Merched Cymru

It’s devastating that Girlguiding has announced plans to exclude existing trans girl guides from September. The Supreme Court ruling is being weaponised to bully previously inclusive organisations into abandoning members of their own community. The government must ensure that the statutory guidance enables organisations to be inclusive and protects them from expensive anti-trans lawfare.

Three British women claim world titles inside an hour. Once again, that decision by UK Sport to cut the funding for athletics looks utterly ridiculous.

1/ Dr Natacha Kennedy, a lecturer at Goldsmiths, has been celebrating the death of Jenni Murray, the highly-respected former presenter of BBC Woman's Hour. Kennedy wishes for Jenni Murray's grave to be treated as a 'gender-neutral bathroom'. Kennedy is an important figure in academic trans activism in the UK.

There is no such thing as gender that is different to biological sex. The Heritage Party will remove the concept of gender from law and affirm there are two biological sexes - male and female, determined by anatomy at birth and chromosomes.

I understand that some of the activists within Girlguiding are unhappy that I didn’t write a ‘positive’ story about their campaigning. That’s despite being informed of the concerns raised - and being given the opportunity to comment, which they did. What’s striking is that the focus now appears to be on ensuring I’m “punished”for reporting on it - rather than reflecting on the substance of those concerns, or whether this kind of activity is appropriate within an organisation for children and young people. It’s a pattern we’ve seen repeatedly in debates around gender ideology: challenge the reporting - rather than engage with the issue. Girlguiding has told both The Sunday Telegraph and GB News it “cannot comment” on the activities of an external group. But Guiders Against Trans Exclusion (GATE) is not entirely external. It includes active Girlguiding volunteers - including individuals involved in leadership and advisory roles. Girlguiding’s own volunteer Code of Conduct makes clear that volunteers must not misuse their position, must maintain appropriate boundaries and must act in the best interests of girls and young women. That raises an obvious question: can activity of this kind really be considered separate from the organisation?