government to pay attention.

How clinicians were duped into believing that children’s mental suffering could be eased by halting puberty deserves to be investigated as a warning for the future. But how ordinary people fought back must also be recognised and remembered.

The close of this grotesque experiment on children should give us all hope. The grassroots campaigners who refused to look away have proven Margaret Mead right: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

Yes it's a huge step, but there's a long way to go yet.