The cowardice of those in positions of influence

titutions became captured by a minority of ideological activists. When ministers raise the alarm or intervene this is demonised by Labour MPs such as Yvette Cooper as engaging in “culture wars”….

In the case of trans ideology, those who first publicly questioned its tenets were subjected to hysterical abuse and calumny. Brave people including Kathleen Stock and Graham Linehan were hounded out of their jobs. James Esses lost his role at Childline. The Labour MP Rosie Duffield was harassed by her own party members and fellow MPs while Starmer looked away.

Worse than the ravings of the militants was the cowardice of those in positions of influence. How many university administrators, media editors, police officers and politicians preferred to keep quiet for fear of becoming the next target or in the hope of maintaining their progressive credentials?

We need more bravery and less cancel culture.

At the heart of the Cass review is a failure of institutions to self-regulate. Ministers have intervened time and again but it is now time for leaders to step up and recover impartiality. It is time that the clinicians who refused to co-operate with Cass were held to account.

It is good to hear Labour politicians admit culpability in failing to challenge extreme gender ideology. But I don’t believe this change of heart is real….

For those who ask how this happened under a Conservative government, they should look at the spread of extreme gender ideology across the western world from America and Canada through Europe to Australia and New Zealand. The reality is that Britain is leading the charge against it.

The tendency to censor, shout down and punish unfashionable opinions offends the principles of a free society. It also ruins lives by stopping people raising the alarm. Had those who warned that gender services in the NHS had been hijacked by ideologues been listened to instead of gagged, children would not have been harmed and the Cass review would not have been required. Our responsibility is to ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.

Well yes. she's a politician – of course she's going to make political capital of this. But fair enough: she has been the one senior politician to speak out regularly on this.

Elsewhere in the Times:

Badenoch’s comments will be welcomed by right-wing Tory MPs but seen by critics as seeking to reignite the so-called culture wars that have dominated British politics since the last election.

Is this really just a question of right-wing vs. left-wing? Is Rosie Duffield right wing for speaking out on gender issues? And, like it or not, this particular gender war is going to be around for a while yet. The more we talk about it the better.