We’re All Oppressed.

Not to be left out of the motion jamboree, the Green councillors have tabled a motion on the oppression trans-people suffer at the hands of Newham Council. It is quite possible that councillors will not get to debate this motion. Number 8 of 11 means that there are plenty of other motions to be debated, by which we mean plenty of opportunities for councillors to hear their own voices. We don’t expect much by way of competition for ideas or challenge. So, at say 5-8 minutes a motion, it could be an hour before Motion 8 is reached and this will be beyond the time allotted.

This must surely be the most topical of the motions. If it was BLM last year, it was Islamophobia the year before; this year it’s trans rights.

The woker members of the Labour Party have been outflanked by the Greens who have tabled this motion. It will be interesting to see how many feel obliged to raise their hands at the appropriate time and how many will find an excuse to be elsewhere or even, dare we say it, vote against. They of course will be the ones who continue to exhibit wrongthink.

Councillors Higgins and Keeling set out their stall early “Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary.”

We will soon discover how many TERFs there are on Newham Council. For those who are still unfamiliar with the term, Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists are largely what we used to call women. That is to say, they are adult, human and female. They were critical of systems that forced traditional roles on women and campaigned to open access to all areas of common life to women.

And indeed, we will see how many religious fanatics there are, you know, those people who still believe in a variation of “male and female he created them”.

Our Green councillors do not go in for anything as old fashioned as argument; it is a straight (no pun intended), straight-forward assertion. “Trans women are women”. It is a phrase which has become part of the catechism of a new secular religion. There wasn’t a discussion about this. It was simply asserted as it moved from the Grievance Studies departments of our various universities and the unenlightened were expected to swallow it. If you dare to criticise it, you are clearly a transphobe.

It is not without its positive side effects. Even it seems the Home Office has adopted this ludicrous assertion. This has led to physically male offenders being incarcerated alongside women in women’s prisons because they now “identify” as women. Amongst this number are several who have been convicted of sex crimes against women and children. 

The positive side to this is that the women who complained that women were the victims of male violence, which appeared to be true two years ago, now can’t. At least not exclusively. It’s not just men wot rape women. Women are raping women too. Sometimes in prison. Prison policy is leading towards greater equity in the conviction rates, which is a good thing, surely. Women, apparently are raping women, but it is a practice which seems to be limited to those women who have a penis.

It has also revealed how sexist lesbians are. When certain men have transitioned to becoming women, it appears that some of them are still attracted to women, proving that they were lesbians all along.

By transitioned, we don’t mean that they’ve had their man-bits removed, just that they are now living as women. These men who have transitioned appear to want sex with women, (i.e. women in the old definition, adult human female). For some reason lesbians don’t want sex with people with penises, irrespective of how they dress or how they define themselves. According to Stonewall, this makes them sexual racists. Indeed, lesbians are now so far outside the new norms of the LBGTQIA+ community that they are excluded from participating in Pride events. (And here and here).

Women who are sexually attracted to women are abused because they are not attracted to people with penises. There must be some sort of irony this.

Occasionally, these unenlightened women (and girls) have found themselves sharing changing rooms (and here) and toilets with women who have penises. And sometimes, we are told, these penises stand at 12 O’clock when they are in the presence of naked girls and women. Strange that. 

For reasons that it is beyond us to understand, these TERFs, or girls or women, object.

Nonetheless, the council is asked to note, as a statement of fact that

1. There is a “concerning rise” of transphobia. We hadn’t noticed. It may be that there is a rash of violence towards trans people. It may be that they are being excluded from jobs. It may be that they are being thrown out of university because of their sexuality, but we haven’t seen anything to suggest that any of this is true. What there is, is widespread revulsion at the quasi-religious witch-finding ideology of the trans/woke activists. For the vast majority of the population, what people wear and how they identify is a matter entirely up to them. What people react to is the forcible imposition of a doctrine that is clearly nonsense and potentially harmful.

2. We learn that “transgender and non-binary people may require specific support to access services without facing discrimination. All council services must be equipped to welcome and provide appropriate service and good customer care to suit transgender and non-binary people.” Just what this discrimination is, remains unclear to those of us who are unenlightened, and the motion does not help. The implication sits there without explanation, trans people are subject to discrimination by Newham staff. It might be helpful to have a couple of examples of how Newham staff have discriminated against trans residents. A couple of examples would give a hint of what is being done wrong and how this might be changed. Of course, if there are no examples, one might be led to believe that this is just a vacuous bit of virtue signalling.

3. The motion goes on to note that there is some awfully good work being done by all sorts of LBGTQIA+ groups across the borough. Fair enough, but it also states that there are trans people in all generations. This reflects the increasingly common assertion that babies know when they have been “assigned” the wrong gender. The movers of the motion do not state that they want freely accessible and irreversible drug and surgical treatment of children, children going through psychological problems, but that is the implication. It is a trans-ideological truism that if a child says he/she is in the wrong body, then he/she should be dosed up with puberty blocking drugs or have their sexual organs removed or adapted by surgery. Nobody bothers if an adult consents to this, but doing it to children is, or should be, a crime. Despite the claims of the ideologues, it is irreversible and the source of regret for an increasing number. 

The council is then asked to undertake a number of actions. They could ask that the council ensures that no trans person is unlawfully discriminated against by Newham council. That would meet all of the functional demands of the motion. However, that is not what is asked. The council is asked to affirm a ludicrous ideology.

1. To state publicly that trans rights are human rights and affirm the legal rights of all protected groups under the 2010 equality act. A political forum is asked to make a legal definition, it doesn’t work like that, save for parliament, and they frequently have the meaning of their words scrutinised by the judiciary. Saying black is white does not change the colour, Winston Smith was all too aware of this method of thought-policing.

2. To work with LGBTQIA+ groups and people to strongly encourage training for councillors and council staff to raise awareness of the difficulties transgender and non-binary people face and of the support councillors could offer to this community. Watch out councillors, further shades of 1984 and thought control here. You need training to get your thinking right. You might not harbour malice, nor act in any way that is discriminatory, but if your thinking is wrong, watch out.

3. To request that the Mayor agrees to publicly acknowledge International Trans Day of Visibility (March 31st), in addition to Trans Day of Remembrance (November 20th) and fly the transgender flag on those days. We are confident that the mayor will jump at the opportunity to show her support, for the ideology, if not for the people.

4. To fly the Intersex Inclusive Pride Progress at Pride and during LGBT+ history month. Ditto.

5. To request a review of all forms and documents created by the Council with a view to ensuring they are trans and non-binary inclusive where possible. Here we have a job creation scheme for several trans-activists for the next decade.

6. To encourage council staff and councillors to make small gestures that make it clear transgender and non-binary people are welcome. This could include adding pronouns to email signatures. This sounds like an opportunity for an almighty piss-take. There are now so many pronouns (not just he, she, they). Where once we thought of people,  we now realise that there is an astonishing variety where people (?) identify as aliens, furries, animals, inanimate objects in addition to gay, bi and trans, and where they live in a universe in which they can change gender several times a day. A surprisingly large number of those who so self-identify are on the autistic spectrum, which might cause a disinterested observer to suggest there is more to this than the trans-ideologues would have us believe. (A list from AFAB to Polyromantic, if it helps.)

 7. To ask the Mayor and the cabinet to work towards ensuring the provision of gender neutral toilets in all Council buildings. This is not of itself unreasonable, but there may be complaints when gentlemen piss all over the toilet seats. Introduce mandatory sitting if using council lavatories!

8. To consider the particular needs of transgender and non-binary people who are at high risk of facing homelessness when implementing the council’s existing homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. It sounds reasonable, but is it a problem. LGB people make up about 3.1% of the population according to the 2021 census and trans people make up something like 0.2% of the population (usually stated as between 0.1%-0.3%). The motion does not illustrate any particular problems they experience, beyond those that affect any homeless people. If this is a real concern, it would be helpful if the movers would illustrate both the problems and the solutions they seek. But we suspect, this motion is not about solving problems so much as claiming the ideological battleground.

9. To work with partner organisations to ensure transgender and non-binary people are not discriminated against whilst accessing homelessness services. Ditto.

10.To ask the London Borough of Newham Health & Social Care Commission to consider the barriers which transgender and non-binary people face when accessing medical care and to find ways of reducing them. Ditto, if this is a problem, explain how.

11.To review with a view to improving signposting to support services for transgender and non-binary people within Council communications, including a dedicated page on the Council's website. We are now in the region of special pleading. Who else should have a dedicated page on the website. No actual problems have been addressed but a virtue signalling solution has been formulated. 

12.To provide a gender-neutral option such as Mx on all council forms. Why stop at Mx? There are dozens to choose from. Be inclusive!

13.To ask the Interim Chief Executive to ensure all staff are supported in bringing their authentic selves to the workplace, and to consider working towards publishing a statement and commitments akin to that published by Barts Health NHS Trust. There comes a point where a motion simply descends into platitudinous nonsense. Admittedly, that was probably several paragraphs ago. Could we suggest the council perhaps gives a little thought to the problems of dumped rubbish; to solving the disputes with its staff; to fixing the holes in the road; to the education of children with special needs; to sorting out the budget; you get the idea.

We have attached the motion from Councillors Higgins and Keeling below.

Motion 8 - Supporting the Transgender Community 

Proposer: Cllr Nate Higgins Seconder: Cllr Danny Keeling 

This Council states that: Trans women are women. Trans men are men. Non-binary people are non-binary. We believe in the dignity of all people, and their right to respect and equality of opportunity. We value the strength that comes with difference and the positive contribution diversity brings to our community. Our aspiration is for Newham to be a safe, welcoming, and inclusive borough for everyone, no matter their gender identity. 

This Council notes: 

1. The concerning rise in transphobia in the UK, from individuals, politicians and the media, as well as the increasing severity of the threats faced by the trans community. 

2. That transgender and non-binary people may require specific support to access services without facing discrimination. All council services must be equipped to welcome and provide appropriate service and good customer care to suit transgender and non-binary people. 

3. That there are transgender and non-binary people in Newham of all ages, and that the need for better understanding and acceptance of what it means to be transgender or non-binary is an intergenerational issue. 

4. The vital work done by groups in Newham to support local trans and nonbinary people, as well as the wider LGBTQIA+ community. These groups include East Village LGBT Community Group, Forest Gayte Pride, Queer Newham, Queeros East, and others. 

5. That despite many positive initiatives there is always more to do to ensure we are a genuinely supportive, inclusive and welcoming city. The council will seek to better support transgender and non-binary people to live happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. 

6. That transgender and non-binary people may face intersecting struggles due to factors like their race, religion, socio-economic background, gender or sexuality. 

7. That the London Borough of Newham made history as the first London borough to fly the Progress rainbow flag to mark LGBT History Month, in February 2019. 

8. That the trans flag was flown by London Borough of Newham for Trans Day of Remembrance in November 2020. 

9. That the Intersex Inclusive Pride Progress was flown for LGBT+ history month in February 2022. 

10.That in May 2022, the first openly non-binary councillor in Newham Cllr Keeling was elected to represent Stratford Olympic Park. 

This Council further notes that in May 2022, Barts Health NHS Trust as part of LGBTQ+ Staff Networks in North East London published a statement for International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, saying (among other things) that: 

1. Research by Stonewall and TransActual shows that the trans and non-binary community experience inequality and high levels of discrimination across all areas of life, including within the workplace. 

2. The media and prominent voices on social media often sensationalise and misrepresent the conversation on gender identity. This has led to hostility towards the trans and non-binary community, and a prominent rise in transphobic hate crime. 

This Council therefore resolves to: 

1. To state publicly that trans rights are human rights and affirm the legal rights of all protected groups under the 2010 equality act. 

2. To work with LGBTQIA+ groups and people to strongly encourage training for councillors and council staff to raise awareness of the difficulties transgender and non-binary people face and of the support councillors could offer to this community. 

3. To request that the Mayor agrees to publicly acknowledge International Trans Day of Visibility (March 31st), in addition to Trans Day of Remembrance (November 20th) and fly the transgender flag on those days. 

4. To fly the Intersex Inclusive Pride Progress at Pride and during LGBT+ history month. 

5. To request a review of all forms and documents created by the Council with a view to ensuring they are trans and non-binary inclusive where possible. 

6. To encourage council staff and councillors to make small gestures that make it clear transgender and non-binary people are welcome. This could include adding pronouns to email signatures. 

7. To ask the Mayor and the cabinet to work towards ensuring the provision of gender neutral toilets in all Council buildings. 

8. To consider the particular needs of transgender and non-binary people who are at high risk of facing homelessness when implementing the council’s existing homelessness and rough sleeping strategy. 

9. To work with partner organisations to ensure transgender and non-binary people are not discriminated against whilst accessing homelessness services. 

10.To ask the London Borough of Newham Health & Social Care Commission to consider the barriers which transgender and non-binary people face when accessing medical care and to find ways of reducing them. 

11.To review with a view to improving signposting to support services for transgender and non-binary people within Council communications, including a dedicated page on the Council's website. 

12.To provide a gender-neutral option such as Mx on all council forms. 

13.To ask the Interim Chief Executive to ensure all staff are supported in bringing their authentic selves to the workplace, and to consider working towards publishing a statement and commitments akin to that published by Barts Health NHS Trust. 

Q. Have we committed a thought crime or a hate crime? We look forward to finding out. Plod can find us at info@opennewham.co.uk.