Part of 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 2:01 pm on 7 June 2022.
My starting point is the same as Penny Mordaunt's—the UK Minister responsible at the time—who said that the UK Government's starting point was that transgender women are women. That's my starting point in this debate. It is a difficult area where people feel very strongly on different sides of an argument, and an argument that divides people who agree on most other things. What I say to the Member is that in such a potentially divisive issue, the responsibility of elected representatives is not to stand on the certainties of their own convictions, but instead to work hard to look for opportunities for dialogue, to find ways of promoting understanding rather than conflict, and to demonstrate respect rather than to look for exclusion. I do not understand the point that the Member makes—that you can be too inclusive. To me, inclusivity is absolutely what we should be aiming for here. The way to resolve those challenging issues that she's identified—and I've got no objection at all to her identifying them—is not to assume that because we ourselves may have strong views, that allows us to cast doubt on the sincerity of views held strongly by others. It's only by dialogue and by understanding that you can reach a conclusion to the sorts of questions the Member has raised.