Wes Streeting met with ‘gender-critical’ groups to discuss ‘gender policy’
Wes Streeting met with ‘gender-critical’ groups near the beginning of his time as health secretary. (Getty)
Wes Streeting met with 'gender-critical' groups near the beginning of his time as health secretary. (Getty)
Health secretary Wes Streeting met a number of “gender-critical” groups last year to discuss government policy, official documents have revealed.
Ministerial diaries from 2024 show that, shortly after the Labour government came to power, the health secretary met six groups, some of which advocate for so-called conversion therapy practices. The gender policy meeting held on 31 July included representatives from Genspect, CAN-SG, The Integrated Psychology Clinic, LGB Alliance, Transgender Trend and the Bayswater Support Group.
In the same month, the Bureau of Investigative Journalism published an article alleging that members of the Bayswater Support Group had engaged in ‘conversion’ practices.
Transgender Trend, Genspect, CAN-SG and The Integrated Psychology Clinic have all campaigned to deny gender-affirming treatment for trans youngsters, despite evidence of its benefits.
In addition, Transgender Trend has claimed youngsters “usually grow out” of their gender incongruence, and have denied that trans people typically face higher rates of suicidality, again despite evidence.
In the months after the meeting, Streeting indefinitely extended a ban on puberty blockers introduced by the previous Tory government, citing “safety concerns“.
He has also voiced his support for the Cass Report as well as for policies that would ban trans people from single-sex wards. There have been no reported incidents of transgender women in women’s-only wards.
Wes Streeting proclaims trans women aren’t women and trans men aren’t men
The Ilford North MP no longer believes that trans women are women or that trans men are men, saying, in April 2024 that there were “lots of complexities” to the statement.
He repeated this after the verdict from UK Supreme Court which ruled on the 2010 Equality Act’s definition of women.
“I don’t think [Labour], given some of the rough discourse we’ve had on these issues in recent years, I don’t think we lose anything by having a bit of humility to say: ‘Actually, I wish we’d listened’,” he said during an LBC guest presenting spot.
When a member of the public criticised his policies, which they said were “ruining the lives of trans people,” Streeting told them to “get a grip“.
The day before the gender-policy meeting, Streeting met 17 pro-LGBTQ+ groups, including members of the Terence Higgins Trust, TransActual and Stonewall, to “discuss LGBT+ policy issues”.
Gay evangelical Anglican campaigner Jayne Ozanne described the meeting as a “positive “reset” that allowed Streeting to hear from “trans leaders about harm, hurt and hate that they have increasingly experienced”.
Last month, Streeting announced a six-month inquiry to look into LGBTQ+ health inequalities in the NHS. It is not known whether the ban on puberty blocks will come under the microscope.
PinkNews has approached the Department of Health and the Bayswater Support Group for comment.
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