Tom Hayes (Bournemouth East) - Response to Questions - 4th July 2024

Women of Dorset have contacted all those standing in the eight constituencies that cover Dorset, including Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.

Below is, via a third party, a response from Tom Hayes (Labour) - Bournemouth East.

Thank you for your email and please accept my apologies that you didn't receive a reply earlier. Unlike Tobias Ellwood who has a full team of staff paid for via the Parliament staff allowance, as a candidate, I rely entirely on a team of volunteers, many of whom are supporting me around full time jobs and caring responsibilities. 

The election announcement took us somewhat by surprise and it's only been in the last few weeks when I've had a volunteer dedicated to ensuring that correspondence is answered. I apologise that your email arrived in the period when I had no support and started receiving 150 emails a day, and it slipped through the net. If I am elected to Parliament, I will have the ability to employ staff to help me manage correspondence.  

To answer the substance of your question which is about protecting women only spaces, as a Labour Party candidate, I am proud of our record of progress on equality, from the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act in 1975 to the Equality Act in 2010. The next Labour government will build on the progress that has been made in the past by addressing today’s challenges, making hatred against women a hate crime, acting on the gender pay gap and maternity discrimination, and modernising the law on gender recognition whilst protecting spaces for biological women.

One of our missions for the country at this election is to break down barriers to opportunity for all, ensuring that everyone is treated with respect and dignity.  

Our manifesto has set out our plans to:

Support the Equality Act and the protections it affords women, including its provision for single-sex spaces.

Modernise the Gender Recognition Act so that it removes indignities for trans people, whilst retaining the need for a diagnosis of gender dysphoria from a specialist doctor, enabling access to the healthcare pathway.

Deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, while protecting the freedom for people to explore their sexuality and gender identity.

Work to implement the expert recommendation of the Cass Review to ensure that young people presenting to the NHS with gender dysphoria are receiving appropriate and high-quality care. Labour will always put our children first and our most important focus has been and will always be children’s wellbeing.

We are a tolerant country, with a proud record of progress on equality. We need to work through these issues with respect and sensitivity rather than pitting people against each other. Our experience shows that greater progress and equality comes from bringing people together and treating each other with respect.

 

Thank you again for writing to me about these important issues.

With all good wishes

Tom Hayes