UK Politics

Keir Starmer has welcomed what he termed the “real clarity” of last week’s supreme court ruling on gender recognition, saying it was important now to draft guidance to help organisations deal with the repercussions.

In his first comments since the court’s definitive ruling that “woman” in the Equality Act refers only to a biological woman, the prime minister called it “a welcome step forward”.

Starmer has in the past taken a different view on the subject. As a Labour leadership candidate he signed up to a pledge “that trans women are women”, and he later criticised the then Labour MP Rosie Duffield, who now sits as an independent, for saying only women could have a cervix.

Asked by ITV West Country if he would repeat that trans women are women, Starmer replied: “I think the supreme court has answered that question.” Pressed on his view, he said: “A woman is an adult female, and the court has made that absolutely clear. I actually welcome the judgment because I think it gives real clarity. It allows those that have got to draw up guidance to be really clear about what that guidance should say.

“So I think it’s important that we see the judgment for what it is. It’s a welcome step forward. It’s real clarity in an area where we did need clarity. I’m pleased it’s come about. We need to move and make sure that we now ensure that all guidance is in the right place according to that judgment.”

Some Labour MPs have expressed concern that the ruling could have serious consequences for transgender people.

But earlier on Tuesday, Bridget Phillipson, who holds the equalities brief alongside her job as education secretary, argued that the ruling was necessary.

Phillipson told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “Before I was an MP I managed a women’s refuge, so I know more than most how important it is that women, especially those who have experienced male violence, sexual violence and trauma, are able to access safe therapeutic spaces, and alongside that, that we make sure that everyone in our society is treated with dignity and respect.”

Asked about differing opinions within Labour on the ruling, Phillipson said: “I speak for the government on this matter, and I can be crystal clear with you that we welcome the ruling.”

She said the Equality and Human Rights Commission would work with ministers to create new guidance on how the ruling would work in practice.

Pushed on the specifics of which toilet a transgender woman would be required to use from now on, Phillipson confirmed that if only single-sex facilities were available it would need to be the male toilet – but she said it was important that “everyone has the ability to access services that are safe and appropriate and respect their privacy and dignity”.

She added: “Of course, where it comes to provisions such as changing facilities, hospital facilities and others, there needs to be appropriate and available services there for all people, including trans people.”

In terms of toilets, Phillipson said, many places provided unisex or self-contained facilities, and these could be used by transgender people. However, under changes to building regulations introduced under the last government and not changed since, new public buildings in England must prioritise single-sex toilets, providing universal toilets only “where space allows”.

Phillipson said that of greater importance was the impact on spaces where people spend long periods of time, such as hospital wards, rape crisis centres and women’s refuges.

“I think it is important and welcome that the supreme court have put beyond doubt that providers can make sure that is done on the basis of biological sex,” she said. “I do believe it is important that when women have experienced male violence they are able to heal, that they are able to access the therapeutic support that is required.

“What they have said consistently, and what campaigners have worked for over many decades, is to ensure that that provision does exist and can be single-sex. And the ruling has made that clear, and made it clear beyond any doubt.”