Penny Mordaunt’s gay brother says Tory government is ‘most anti-LGBT’ he’s ever seen
James Mordaunt (L) and his sister Penny (R). (Instagram/Getty)
Penny Mordaunt’s brother has hit out at the Tories for being “the most anti-LGBT government” he has seen in his lifetime.
James Mordaunt, the twin brother of the current leader of the house, spoke out against his sister’s government at the PinkNews Awards 2023, according to the Evening Standard.
James – who is openly gay and is a vocal supporter of trans rights – reportedly said this is “the most anti-LGBT government I’ve seen in my lifetime”.
He went on to say that he now feels that his rights are regressing in the UK and that he looks forward to backing the Labour Party at the next general election.
James also admitted that he and Penny Mordaunt don’t agree on everything, but he insisted the pair’s relationship hasn’t suffered.
“She’s never told me to tone it down. And I have a big mouth!” he said.
Penny Mordaunt has spoken out against ‘trans orthodoxy’
It’s been a turbulent few years for Penny Mordaunt. Once seen by many LGBTQ+ people as a vocal advocate for trans rights within the Conservative Party, she quickly changed her tune during her short-lived leadership campaign.
Just a few short years ago, Mordaunt won praise for repeating a simple affirmation – that “trans women are women, and trans men are men” – but she later spoke out against what she termed the “trans orthodoxy”.
“I am biologically a woman. If I have a hysterectomy or a mastectomy, I am still a woman. And I am legally a woman,” Mordaunt wrote in a controversial Twitter thread at the start of her leadership campaign.
“Some people born male and who have been through the gender recognition process are also legally female. That DOES NOT mean they are biological women, like me.”
Mordaunt was widely criticised for what many saw as a U-turn on trans rights. She was accused of “throwing trans people under the bus” in order to win the leadership race, before she eventually pulled out.
Meanwhile, Mordaunt’s twin brother James has never shied away from criticising the Tories.
He previously wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “If you are a member of the Conservative party, a Conservative MP, part of this homophobic, transphobic government, you are complicit.”
James Mordaunt was far from the only person criticising the Tory government at the PinkNews Awards 2023. Tory MP Caroline Nokes led the charge, telling PinkNews that the proposal to ban trans women from women-only wards was “hugely problematic”.
Nokes also spoke out against the government over its ongoing failure to ban conversion therapy, arguing that an “inclusive ban” must be brought forward.
Elsewhere, Married at First Sight star Ella Morgan said the Tory government is the “biggest threat” to the LGBTQ+ community, adding: “And f**k the Tories too, you’re a bunch of C-*-*-T-S.”
