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| 'Sex in the law is biological sex' - Badenoch on Tories pledge to rewrite equality law |
The Conservatives have promised to rewrite the Equality Act so that protections it enshrines on the basis of a person’s sex apply only to their biological sex.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the "safety of women and girls" meant the "current confusion around definitions of sex and gender" cannot be allowed to continue.
The Tories say their election pledge will make it simpler for service providers for women and girls, such as those running sessions for domestic abuse victims, to stop biological males from taking part.
Labour's shadow defence secretary John Healey told BBC Radio 5 Live the change was not needed adding that it was "an election distraction from the really core issues that matter to people ".
He said the Equality Act "already protects single sex spaces for biological women" but acknowledged there was a need for "clearer guidance", something he said Labour would produce.
Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper told the BBC: "If there are any examples of where a public service needs to have further guidance we're happy to issue that guidance but let's not pick apart legislation that reflects the hard-fought and hard-won protections given to women and trans women.”
The proposals would also see UK government decisions on gender reassignment applied across the UK, including Scotland.
Scottish National Party leader John Swinney accused the Conservatives of being "on the war path against the Scottish Parliament and the devolved government in Scotland".
Under the Equality Act 2010, it is illegal to discriminate against anyone because of "protected characteristics".
These are a set of identifying traits that are protected by law and include age, disability, religion, race, sex and sexual orientation among others.
Some interpret sex in this context as referring strictly to biological sex, while others believe it also applies to people with a gender recognition certificate; a legal document that allows someone to change the legal sex on their birth certificate.
The Conservatives want to change the act to apply to biological sex, and say single-sex spaces, such as public toilets and hospital wards, and services such as rape crisis centres do not have to be open to those who are biologically male but identify as female.
The party says that since the Equality Act was introduced in 2010, it has not kept up with "evolving interpretations" of sex and gender.
The Conservatives say the policy is a matter of principle but it is also an issue the party has used to attack its opponents.
Questions on transgender care and identification have created divisions within the Labour Party and the SNP.
The move is not without political risk for the Conservatives though. The Equality Act was passed by Labour in 2010 - meaning the Conservatives have had their entire 14 years in office to fix those areas they now regard as problems with it.
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