Speeches by Duffield.

“Ola, do you agree with that?”

“Rachael, you review all kinds of comedy. Do you ever hear that from men you know in the business?”

“I heavily relate to everything you all said because before I got to Parliament I wrote comedy, or tried to. I was a single mum on benefits; my kids were young. All these things where you have to basically pay to do your job just to get recognised: go out in the evenings, beg your parents to babysit, and network at all …”

“Nina, do you think any of the organisations that you are involved with, such as Chortle or maybe even Equity, recognise any of this?”

“The hon. Member has a really good point. That lack of clarity is why we need the Government to explain fully what the EHRC is saying and how it pertains to the Equality Act. With or without a gender recognition certificate, biological men are not able to access women’s spaces—women’s toilets, women’s sports. The Suprem…”

“Thank you for clearing that up, Mr Stringer. The hon. Gentleman makes some really good points. Sex Matters has been pointing out, especially in its new leaflet, that so many people, whom we do not get to talk about every day, are still being subjected to these ridiculous tribunals. Jennifer Melle, whom the hon. Member …”

“I think it is fairly obvious that the hon. Gentleman is a man, to be honest. I think the majority of the human race could tell that. If there is a much smaller person running in that category, they simply do not belong there. The Government have had the guidance since September, but this is the law of this country. No …”

“That is extraordinary, but we are talking about a country of 70 million-odd people, 51% of whom are women. The majority of people know what a man or a woman is. If one has a problem with that, that is a specific personal problem. That is a man; these are women. We all know. It is an absolute load of rubbish that we do …”

“That is exactly right. We are not talking about gender identity. We are talking about the law as it adheres to biological men and women.”

“Absolutely. Of course, that is the hon. Member’s area of expertise. I know many health professionals who are incredibly frustrated at this simple twisting of facts, which should not be done at all in the NHS. I thank her for pointing that out. With a few admirable exceptions, many Members of Parliament are unable to id…”

“For the very last time.”

“The hon. Member makes a good point. MPs on my side of the argument will certainly hear that time and time again from parents. There is a group called the Bayswater group whose members have gone through the problems and difficulties of their children wanting to transition from a very early age, with all the categories o…”

“Will the hon. Member clarify, as the Liberal Democrats are opposed to what they see as the interpretation of the law—specifically the Equality Act 2010—whether they propose a change to that Act? The EHRC is simplify clarifying the Supreme Court’s clarification of that existing law.”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stringer. I thank the hon. Member for Upper Bann (Carla Lockhart) for securing this debate. We are so used to having small time limits for these debates that I am afraid I have not prepared anything like as much as I would want to say. On 16 April 2025, the Supreme Cou…”

“It is always a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. First, I should acknowledge that, having been steeped in this issue for many years, I know James Esses, the therapist who organised this petition. He, the formidable Keira Bell and the Bayswater Support Group have managed to halt this trial, so no child…”

“I thank the Secretary of State and his team for their engagement with this awful situation in Canterbury. As he can imagine, all in my constituency have been devastated by the tragic death of Juliette Kenny and another student from this cruel disease, and I thank my constituency neighbour, the hon. Member for Faversham…”

“Moving on to counselling and informed consent, Laura-Rose, in your written evidence to us you state that you think there should be a minimum of three counselling sessions prior to donation and two prior to egg freezing. Can you just explain a bit more about your thinking on that?”

“Dr Diane, you were nodding away, so I guess you agree with all that. What has your research found in relation to the need for counselling before and after egg donation and freezing, and what type is needed? Do you link that with the idea of tracking those women through their experience?”

“That was a really good answer. Do you agree with campaign groups like Surrogacy Concern and Stop Surrogacy Now UK that are saying that there should be somebody who is completely independent of the clinics and the banks who has training in genetic counselling and those particular things that you just mentioned?”

“5. What assessment she has made of the adequacy of SEND provision in Kent.”