Checking people’s bits

New Manchester mayor refuses to commit to implementing trans guidance

The Mayor of Greater Manchester has refused to say whether she would adopt new guidance on single-sex spaces.

Bev Craig, who replaced Andy Burnham as mayor last month, twice refused to commit to imposing Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance which says transgender people should use either gender-neutral bathrooms or those intended for biological sex.

So in other words the mayor of a large important city refuses to commit to protecting women from men who want to perv on them in places like bathrooms.

Asked whether she would oversee the “full imposition” of EHRC’s guidance, Ms Craig told Times Radio: “I am working through what the guidance means in terms of the transport services that I am in control of.”

Asked a second time whether this meant with the intention of implementing the single-sex guidance, Ms Craig replied: “Well, with the intention of understanding what would be different to what we do now.

“Actually many of our services are compliant. The reality here is that we are probably talking about a handful of public toilets. Am I as the Mayor going to be checking people’s bits on the way into the toilet? Absolutely not.”

That wasn’t the question. Of course. This is part of the playbook – pretend the questions are outrageous and absurd when in reality they are not. The question was not about the mayor delving into people’s underpants.

Last week, a coalition of Left-wing councils in London pledged to defy the new rules because they were “an attack” on transgender and non-binary residents.

The leaders of Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Southwark and Waltham Forest councils made a joint commitment to keep their services “inclusive”.

Which being interpreted means they made a joint commitment to keep their services hazardous for women.

During the by-election campaign to replace Mr Burnham, the former leader of Manchester city council said she had “fought for LGBT rights” throughout her career and would not “pit minority against minority”.

She said: “I believe in a world where the two can go hand in hand. I’ve shown that you can stand up for single-sex spaces, like women’s refuges that are important, but also not throw our trans communities under the bus.”

Under Ms Craig’s leadership of the council, it passed a motion in 2022 which declared “trans men are men, trans women are women, non-binary people are non-binary and trans rights are human rights”.

So the council passed a motion telling two major lies. Whoopee.