Mick Hartley

More, in the Times, on the government’s procrastination over single-sex spaces:

Ministers have been accused of falling for lobbying by trans activists, including a former Stonewall boss, over concern among big business about new rules on single-sex spaces.

Women’s rights campaigners claimed the government had been “fooled” by a letter organised by the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance (TSA), where Nancy Kelley, the former chief executive of Stonewall, is among the directors.

The letter said 650 bosses had fears over new guidance for businesses which would exclude transgender people from single-sex spaces after the Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue. However, it was backed by only a handful of well-known names such as Lush and Ben and Jerry’s. The majority of signatories were Etsy stores, campaigners, unions and small retail websites.

The Times revealed last week that guidance setting out how organisations should provide single-sex spaces based on biology could be delayed for up to a year while the impact on businesses was assessed. It is understood that devolved administrations also have to be consulted, which government sources said was an important part of the process.

Any excuse will do. The government doesn’t want to upset its backbenchers and its trans support. If women have to pay the price, well…that’s how it goes.

Also, it’s the law. Does that not matter to Starmer, always the obsessive stickler for legality?

Maya Forstater, the chief executive of the charity Sex Matters, said: “No one should be fooled by this spurious claim that many businesses are concerned about complying with the Supreme Court’s judgment. This call has come from a fringe trans activist group with barely any business support.”She said of the TSA letter: “[It] is signed by a long list of ‘businesses’ no one has heard of. Many are tiny online traders or one-person bands. Very few employ people or maintain premises. The two big brands that have signed — Ben & Jerry’s and Lush — are known for their activism rather than providing services which include toilets, changing rooms or other places where single-sex rules apply.”

A comment:

Male and Female signs for toilet doors are available for 2.99 each on Amazon. The costs are non-existent

Where was the impact assessment to let men claiming to be women into spaces previously reserved for born-as females?