Transgender people have become a scapegoat to hide the real problem

Instead of focusing on transgender issues just to start a culture war, the Tory party would be better off spending their time fixing our legal system and making sure that cases get to court quickly.

Surely, this would be the real form of protection for women and girls?

If someone has committed sexual assault but knows they can go on living a normal life, likely never facing criminal charges, what incentive is there for them to stop? They will likely continue their behaviour, harming more women and girls without fear of any consequences.

Transgender people have become a scapegoat when the real problem lies with this government.

Bob Sampson

West Sussex

The Conservatives promise to amend the Equality Act to define sex as purely biological. But then they claim that “the sex of those with a gender recognition certificate will still align with their acquired gender in law outside the Equality Act.”

Seriously? Outside of the Equality Act, what is left?

The protections under the protected characteristic of gender reassignment are minimal – they amount, in essence, to saying that we can’t be discriminated against for changing gender, but can not require any public body, employer or service provider to treat us as members of the acquired gender.

So, it would be illegal to discriminate against someone for transitioning, but legal to sack them for then not adhering to a dress code for their birth sex. Meanwhile, a non-trans person would be protected against dismissal on those grounds.

But how do employers and service providers know what sex a person is? Well, from our passports, driving licences and birth certificates. The Tory proposals would require that these reflect biological sex rather than any acquired sex, even when someone has a gender recognition certificate. The GRC would then be entirely pointless – it would not in fact recognise the acquired gender at all.

The proposal is just as humpty dumpty-ish as the law declaring Rwanda to be “safe”. Kemi Badenoch is smart enough to know that the only way to achieve what she wants is to repeal the Gender Recognition Act, rather than meddling with the Equalities Act.

I rather fear that that is the Tories’ real plan...

Rachael Padman

Newmarket

While I agree with Judith Daniel’s recent letter to The Independent that there needs to be a review of the disaster caused by Brexit (leading to a realignment of our relationship with our European partners), I cannot agree that this election campaign is the time to do it.

The majority of the electorate voted for Boris Johnson’s “oven-ready deal” because they had grown weary of the nation “banging on about Europe”. To raise that spectre again with the Tories maintaining their ideological position, Labour treading on eggshells for fear of alienating anyone and other parties boldly stating a commitment to Europe that they will be in no position to enact, would only alienate the majority of voters and may cause them to vote as impulsively as they did in 2019.

Far better to wait until a different government, with a substantial majority, is in place to address the issues maturely and openly within parliament. It is to be hoped that we renegotiate our relationship with Europe, particularly with respect to the single market and the customs union, but now is not the time to air those issues.

Graham Powell

Cirencester

The most radical thing young people can do is vote – as far as vested interests and the current power imbalance goes.

It’s why so much cunning, time and effort is going into ensuring that does not happen. Including, of course, disenfranchising much of the population with restrictive voter ID laws.

With corruption, lobbying and incompetence forcing even seasoned political watchers to the edge, you can feel the shadow of anti-democratic pressure.

Do not give in.

It’s tempting to simply tweet, chain yourself to a fence or shout to the top of your lungs as part of a demonstration. But all of this combined will have about as much effect as a drop in the sea. And anyhow – the water is already full of sewage.

Vote. Get your family and friends to vote. Make sure people around you know that if they do not vote they have zero right to complain when things turn out.

Voting is the baseline. Both the most ordinary and the most radically effective thing you’ll have the chance to do this decade.

Amanda Baker

Edinburgh