Labour MP branded ‘evil bigot’ by party activists for defending single-sex spaces for women

A Labour Party whip has been vilified by trans activists from her own party for speaking out in support of single-sex spaces for women.

After Tonia Antoniazzi posted the statement, “Female single-sex spaces are not yours to give away”, they lashed out at the MP, accusing her of ‘transphobia’.

Her party colleague Rosie Duffield MP, who has herself been targeted within the party for upholding the reality of biological sex, said Antoniazzi was simply expressing the views of most UK voters.

Accusations

Responding to the former Shadow Minister’s social media post, Labour Councillor Meg Birchall said: “Transphobes are not fit to be MPs.”

Birchall added: “Bigotry never wins in the end and history will view all the MPs spewing this hateful rhetoric as nothing short of evil.”

movements. Bigotry never wins in the end and history will view all the MPs spewing this hateful rhetoric as nothing short of evil

— Cllr Meg Birchall🏳️‍⚧️ (they/them) (@CllrMegBirchall) December 30, 2023

Communications officer for Lincoln Constituency Labour Party (CLP), Jake Swinburne, accused Antoniazzi of posting “toxic bile” and using “a well documented transphobic dog whistle”.

And Selby CLP’s treasurer Jack Ballingham branded the MP’s statement as “harmful rhetoric about trans people” and called on the party leadership to take action against her.

MPs keep promoting this harmful rhetoric about trans people without any repercussion. Our Party shouldn’t be a place for this hate, and the leadership needs to be taking action on it. https://t.co/2X2NYE06TC

— Jack Ballingham 🚩 (@JackWB1) December 30, 2023

Ideological capture

Helen Joyce of Sex Matters urged Sir Keir Starmer “to state, publicly and unequivocally, that the Labour leadership agrees with Ms Antoniazzi: single-sex spaces are crucial to women’s rights, and that is non-negotiable”.

She also warned: “The reaction from young Labour activists to a sitting MP simply stating Labour policy on women’s rights and single-sex spaces reveals the extent to which extremist trans ideology has become entrenched in the party.”

In July, Starmer declared that a “woman is an adult female”, having claimed earlier in the year that “99.9% of women do not have a penis”.

Defiant

In a separate development, Liberal Democrat and Labour councillors in Surrey have passed a motion of no confidence in the county’s Police and Crime Commissioner for expressing similar views.

Activists have accused Lisa Townsend of “misusing her platform to campaign against the trans community” following public statements the Commissioner has made defending women’s sex-based rights.

The defiant Commissioner has said that if a man wears dresses and make-up, “that doesn’t make you a woman”, adding “I’ve said it before and I’ll go on saying it”.