Jamie Wallis, a Conservative MP who came out as transgender earlier this year, has accused fellow Tory MPs of exploiting and weaponising trans issues “in order to score cheap political points” during the recent leadership contest.
The MP for Bridgend in Wales, who has written a letter to Liz Truss calling on her to resign as prime minister, described the tactics used during the battle to succeed Boris Johnson as “extremely unpleasant”.
Wallis said the leadership contest, in which Truss defeated main rival Rishi Sunak in September, was a “particularly difficult time”.
In his letter to Truss, he wrote: “Watching senior colleagues exploit the issue of transgender rights and weaponise it in order to score cheap political points was extremely unpleasant.”
Wallis added: “You chose not to challenge this behaviour and have now chosen to have those same colleagues sit alongside you in your government.
“Mistakes can be undone, and as one united team I believe we could achieve almost anything. However, whilst you are our leader, I no longer believe this is possible.”
Earlier on Sunday Suella Braverman, the home secretary, suggested she does not consider deliberately calling a trans person by their old name a hate crime.
In response to a tweet by Leicestershire police highlighting how people could report hate crimes such as this, Braverman wrote on Twitter: “This week I have seen confusion amongst police forces about what constitutes a ‘hate crime’.
“The police need to enforce actual laws & fight actual crimes. Freedom of speech must be protected and a proportionate approach must be taken.
“The public need to have confidence in their police forces. This sort of thing undermines it.
“Senior police officers who allow this to happen can expect to have to explain to me why they’re spending vital resources on politically correct campaigns.”
Elsewhere, members of the Scottish Green party have voted to suspend ties with their sister party south of the border after supporting a motion which accused it of failing to tackle transphobia.
Scottish Greens voted to suspend formal ties with the Green party of England and Wales (GPEW) at their conference in Dundee until the latter addressed “both issues of transphobia and respect for the Scottish Green party”.
After the vote on Sunday, Siân Berry, a Green member of the London Assembly, said she was saddened by the decision but added that the party had “many problems left to solve”.
A spokesperson for GPEW said: “The Green party of England and Wales values highly our relationship with our sister party, the Scottish Greens, and we are proud of the aims and values that we share in furthering Green policies across the UK.
“The Green party of England and Wales is clear that trans rights are human rights and we are proud of our strong policies on trans inclusion.
“It is our priority to champion diversity and be a welcoming and inclusive party for all – that means campaigning for the rights of trans people, women and all oppressed groups, as the Green party has always done.”
