Wes Streeting criticised for ‘callous’ trans women segregation comments in Mumsnet interview

Wes Streeting has been accused of promoting “trans segregation”, just days after vowing to ensure the safety of transgender men and women.

During an interview with parent’s internet forum Mumsnet on Friday (19 September), the UK health secretary said the government was looking to create “third spaces” for trans women, away from female single-sex facilities such as toilets and changing rooms.

“I know there will be lots of people, probably some Mumsnet users, and there’ll be lots of people in the LGBT community and allies who would say that that’s outrageous,” he said. “I’m trying to find a way through on this that maybe not everyone loves but can live with and treats people with dignity and respect.”

He added that he was looking to “find a way to make sure that trans women are [in] a space that is dignified and safe and inclusive for them, that doesn’t impact on women’s sex-based rights and spaces”.

Streeting’s comments came shortly after he vowed to ensure the “equality, dignity, safety and inclusion” of trans people.

Speaking at the NHS LGBT+ Annual Conference earlier last week, the MP for Ilford North said: “This has not been easy. But reflecting back on the long history of LGBT progress and the expansion of LGBT rights in our country, the struggle for equality has never been easy… we will rise to it.”

He has been criticised before for views on transgender issues, particularly for stating that trans women are not real women, and the Mumsnet interview left him under fire again, with some people accusing him of advocating for “trans segregation”.

One person on Reddit asked: “How is this meant to work? Where is the NHS meant to find these new wards [for] trans people? What about gendered psych wards or similar? This s**t doesn’t make sense.” Someone else labelled the plan “blatantly and callously evil,” and the concept of a third space for trans people “inherently ridiculous”.

Speaking specifically about hospitals, Streeting said it was not appropriate for men and women to be on the same ward. “We’ve got to deal with that. That is often about capacity constraints, resources. It’s going to take time to eliminate but the objective is to eliminate it.”

The British Medical Association has reported that at least 6.25 million patients are awaiting treatment on the NHS, with 2.87 million waiting for more than 18 weeks while the wait for close to 192,000 people stretched beyond 12 months.

PinkNews has contacted Wes Streeting’s office for comment.