Mumsnet took issue (on 1st April – significant?) with Serco, who provide the Caledonian Sleeper train from Euston to Scotland. Apparently, Serco had said that  passengers who were born male but ‘self-identify’ as female could sleep in cabins reserved for women.

Mumsnet members immediately lambasted poor Rupert Soames, CEO of Serco, as they saw it as an open invitation for pervert and rapists to don a dress and share a dual cabin with a woman.

Poor Rupert was caught between a rock and a hard place, and was presumably equivocating between whether to offend the Mumsnet fraternity or transgender rights supporters.

He presumably he came down on the side of the later, as Mrs May, Jeremy Corbyn,  parliament and others have all supported removing the requirement for medical evidence of any transition and allowing self-identification by a man that he was in fact a woman. (Yes, the concept baffles grumpy as well, but he hasn’t looked closely into this – TMI)

Theresa May has pledged to press ahead with plans to let people officially change gender without medical checks, as she said “being trans is not an illness and it should not be treated as such”.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and cabinet minister David Lidington have both stated that their parties believe transgender women are women; This included those who self-identify as women.

Women’s Aid has begun the process to allow trans women to work in their refuges based on self-identifying as a woman, rather than requiring a change to their birth certificate.

Finally, Hansard reports the results of a debate on the topic were that “this House notes the UK’s status as a pioneer in legislating for equality for LGBT people; welcomes the Government’s announcement of a new trans equality action plan; and calls on the Government to review its response to the recommendations of the Women and Equalities Committee’s report on Transgender Equality to ensure that the UK leads the world on trans equality rights, in particular by giving unequivocal commitments to changing the Gender Recognition Act 2004 in line with the principles of gender self-declaration and replacing confusing and inadequate language regarding trans people in the Equality Act 2010 by creating a new protected characteristic of gender identity”

 I was surprised that Rupe merely didn’t cite these as evidence that Mumsnet members were behind the times, and  tell them that they should bring themselves into line with the new mores in society; instead he waffled and got fried.

However, Grumpy’s point is that this is clearly a complex area which arouses strong emotions on both sides, with  huge potential to create all manner of unintended consequences. Politicians, however can’t resist jerking their knees (as well as the electorate), pushing populist themes without real thought, and in the case of Corbyn, jumping in so as not to appear regressive and illiberal. Such is the stuff of future problems and presumably cutting the legislation will inevitable mean a few late nights for Civil Servants.