JK Rowling launched a fresh attack on Labor as Sir Keir Starmer nominated two women and equalities ministers to sit at the Cabinet table.
In a surprise move, Downing Street announced Bridget Phillipson and Anneliese Dodds will hold the title in the new Government.
This has led to confusion over who will be responsible for delivering on Labour’s pre-election promise to ‘simplify’ the process for trans people to legally change their gender.
Rowling this morning questioned Ms Dodds’ choice for the role, after previously clashing with Ms Phillipson over Labour’s stance on transgender issues.
The Harry Potter author used social media to highlight Ms Dodds’ answer in 2022, when the Labor frontbencher was asked about the party’s definition of women.
“I have to say that there are legitimately different definitions of what a woman really is,” she replied in a BBC interview at the time.
He added: ‘I think it depends on what the context is. I mean that’s definitely what’s important here.’
JK Rowling launched a fresh attack on Labor as Sir Keir Starmer nominated two women and equalities ministers to sit at the Cabinet table.
In a surprise move, Downing Street announced Bridget Phillipson (pictured) and Anneliese Dodds will hold the title in the new Government.
As well as being minister for women and equalities, Downing Street confirmed this morning that Ms Dodds will also attend Cabinet as minister for international development.
Before the general election, Rowling agreed to a meeting with Labor after she repeatedly attacked the party on gender issues.
It comes after the author said he would ‘struggle to support’ Labor in the vote last Friday, despite having previously been a party donor.
Rowling this morning announced she had backed an independent candidate in her Edinburgh constituency last week, instead of Labour.
Last month, Ms Phillipson – who is also currently Education Secretary – sent a message to Rowling after the author accused Labor of ‘abandoning women’ over its stance on the rights of transgender people.
Rowling also claimed Sir Keir had been ‘dismissive and often offensive’ to women’s concerns about gender-based rights.
Asked for his response to Rowling, the Labor frontbencher told the BBC: ‘I would say it’s also very personal for me.
‘I want to make sure that women get the support and justice they deserve, and we make sure we have services available to women about rape and sexual violence.
‘There is an important provision already in the Equality Act that allows for single-sex provision and it is important that it is maintained.’
Days later, Ms Phillipson suggested trans women with penises could use women’s toilets under Labor’s plan to make it easier to get a Gender Recognition Certificate.
During a quiz on Radio Times about the party’s proposals, he was asked: ‘I’m biologically male, but I’ve changed my gender.
‘I have the certificate to prove it, and I am now a trans woman. Where do I go to the toilet? Male toilet or female toilet?’
Ms Phillipson replied: ‘So, you don’t police how people use the toilet in that sense.
‘But I would expect that you are a person who has gone through the formal process of recognition that you, for all intents and purposes, for legal purposes, are considered to be of a different gender regardless of the sex to which you were born.’
Pressed again to answer the question, he added: ‘I would think that in that case people would use the women’s toilet.’
In a later radio interview, Ms Phillipson refused to answer eight times when asked which toilet she thought trans women with penises should use.
As well as being minister for women and equalities, Downing Street confirmed this morning that Ms Dodds will also attend Cabinet as minister for international development.
He had been chairman of the Labor Party before the general election, but has now been replaced by Ellie Reeves, sister of Chancellor Rachel Reeves.
It was recently reported that Labor is considering appointing Harriet Harman to head the new Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The veteran politician, who was last week nominated for a peerage by Sir Keir, is known as a ‘trans ally’ after he previously said ‘women are also women who are trans women’.
