The writing is on the wall for Stonewall
by Carys Moseley, Christian Concern:
Liz Truss, the Minister for Women and Equalities, wants all government departments to leave the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme. This happened just after CEO Nancy Kelley’s comparison of gender-critical views with anti-Semitism in a BBC interview on Saturday. It is perfectly possible that this was the last straw for the government as regards Stonewall’s demands.
Truthfulness as ‘hate’
In an interview with the BBC over the weekend, Nancy Kelley said this:
“With all beliefs including controversial beliefs there is a right to express those beliefs publicly and where they’re harmful or damaging – whether it’s anti-Semitic beliefs, gender critical beliefs, beliefs about disability – we have legal systems that are put in place for people who are harmed by that.”
When the BBC journalists challenged her comparison, she doubled down on it.
This outrageous comparison proved to be the last straw for Liz Truss. It’s not hard to see why. Comparing insistence that there are only two sexes and that they are protected in law with anti-Semitism makes no sense at all. The effect of this would be to paint gender-critical people as extremists who should be referred to Prevent by their employers. This isn’t beyond the realms of plausibility. Currently Rev. Dr Bernard Randall is being supported by the Christian Legal Centre due to a colleague referring him to Prevent for telling school pupils they could question LGBT ideology.
The Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme
All this has happened in response to mounting public concern about the influence that membership of the Stonewall Diversity Champions Programme has on public bodies, charities and businesses. At Christian Concern, we have been highly critical of its effect on freedom of speech and protection of religious freedom for some time. It has affected academic freedom in universities, Crown Prosecution Service advice on school bullying and single-sex spaces, the politicisation of the police, and Relationships and Sexuality Education.
[…] The Times has been told that it is the Cabinet Office that is responsible for co-ordinating government bodies’ Stonewall membership. This only confirms that something is afoot. For the Government Equalities Office works closely with the Cabinet Office. Government departments have not yet been reported to be leaving Stonewall.
Alison Bailey’s hearing has been pushed back to April 2022. The Welsh Government is still consulting on the guidance and code for RSE. However, things are changing by the day as far as Stonewall is concerned. Schools in particular may yet decide that membership is unwise, especially once they are confronted with the realities of RSE in the classroom. All eyes will be on Stonewall’s fortunes throughout this summer, as so much is at stake.
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