Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has pledged to cut taxpayer money from local governments that refuse to protect female-only spaces as leftist councils are set to defy the Supreme Court ruling, which affirmed that “transgender women” are not actually women.
In a landmark decision made last year, the UK Supreme Court ruled that categories such as women refer to biology, not gender, when concerned with matters of the law, meaning that biological males who identified as women could not claim the special benefits society denotes specifically to biological women.
As a result of the ruling, public-facing institutions, including government branches and private businesses that frequently interact with the public, must provide single-sex spaces, such as female-only toilets.
Yet some on the political left appear set to defy the ruling, including the leftist-controlled Lambeth Council in London, which has vowed to defy such rules and continue to allow transgender individuals free rein in traditionally female spaces.
A further five London boroughs have also said that they intend to maintain an “inclusive” approach, claiming that the rules to protect women “feel like an attack” on transgender individuals.
This stance may eventually prove costly; however, Nigel Farage’s Reform UK party has said it will weaponise the purse strings of the £90 billion Local Government Finance Settlements, which distribute taxes and grants throughout the country, against those councils that defy the Supreme Court’s ruling, the Daily Mail reported.
Announcing the plan, Reform UK’s Shadow Chancellor Robert Jenrick said: “Under a Reform Government, councils that seek to redefine what a woman is will get zero public funds.
“It’s not for leftie councils like Lambeth to decide. It’s basic biology and common sense.”
Shadow Education Secretary Suella Braverman added: “Government after government has tried issuing policies, guidance, even challenging in court. Nothing has worked. Too many militant councils are treating the taxpayer with contempt.
“Under Reform UK, taxpayer funding will not be wasted on harmful ideologies. Councils should focus on delivering good services instead of virtue-signalling.”
Reform has also said it plans to apply similar financial pressure on left-wing councils that defy the government on other issues, such as refusing to cooperate with deportation efforts, as some have already signalled.
It comes in the wake of the party vowing to deploy the Royal Navy to the English Channel to deter illegal immigration by turning people smuggler boats back to France.