Wes Streeting wants to be friends with trans people

21 September 2025

NEWS & POLITICS

Has Wes Streeting had a change of heart on trans people? He’d have to find his first [Independent]

On Monday afternoon, we were told of Wes Streeting’s ‘heartbreak’ over the intolerable wait tens of thousands of trans people in the UK are forced to endure because of his policy decisions. “Evidence shows trans people have higher rates of mental health conditions, including depression, when compared to the general population. Longer wait times only steepen this pain,” he told the NHS England LGBT+ Health Annual Conference in London.

“This breaks my heart…42,000 or more individuals should not be feeling invisible, misunderstood or unsupported.”

Funny, then, that he should have spent his time as Health Secretary ignoring trans people when he wasn’t lying to our faces, misrepresenting us, and consulting members of anti-trans groups in order to determine trans policy.

For all his weasly words, Streeting offered up nothing to fix these problems of his own making. As many pointed out, it was more believable that Streeting was ‘heartbroken’ because the list wasn’t longer.

The only concrete new policy is a £125,000 pilot scheme in the southwest to provide more information to patients before appointments and some mental health support to those stuck on the waiting list. That’s it. As Jolyon Maugham noted, that works out at £3 per person.

The pilot will offer online cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) through the NHS Silvercloud service, but not increased access to actual care.

Streeting is so devastated by this lack of care for trans people he made no promise of increased NHS funding for internationally recognised treatment, no mention of hiring more clinicians, reducing wait times, or changing referral pathways, no guarantee of self-identification or protection from exclusion on hospital wards.

He did offer ‘biological sex’ nods to the people he has worked closest with on this, however, and then returned at the end of the week to tell us how worried he is about how badly trans people are treated in hospital.

He must have forgot about how he has personally called for trans people to be segregated while on wards.

Only one thing is happening here – Streeting is speaking to people who aren’t trans as he tries to position himself to replace Keir Starmer. Funny how they know that the party members are not, generally, transphobic, and they have to campaign with that in mind.

Anti-trans Bridget Phillipson, who is in the running to become Labour deputy leader, has reportedly been contacting pro-trans MPs to tell them how she will be a trans ally.

The EHRC guidance that will order discrimination against trans people still sits on her desk. She is expected to push it through without a vote in parliament.

NHS study asking trans kids invasive and sexual questions [Growing up Transgender]

The UK Government and research councils have committed £10 million to multi-year studies on children’s gender services, including Pathways Horizon at King’s College London. I would encourage people to read the piece linked in the header above to understand how this is designed to be “deeply pathologising, invasive, trauma-inducing and inappropriate.”

Lib Dems dismiss transphobes [source]

At their annual conference, the Lib Dems refused to even entertain a vote on excluding trans women from all-women shortlists. The vote needed two-thirds to ‘move, next business’. It got far more.

Scottish government to challenge FWS Supreme Court ruling [The National]

The Scottish Government will challenge For Women Scotland’s legal bid to remove guidance that allows trans women in prisons to be housed with other women and trans pupils to use the appropriate facilities.

DUP calls Alliance ‘radicalised’ and ‘totalitarian’ on trans issues, says the DUP have no problem with gay people

One of the DUP’s most infamous slogans is ‘SAVE ULSTER FROM SODOMY‘.

Kamala Harris stops ignoring trans people to throw them under the bus

One of the biggest myths that grew up around the last US Presidential election is that Kamala Harris talked about supporting trans people too much, despite the fact she barely mentioned trans people at all. In fact, such was her silence, many trans people could not bring themselves to vote for her. Still, trans people were blamed for her defeat. Now, in her new book, she talks about how she, too, has problems with trans women in sport and calls for ‘solutions’ to be put in place that already existed before this panic was created.

SHORTS

The Heritage Foundation, which wrote Project 2025, the road map both Donald Trump and Keir Starmer advisor, Morgan McSweeney live by, is pushing the FBI to label trans advocacy a form of ‘violent extremism’. [Erin in the Morning]
After their LGB Ireland chapter was branded a hate group, they seem to have rebranded as LGB International [LGB International]
An EXCLUSIVE in the Mail on Sunday claimed that JK Rowling had secured the services of Fleetwood Mac for her two-day 60th birthday party at her castle, planned for November. A representative for the band has called this story “categorically false” [Rolling Stone]
Hockey star, Madison Packer, was kicked out of women’s toilets in Florida for looking ‘like a man’. “The fear-mongering and outright propaganda we have perpetuated against the trans community in this country is pathetic,” she said. [Outsports]
Reform UK councillor John Allen has been suspended after comments from his alleged YouTube account called for Keir Starmer to be shot, posting under videos including the arrest of Graham Linehan at Heathrow.

THE WEEK AHEAD

Parliament is in recess for conference season. It will return on 13 October.

Monday 22 September

World leaders expected to recognise Palestinian statehood at UN summit on Palestine

Tuesday 23 September

Ed Davey speech at Liberal Democrat conference.
Donald Trump to give lie-filled speech at opening day of the UN General Assembly’s General Debate
Kamala Harris’s election memoir 107 Days, in which she throws trans people under the bus, is released

Wednesday 24 September

Barack Obama to speak in London
Report: USA CDC weekly measles update

Thursday 25 September

High Court hearing in Home Office challenge to Palestine Action appeal.
Verdict in Nicolas Sarkozy case over accusations he received campaign funds from Muammar Gaddafi
Report: Annual figures on the nature of violent crime in England and Wales

Friday 26 September

Kneecap band member Mo Chara due in court charged with terror offence
US government sentencing recommendation due for Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Barack Obama to speak in Dublin

Saturday 27 September

CLP nominations close in Labour Party deputy leadership election
Palestine Coalition demonstration in Liverpool
Women’s Rugby World Cup Final

Sunday 28 September

Labour conference starts

THE PAPERS

This week saw a slight increase on the week before, up five to 34. The Telegraph reclaimed their crown from the News Letter, printing 12 articles alone throughout the week.

The Mail came second with eight, the Times had seven and it was a quiet week for the News Letter with just five, but they did have the trial of Soldier F to distract themselves with.

Both the Belfast Telegraph and the Guardian had one each.

The total count for the Guardian, Mail, Times, Telegraph, Belfast Telegraph and News Letter stands at 119 for the month of September, so far. That’s an average of almost six per day from just six publications.

Monday 15 September 2025

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