Chapter eleventy billion of Starmer saying his record on women’s rights is fabulous so shut up.

Keir Starmer has said he is proud of Labour’s history on women’s rights after JK Rowling said she would struggle to support the party because of its stance on transgender rights. Starmer told reporters on Saturday that he was “very proud of the progress” of past Labour governments, which made a “material difference” to women’s lives.

Yes see that’s not the issue – as of course he knows perfectly well. The issue is what he will do, and the fact that he gives every indication that he will continue to fling shit at women who refuse to agree that men can be women. We’re not asking about Labour’s past, we’re asking about Starmer’s present and future. We’re asking because he keeps throwing women to the wolves.

Writing in the Times on Saturday, Rowling, a former Labour member and donor, said she would struggle to vote for the party “as long as Labour remains dismissive and often offensive towards women fighting to retain the rights”. She said she had a “poor opinion” of Starmer’s character and claimed he was “dismissive and often offensive” of women’s concerns about sex-based rights.

…

Asked for his response to Rowling’s comments, the Labour leader said: “I do respect her, but I would point out the long record that Labour has in government of passing really important legislation which has advanced the rights of women and made a material difference.”

Again. Not the question. Never mind the record; what are you going to do?

On trans rights, he said a Labour government would seek a “reset moment where we can bring the country together and ensure that all debate is done in a respectful way”.

Ok here’s a tip: it’s not “respectful” to parry all questions, much less to reply to questions about what women say with “I agree with what Tony Blair says.”

On Saturday, when asked whether he would now apologise to Duffield, Starmer said: “I think it’s very important, in all political space, that we treat all views with respect and all people with dignity and that’s what I tried to do throughout this. I’m very proud of the progress that we’ve made as a Labour party in government in the past when it comes to women’s rights. I’m conscious that the battle for women’s rights is never over. We need to make further progress in this country.”

In other words he refused, for the billionth time, to answer.