A debate continues to rage within Labor over the party’s approach to gender issues. Boris Johnson also tried to reignite the issue by suggesting Labor leader Keir Starmer was “trying to define what a woman is”. But a fresh row is brewing within the party after it rejected a bid by six MPs and the Labor Women’s Declaration group for a seat at its conference in Liverpool later this year. The “gender critique” group argues that gender-based rights should not be eroded by those based on gender identity. Among the petitioning group is Tonia Antoniazzi, a shadow minister for Northern Ireland. Dianne Hayter, former chairman of the ruling Labor executive committee: and David Triesman, former Labor general secretary. “This refusal comes despite an apparent willingness to engage constructively in the debate on sex and gender, including calls from Keir Starmer for ‘more light and less heat’ and from Wes Streeting for constructive dialogue on the issue,” writes club. . “This denial is part of the party’s historic suppression of dissenting views on gender identity and the outdated and indeed biased assumption that those of us who support more debate and protection of women’s rights should not have a platform/voice within the party. “ Keir Starmer delivers his keynote address on the final day of the 2021 Labor conference in Brighton. Photo: Rex A Labor source said decisions on convention stands were purely commercial and denied the suggestion the group had been “banned”. A Labor spokesman said: “We receive hundreds of applications for conference stands each year, which means it is always overbooked and not everyone can be successful. Labor passed the law which protects women based on their gender and transgender people from discrimination. We stand by him.” The group disputes the suggestion that the conference was simply oversubscribed. They say they first applied in March, claiming a position had been provisionally agreed. They then received a rejection in May stating: “All commercial business applications that include exhibit booth or branding at annual conferences are subject to a review process. After due consideration, the proposal for a trade agreement was rejected.” The group said it then approached Starmer and the shadow equalities secretary, Anneliese Dodds, in a bid to reopen discussions, but received a second rejection last month saying: “We have re-examined your application alongside similarly sized stands. Unfortunately your application was not successful on this occasion… You are welcome to reapply for commercial activities at a future annual conference when any such application will be subject to the same application process.” The applicants said the denial of a seat at the congress was part of the “silencing of women” and a “political crisis” – a claim denied by party sources. The group is now pushing for its public meeting at the conference to be given an official list. ‘What Women Need from the Labor Manifesto’, chaired by Antoniazzi, will include appearances by Labor MPs Diana Johnson and Marsha de Cordova. In a statement last night, Labor Women’s Declaration said: “Our application for an exhibition stand has given the party a golden opportunity to make progress towards resolving gender and gender issues that have been described as ‘toxic’.” This refusal throws our offer back in the face. It’s not too late for the Labor Party to see sense and rethink.”
