It is time to reset what equality means in Britain

As I begin my new role as Shadow Cabinet Minister for Women and Equalities, I have made a solemn promise to myself: I will never be afraid to say what needs to be said to protect our women and girls, no matter who it might offend. I will be the voice of common sense in a debate which has all too often been hijacked by loud minorities that do not reflect the mainstream views of our nation. From doorstep conversations I have, it is clear many people feel our country has lost its way. Common sense is often being replaced with the need to legislate for every possible nuance of difference and protect from every risk of offence being taken. We have created a lucrative industry for left-wing lawyers, trade unions, special interest groups and HR departments. Businesses are grappling with an avalanche of equality and employment laws, making it harder for them to create the growth we desperately need. PA The Public Sector Equality Duty has distracted our public servants from what really matters – making public services more efficient and effective. Despite all this, Britain is increasingly a country where women and girls feel unsafe on the streets. A Britain where left-wing politicians can't tell you what a woman is – but want to create new protected characteristics with ease. A Britain where leftist ideologues can create a hierarchy of victimhood but turn a blind eye to the disadvantages faced by white working-class boys. That is why the Conservatives are clear that it is time for us to stop this nonsense of viewing everything through the lens of equality law and identity politics. We need to get back to acting with common sense and make British values matter again. Let us start with women and girls. Labour dithered and delayed on guidance for single-sex spaces because it was terrified of losing support from the transgender lobby. Let me be quite clear, unlike so many MPs and activists in the Labour Party. I have never believed a woman can have a penis. Unlike Labour's Bridget Phillipson and Andy Burnham, I have never believed men should use female toilets. Unlike Burnham, I have always demanded women's spaces must be protected. Sex is a biological reality, not something that can be changed simply by declaration. A man does not become a woman merely because he identifies as one. I am completely opposed to biological men playing in women's sporting competitions. No man should ever be consigned to a women's prison, allowed in women's changing rooms, refuges or other single-sex spaces, where biological sex matters, and where women must not be expected to surrender their privacy, safety or dignity because politicians from Labour, the Scottish National Party and the Greens have been afraid to say so. This Government is on notice: women's single-sex spaces must be protected from biological men. The EHRC guidance is very clear: the Supreme Court's decision was very clear – you cannot change your biological sex. Labour has put our children at risk with their reckless and ideological promotion of puberty blockers, whilst the Lib Dems will happily take the money from a company behind those same drugs. At every turn, Labour has resisted the scrutiny needed to expose the grooming and rape gang scandal, for fear of offending the Pakistani community. Illegal immigration has exposed British communities to men from cultures where women and girls are treated worse than animals. We have sacrificed the safety of our women and girls on the altar of multiculturalism. Labour's answer to deal with these men? Give them a leaflet. A behaviour guide warning them they "could" be arrested if they abuse children and rape girls. In Kemi Badenoch, Britain has a leader with the backbone to confront difficult truths and make the hard choices. That is why she insisted on doing the hard yards of working out how we leave the European Convention on Human Rights. The left of Labour, the Lib Dems and Greens want us to believe that's an end to human rights in Britain. The truth is the opposite. It provides an opportunity to reset what rights, responsibilities and equality really mean in Britain. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter