Will Jamie Wallis change the tone of the Tory trans debate?
Conservative LGBT+ patron hopes ‘divided’ party can now have more ‘respectful’ discussion
The Conservative MP for Bridgend, Jamie Wallis, has become the first MP to make public that he is transgender – or, in his words, “to be more accurate, I want to be”.
In a statement published yesterday, Wallis explained that he has been diagnosed with gender dysphoria – an unease a person may have between their biological sex and their gender identity. He said he has “felt this way since I was a very young child.
“I had no intention of ever sharing this with you. I always imagined I would leave politics well before I ever said this out loud,” he continued.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Wallis, who was elected in 2019, revealed that he had been raped last year, and blackmailed the year before when someone demanded £50,000 to “keep quiet” about his gender identity. He also spoke of how he crashed his car in November and “fled the scene”. “I did so because I was terrified. I have PTSD,” said Wallis.
Both Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer acknowledged Wallis’s statement in the House of Commons. The prime minister told him “the House stands with you and will give you the support you need to live freely as yourself”. On Twitter, Johnson also thanked Wallis for his “bravery, which will undoubtedly support others”.
Conservative colleagues were quick to praise Wallis and offer their best wishes. Equalities minister Mike Freer said: “I hope I speak for the whole House in sending our support”, while Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Wallis via Twitter: “We stand with you.”
Yet “many labelled Johnson a hypocrite”, said Pink News, given it was reported that “just hours before”, the PM had “cracked a joke at the expense of the trans community at a dinner attended by Tories including Wallis”.
The PM apparently opened the dinner, saying: “Good evening ladies and gentleman – or as Keir Starmer would put it, people who are assigned female or male at birth,” the BBC said.
Truss also “spoke out against self-identification for trans people” last year, Pink News added, “saying there needed to be ‘checks and balances in the system’”.
Arthur Webber at OpenDemocracy agreed that the Tory Party’s messages of support might ring “hollow”, after many have “been keen to fan the flames of the anti-trans culture war”.
But “contrary to the anti-Boris point-scoring being peddled by much of the media”, Wallis has spoken of Johnson’s “very generous private support of him”, reported Guido Fawkes. The MP told the political news site that the prime minister had called him to ask “how he wanted to be treated, questions about a new name or pronouns, and whether there’s anything the party could do to help”.
Andrew Boff, patron of the LGBT+ Conservatives group, said he hoped that Wallis’s announcement would usher in a more “respectful” conversation.
“The party is really divided over the issue,” he said. Boff added that “a lot of trans people had hope” when Theresa May pledged to allow transgender people to change their birth certificates without requiring a diagnosis, said The Independent. But Boff said “that’s all been brushed away” under Johnson’s leadership.
In a statement, the Tory Reform Group added: “Trans lives are difficult and complex, they should not be ridiculed in flippant after-dinner jokes.
“The Government needs to treat LGBT people with kindness rather than as punch lines.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Julia O'Driscoll is the engagement editor. She covers UK and world news, as well as writing lifestyle and travel features. She regularly appears on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast, and hosted The Week's short-form documentary podcast, “The Overview”. Julia was previously the content and social media editor at sustainability consultancy Eco-Age, where she interviewed prominent voices in sustainable fashion and climate movements. She has a master's in liberal arts from Bristol University, and spent a year studying at Charles University in Prague.
-
'Republicans want to silence Israel's opponents'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Poland, Germany nab alleged anti-Ukraine spies
Speed Read A man was arrested over a supposed Russian plot to kill Ukrainian President Zelenskyy
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Today's political cartoons - April 19, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - priority delivery, USPS on fire, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Mark Menzies: Tories investigate MP after 'bad people' cash claims
Speed Read Fylde MP will sit as an independent while party looks into allegations he misused campaign funds on medical expenses and blackmail pay-out
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Is David Cameron overshadowing Rishi Sunak?
Talking Point Current PM faces 'thorny dilemma' as predecessor enjoys return to world stage
By The Week UK Published
-
How will honeytrap scandal change Westminster?
Today's Big Question Security procedures laid bare by spear phishing attack as focus shifts to 'political insider' being responsible
By The Week UK Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Farewell to Theresa May: a PM consumed by Brexit
Talking Point Maidenhead MP standing down at next general election
By The Week UK Published
-
Britain's biggest political donors
The Explainer With the 2024 general election set to be the highest-spending contest ever we look at who is giving to which party and why
By The Week UK Published
-
Can Boris Johnson save Rishi Sunak?
Today's Big Question Former PM could 'make the difference' between losing the next election and annihilation
By The Week UK Published
-
Badenoch, Johnson or 'full Trump': who is the future of the Tory Party?
Today's Big Question Tory moderates are preparing to do battle with the right of the party in a post-Sunak leadership election
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published