This post is relevant to you if (a) you are a trans woman, and (b) you can't afford private health care. Or you object to it on ideological grounds. Whatever.

The Tory government has decided that the biggest problem facing the NHS is not waiting lists, or staff shortages, or crumbling buildings… but trans women. In future, trans women will be banned from receiving NHS hospital treatment in female-only wards. Or male-only wards for that matter. So you'd better hope that your local hospital has mixed wards. Otherwise, health care is not for you, and if you die, then you die. As the Health Secretary says, "We all know what a woman is," and it's not you.

The move is being presented as designed to protect biological women, who would otherwise no doubt be at risk of attack from hospitalised but predatory testosterone-fuelled men wearing dresses who are confused about which gender they are. But the government isn't really interested in protecting biological women, beause women's health care in this country is under-funded anyway.

Cynical readers may conclude that the policy is aimed at the rightwing media and the very small cohort of Tory Party members rather than the electorate as a whole. I think the band of villains who run the country know that the game is up. Come the election next year, there is more chance of Lucifer being readmitted to heaven with AmEx privileges than the Tories winning the election.

For the full story see this article in today's Guardian.
This post was edited by Ariane Durand at October 4, 2023 8:51 AM BST