Phillipson tells MPs government will continue to protect single-sex spaces
Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary and minister for women and equality, is making her statement about the supreme court judgement.
She starts by saying this is personal for her.
Before I was elected to this place, I ran a women’s refuge in the north-east for women and children fleeing domestic violence. I know how important it is, and always want survivors to have single sex spaces, based on biology – places of safety after trauma, time in a sanctuary which allowed them therapeutic support, healing from unimaginable male violence and fear.
Phillipson says the government will continue to protect single-sex spaces, based on biological sex.
And it will protect “the rights of all people with protected characteristics now and always”.
Phillipson explains the background to the supreme court ruling.
The people who brought the legal challenge (gender critical feminists) were “not always been treated with the respect that they deserve”, she says.
She says the government supports freedom of speech. But, referring to the protests at the weekend against the judgment, she says “there can be no excuse for defacing statutes and feminist icons, no excuse for threats, no excuse for harassment”.
Key events
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A summary of today’s developments
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Phillipson says Badenoch ‘did nothing’ for women when she was equalities minister
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Badenoch says Labour’s claims to have always defended single-sex spaces are ‘shameless work of fiction’
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Phillipson criticises Tories for not protecting single-sex spaces, particularly in hospitals
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Phillipson tells MPs government will continue to protect single-sex spaces
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Britons opposed to Trump being allowed to address parliament by almost 3 to 1, poll suggests
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‘Extinction-level event’: Tories fear voters turning to Reform in Lincolnshire
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Rubbish levels in Birmingham now ‘approaching normal’, MPs told, due to efforts to clear bin strike backlog
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Prison officers to be allowed to use tasers under pilot scheme, Shabana Mahmood tells MPs
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No 10 claims government does not routinely ‘police toilets’ as questions continue about impact of supreme court’s ruling
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Lib Dems say IMF report shows need for ‘urgent rethink’ in UK economic policy
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Trans people have experienced ‘real anxiety’ following supreme court judgment, MSPs told
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DUP criticises minister for suggesting opinion polls could determine whether referendum held on Irish reunification
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IMF warns of ‘major negative shock’ from Trump’s tariffs, as it cuts its UK growth forecast from 1.6% to 1.1%
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No 10 says Starmer no longer argues trans women are women amid barrage of harsh questions at briefing
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No 10 refuses to commit to reversing Badenoch’s law curbing supply of unisex toilets – despite minister hinting more needed
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Phillipson to make statement to MPs about supreme court ruling affecting law on single-sex spaces
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Faculty of Advocates criticises Scottish Green MSP over ‘appalling’ attack on supreme court
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Starmer to attend Pope’s funeral, No 10 says
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Trump should be allowed to address parliament when he visits UK, minister says
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Britain and New Zealand to extend defence cooperation, No 10 says
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Phillipson dismisses claims government not adequately funding school breakfast clubs
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Badenoch has already ‘thrown in towel’ ahead of local elections, Lib Dems claim
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Badenoch says she’s ‘not a career politician’ as she plays down Tory prospects in local elections
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Home Office to publish nationalities of foreign criminals in UK
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Starmer says roll-out of breakfast clubs in primary schools in England will be ‘game-changing moment’ for families
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Phillipson urges firms to ensure ‘safe and appropriate’ toilets available for all, including trans people
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Starmer says he is ‘really pleased’ supreme court has given ‘much-needed clarity’ on definition of ‘woman’ in equalities law
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Supreme court ruling means trans women should use male toilets, says equalities minister Bridget Phillipson
A summary of today’s developments
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Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary and minister for women and equality, made a statement to the Commons about the supreme court judgement.She said the government will continue to protect single-sex spaces, based on biological sex. And it will protect “the rights of all people with protected characteristics now and always”.
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Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, claimed that Tories fought for women at every point but that it faced “hostility from activist groups”. She said that, when she was in government, she argued for sex to be defined as biological sex. And she said she blocked the SNP introducing from introducing “their mad self identity laws”.
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Business and trade minister Sarah Jones told the Commons that British Steel will end a consultation on up to 2,700 redundancies without action, after the Government took control of the firm earlier this month. She added the government has secured the raw materials needed to keep the glass furnaces operating in Scunthorpe and it is working at pace to secure a steady pipeline of materials.
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Rachel Reeves was due in Washington on Tuesday evening for what could be a pivotal week for a proposed US-UK trade deal. Officials say an agreement is ready to sign but may have to be ripped up at the last minute should the US president impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals. The chancellor was flying into the US capital for meetings she hopes will help persuade Donald Trump’s administration to reduce tariffs on UK steel, cars and aluminium. “The draft text is there and it is ready to sign,” said one UK government source. “We are happy with the draft we presented to the Americans weeks ago – though it does not currently cover pharmaceuticals.”
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Britons are opposed to President Trump being invited to address parliament when he visits the UK by almost three to one, a YouGov poll suggests.
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Ed Davey, the Lib Dem leader, said today’s IMF report downgrading its growth forecasts for the UK (and the rest of the world) shows the need for an “urgent rethink” in British economic policy. In a statement, Davey said: “Donald Trump’s damaging trade war has taken a wrecking ball to the global economy, with the UK set to be badly hit. The government needs to be working to boost trade with our allies in Europe and the Commonwealth and tackle Trump’s tariffs head on. Simply sitting back and hoping we won’t be impacted hasn’t worked. It’s time for an urgent rethink before it’s too late.”
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Most of the excess rubbish accumulated in Birmingham as a result of the bin strike has been cleared, MPs have been told. Jim McMahon, the communities minister, said that, even though the strike continues, “significant progress” has been made in clearing the backlog.
The government is considering long-term alternatives to blast furnaces as a way of making virgin steel, the industry minister said.
Sarah Jones said officials were looking at examples in Europe where countries were using hydrogen rather than blast furnaces.
She was responding to a question from former Tory trade minister Sir Edward Leigh, whose Gainsborough constituency is in the same county as the Scunthorpe steelworks.
Jones said: “The capacity for primary steel-making production is very important and the steel strategy is looking at exactly how we deliver that.
“There are new ways of delivering primary steel using for example hydrogen, which other countries, other European countries are now using and developing and we will ensure that whatever the future might bring, we have the right level of production here in this country.”
Conservative shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith has described the government’s interventions at Scunthorpe as “botched nationalisation”.
He told the Commons: “We’re here once again because the Government had no plan – they failed to prepare, they bungled negotiations, they took too long to listen to the warnings, and what do we have to show for it? This botched nationalisation.
“A potential bill for the taxpayer stretching into the billions. I say billions, but it remains entirely unclear how much this bungled eleventh-hour decision will cost while the assets still belong to China.”
Griffith later said: “Steel nationalisation, the IMF (International Monetary Fund) downgrading growth forecasts, trade union summits in Number 10 – it’s all sounding a bit 1970s.
“The simple problem is that we do not know the answers to any of these questions as the Government has failed to publish an impact assessment.”
Responding, industry minister Sarah Jones said: “On nationalisation, last week, the shadow business secretary – who was also as we know the financial secretary when Liz Truss crashed the economy – said he backed full nationalisation of British Steel, but on the other hand, this morning the Leader of the Opposition (Kemi Badenoch) on Radio 4 said nationalisation should be the last resort.
“It seems a bit muddled.”
Jones said Griffith had asked “reasonable questions about the costs” but warned some of the detail is “sensitive and commercially confidential”, adding: “We will publish accounts in due course.”
Kiran Stacey
Rachel Reeves was due in Washington on Tuesday evening for what could be a pivotal week for a proposed US-UK trade deal.
Officials say an agreement is ready to sign but may have to be ripped up at the last minute should the US president impose tariffs on pharmaceuticals.
The chancellor was flying into the US capital for meetings she hopes will help persuade Donald Trump’s administration to reduce tariffs on UK steel, cars and aluminium.
“The draft text is there and it is ready to sign,” said one UK government source. “We are happy with the draft we presented to the Americans weeks ago – though it does not currently cover pharmaceuticals.”
Another said: “We know we’re going to have to react quickly if Trump puts tariffs on pharmaceutical products, but we’re ready to do so. We couldn’t account for that in the draft text because we didn’t know what tariffs there were going to be on the industry.”
Industry minister Sarah Jones said the government does not “intend to replicate” state intervention into sectors beyond steel as she told MPs that both of the UK’s last remaining blast furnaces can continue to operate.
She told the Commons: “It is regrettable that when this Government took office, we inherited a steel sector in crisis and an iconic British company facing an existential threat.
“Since day one, we have worked tirelessly with British Steel and the trade unions to find a resolution, because blast furnace closures at Scunthorpe is an outcome this Government was simply not willing to allow.
“To that end, I want to stress that this kind of state intervention is not one we intend to replicate in other situations or other industries. We recognise that unprecedented action was warranted for what was a truly unprecedented situation.”
Referring to an extraordinary recall of Parliament on a Saturday during its Easter recess, Jones later added: “Officials were on site to help British Steel within hours of the Steel Industry Act becoming law and we are already seeing the real-world impact of our decisive intervention.
“I am delighted to say that British Steel has also confirmed today that they can keep operating both of the UK’s last remaining blast furnaces, in contrast to Jingye’s plans to shut one of them down earlier this month.”
Libby Brooks
The Scottish government has said it will abandon its plans to change legislation on gender recognition, the high watermark of Nicola Sturgeon’s progressive agenda, as it moved to reassure the trans community that “you are valued”.
In a statement to MSPs on Tuesday afternoon, the social justice secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville, said Holyrood “fully accepts” the judgment of the supreme court, which ruled against Scottish ministers last Wednesday in the culmination of a long-running legal action brought by the campaign group For Women Scotland.
In a decision that was backed by gender-critical activists, five judges ruled unanimously that the legal definition of a woman in the Equality Act 2010 did not include transgender women who hold gender recognition certificates (GRCs).
For Women Scotland were challenging Scottish government legislation aimed at improving gender balance on public boards, which allowed trans women with a GRC to sit in posts reserved for women.
Somerville said the Scottish government would now amend guidance on this legislation to take account of the ruling.
Speaking on the ruling and its potential impact, she added that her government had “no plans” to bring back Sturgeon’s flagship gender recognition agenda, which was blocked by Rishi Sunak’s UK government in 2023.
It marks a significant change of tone under the first minister, John Swinney, who has avoided re-engaging with an issue that has been divisive within his party – in particular those opposed to the Sturgeon-brokered governing partnership with the Scottish Greens and their focus on LGBT+ policies.
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson earlier in response to questions on when she will issue guidance to schools about gender questioning children, told the Commons: “We will be issuing that guidance this year.”
Giving a readout of Keir Starmer’s meeting with his New Zealand counterpart, a Downing Street spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister hosted New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon at Downing Street today.
“The two leaders reflected on their visit to Operation Interflex to see Ukrainian troops being trained earlier today and the importance of supporting Ukraine for the long term.
“Discussing the coalition of the willing, the Prime Minister thanked Prime Minister Luxon for New Zealand’s ongoing support, adding that the planning phase was making good progress across all four domains – land, air, regeneration and sea.
“The Prime Minister welcomed New Zealand’s recent uplift in defence spending and both agreed the direct link between defence spending, economic security and putting money back in the pockets of hardworking people.
“Turning to the situation in the Indo-Pacific, the leaders agreed on the importance of working together to support regional stability and counter malign threats.
“They also discussed the strong trade links between the UK and New Zealand, and the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The leaders looked forward to speaking again soon.”
Sarah Jones adds that the government has secured the raw materials needed to keep the glass furnaces operating in Scunthorpe and it is working at pace to secure a steady pipeline of materials.
Sarah Jones says British Steel has cancelled the redundancy consultations started by Jingye.
Business and trade minister Sarah Jones will now update the Commons on the future of British Steel.
That concludes the statements on the Supreme Court Judgement in Parliament.
Reform MP Lee Anderson says “a man is a man, and a woman is a woman” and asks “can a woman have a penis?”
Equalities minister Phillipson replies: “Blokes shouldn’t beat up women, maybe he should have a word with his colleague”.
Phillipson was citing the case of James McMurdock, the Reform MP for South Basildon and East Thurrock, who did not publicly disclose his conviction for assault before being elected in 2024, and claimed he had “pushed” his partner when details were first disclosed.
The Times later obtained information about his sentencing from the courts, which said he was detained for 21 days in a young offender institution for kicking the victim “around four times” in 2006 when he was a teenager.
Labour MP Tonia Antoniazzi asked if the charities Stonewall and Mermaids will be held to account for the “damage” they have caused, and said she had witnessed a “lobby” push MPs into asserting that trans women are women.
Antoniazzi said: “Since I’ve been in this House, I have felt the force of the lobby which has made people and MPs across this House stand there and say that trans women are women.
“What happened last week was the Supreme Court said that sex in the Equality Act is actually biological sex. That, I welcome. But what is (Bridget Phillipson) going to do to deal with the types of damage, or the damage that Mermaids, and Stonewall have caused for a generation, that’s 14 years, under a Tory government.
“What steps is she going to take to make sure that they rectify the damage they’ve done to a generation of trans and gender questioning children?”
Equalities minister Phillipson said: “Where we are talking about children and young people, this has to be about their wellbeing, because we are often talking about young people who are very vulnerable, who are experiencing real difficulties in their lives.
“Hilary Cass’s review made clear that young people in that situation do need support, do need protection, and that is why we will this year also publish revised gender questioning guidance for our schools as well, to provide that further clarity that is needed.”
Dawn Butler asks the minister whether her department is liaising with the Equalities and Human Rights Commission to seek assurances that they will work at pace and set timelines for updating statutory guidance.
Bridget Phillipson said they are working with EHRC in this important area.
Labour MP Butler also asked if people will need to prove their birth sex. “I don’t know if anyone else in the House has butch lesbian friends, and have been with them when they’ve been told to get out of women’s toilets, but I have. And it is not pleasant and it is not nice,” she said.
Phillipson said: “Lesbians should not be treated in a discriminatory way and we must ensure that there are toilets and facilities available for everyone within our country.”
The SNP needs to “ditch the divisive gender self-ID agenda once and for all”, Conservative MP John Lamont said.
Lamont told MPs: “The Supreme Court’s ruling goes a long way to guarantee the rights and safety of women and girls.
“But does the minister agree with me that the judgment highlights why it’s now right for the SNP Government to finally ditch the divisive gender self-ID agenda once and for all, and proves it was totally wrong for Scottish Labour to back the SNP gender recognition reform Bill?”
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson said: “My understanding is that the Scottish Government do not intend to progress their gender recognition reforms. My officials will work with the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission), who will in turn also work with the Scottish Government.
“I believe Scottish ministers have indicated that they wish to engage with the EHRC on this guidance, which is an important and welcome development.”
Dame Meg Hillier asks about the ban on toilets, citing one trans constituent who has used female toilets for much of her life.
Bridget Phillipson replies that the provision of single sex spaces is on the basis of biological sex and the EHRC’s code of practise for businesses and others will ensure there is appropriate provision for all.
Dame Emily Thornberry told the Commons: “The overwhelming threat to women and to all of the trans community” is violence by men.
The MP for Islington South and Finsbury in London added: “Over the last few days, calls to Switchboard, the national LGBT+ helpline in my constituency, has skyrocketed from callers who are in fear for what this ruling means to them.
“Because trans people frightened to use public loos today know one thing – and does the Secretary of State agree we should all be clear about this – the overwhelming threat to women and to all of the trans community is the violence that we suffer from cis men?”
Equalities minister Bridget Phillipson replied: “I agree that male violence remains a very serious challenge that we face as a country, a challenge that this Labour Government is determined to confront.
“But I would say to her that the ruling of the Supreme Court was clear about the importance of biological sex, but I would not want any trans person in her constituency or anywhere across the country to be fearful.
“I believe that everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect, not to face discrimination or harassment, and that is why we will back the police to ensure that action is taken against anyone who behaves in that way.”
