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UK general election LIVE: Rishi Sunak pledges to rewrite laws on sex and gender while Keir Starmer goes on the defence with promise to keep nuclear weapons - everything you need to know from the campaign trail

5 months ago 29

By Jamie Bullen

Published: 08:31 BST, 3 June 2024 | Updated: 09:54 BST, 3 June 2024

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Rishi Sunak will today pledge to rewrite equality laws to define sex as biological if the Conservatives win next month's general election.

Meanwhile, Sir Keir Starmer will pitch Labour as the 'party of national security' when he visits veterans in the north west later as he focuses on defence.

Elsewhere, the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Reform UK, the Greens and Plaid Cymru will be on the election trail as campaigning enters its second full week.

Follow MailOnline's live coverage below and join in the conversation in our comments section

Watch: Kemi Badenoch questioned over Equality Act proposal

We can now bring you footage of Kemi Badenoch from the morning broadcast round where she was repeatedly asked about a new pledge by the Conservatives to rewrite equality laws.

Ms Badenoch has warned gender laws are being exploited by 'predators' - as the Tories vowed to pass a law defining sex as biological.

During her morning interviews, she told LBC's Nick Ferrari: 'Just putting on a different set of clothes does not make you transgender.'

See the video below:

'Phony culture wars' and 'a distraction': The verdict from rivals on Equality Act pledge

The Conservatives plan to rewrite the Equality Act to define sex as biological has dominated the morning interviews so far.

A hugely controversial issue, the Tories will be hopeful it's a vote winner but other parties have now had their say and they have gone on the attack with Lib Dem deputy leader Daisy Cooper and shadow defence secretary John Healey leading the charge

Ms Cooper said the Conservatives are waging 'phony culture wars' and added there is no need to unpick the Equality Act.

She told LBC News radio:

I think we need to see this announcement for what it is, and I do think this is a cynical distraction form their failings on so many issues, like the economy, like the cost-of-living crisis, like the NHS, like social care, like protecting our local environment and tackling the issue of raw sewage discharge.
I think the Government is failing on so many counts – time and again we have seen how it tries to wage these phony culture wars.

While Mr Healey told Times Radio:

We will not want to amend the Act, it’s not needed. The Act, incidentally, was a Labour Act in 2010, that was opposed by the Tories, but it already provides protections for single-sex spaces for biological women.
The Government has had 14 years to do that and it hasn’t. This, to be honest, is a distraction from the election campaign, where most people want to hear why the cost-of-living pressures are so great, what the Tories are going to do, and what Labour is going to do, to try and help make life more affordable and Britain better.

Kemi shows fight for Tories on morning broadcast round

 Photo by Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock (14520315b) Business Secretary KEMI BADENOCH is seen outside Westminster studios during a morning media round. Kemi Badenoch Broadcast Round, London, England, United Kingdom - 03 Jun 2024

If the polls are anything to go by then it's clear the Conservatives are facing a battle not just for the keys of Downing Street but for the party's survival.

And Business Secretary Kemi Badenoch has shown plenty of fight on the airwaves this morning as she toured the broadcast studios to support Rishi Sunak on his somewhat gargantuan task.

Ms Badenoch accused BBC Radio 4 Today programme presenter Mishal Husain of “trivial” and “unserious” questioning when she was asked about Liz Truss’s appearance on a platform founded by a commentator who joked about raping an MP.

Asked whether it was appropriate for a Conservative candidate to appear on the platform, Ms Badenoch said:

Carl Benjamin is not standing for election, Liz Truss is. It is for her constituents to decide whether she has done a good job or not.
It is not for you, or me for that matter, to decide which shows she should be able to go on because the presenter may have said something inappropriate before.
We’ve had lots of scenarios of BBC presenters saying things that are inappropriate.
I don’t know about the show. I don’t know what he said. And I don’t like making comments on things like that that I don’t know. I think it is trivial, it is unserious.

She also had some choice words for Times Radio's Stig Abell after she joined his breakfast show

Picture: Protesters target Keir Starmer with 'Stop Arming Israel' banner

Sir Keir Starmer spent much of the first week of Labour's campaign answering questions on Diane Abbott but now campaigners are looking to put the pressure on his stance over Israel

Greenpeace campaigners have unfurled a banner over the side of Westminster Bridge during early morning rush hour asking whether Labour will 'stop arming Israel?'.

The Israel-Gaza conflict has already proved costly for Starmer with local election results showing a backlash among voters who feel Labour did not stand up enough for Palestinian civilians.

It remains to be seen whether the conflict will play a pivotal part in the election build-up.

 Will Labour Stop Arming Israel?" is hung over the side of Westminster Bridge during early morning rush hour in London on June 3, 2024, by the environmental campaign group Greenpeace. Britain's Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Labour opposition leader Keir Starmer will go head-to-head Tuesday, June 4, in the first televised debate of the election campaign, broadcaster ITV announced Wednesday, May 29. (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP) (Photo by HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

Q&A on Rishi Sunak's pledge to change equality laws

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The team at MailOnline have produced a helpful Q&A on the proposed new law change to define sex as biological.

Here it is:

What is being proposed?

That new legislation is passed clarifying that 'sex' (male/female, man/woman) as referenced in the Equality Act 2010 refers to 'biological sex' and is not modified by a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC).

Why is it needed?

It will clarify the law so that sex is not confused with gender and to stop it being interpreted as anything other than 'biological sex' assigned to someone at birth. The clarification will make it simpler for organisations to provide single-sex services and spaces because they will have more legal justification for excluding people from certain spaces based on their 'biological sex' at birth.

How will it happen?

A new piece of primary legislation, potentially only one or two sentences long, would be passed in Parliament clarifying that 'sex' in the Act refers to 'biological sex'.

Why hasn't this already been done?

This is unclear. Rishi Sunak signalled his support for the change last year. The election has pushed the issue up the agenda as a way of differentiating the Tories from Labour.

Read: Kemi Badenoch warns 'predators' are exploiting gender laws

Our Political Editor James Tapsfield has our first story of the day.

He reports how Kemi Badenoch has warned gender laws are being exploited by 'predators' - as the Tories vowed to pass a law defining sex as biological.

In a round of interviews, she said: 'Just putting on a different set of clothes does not make you transgender.'

Read James's story here.

What is happening today?

The Conservative campaign bus passes the Angel of the North in Gateshead, England, Saturday, June 1, 2024. Since announcing that the UK General Election will be held on July 4th, Rishi Sunak has visited key battleground regions across the UK. (Carl Court/Pool Photo via AP)

The battle buses are up and running and the second full week of campaigning is under way.

In case you're wondering where Rishi or Sir Keir may pop up today, here's our guide to what the parties are up to.

Conservatives

  • Rishi Sunak is in Oxfordshire today to talk up his new pledge to rewrite equality laws if he wins the election. The Prime Minister will be visiting sport venues this morning and afternoon we assume to discuss transgender women being blocked from entering female-only spaces

Labour

  • Sir Keir Starmer and Labour’s shadow defence secretary John Healey will make speeches in Bury this morning to commit to another 'triple lock' on the nuclear deterrent. They will also meet military veterans ahead of the anniversary of D-Day on Thursday

Lib Dems

  • Deputy leader Daisy Cooper is taking the lead for the Lib Dems today as she campaigns in Oxfordshire before going on a boat...I wonder if she's received any tips from king of the election stunts Sir Ed Davey before she boards

SNP

  • First Minister John Swinney joins the campaign trail with the SNP candidate for Stirling and Strathallan, Alyn Smith ahead of the first Scottish leaders debate tonight with Douglas Ross, Anas Sarwar and Alex Cole-Hamilton

We will hopefully be able to bring you some great pictures and lines later on so stick with us throughout the day.

Yesterday on the campaign trail: What happened?

Sun's out. Sambas on. Secure Future.Rishi Sunak posts picture to twitter of himself in Adidas 'sambas', in fact he is wearing Adidas Samoa's

For those of you who steered clear of the all things concerning the election yesterday (lucky you), let's bring you up to speed.

We will bring you all the stories from our reporters throughout the day.

Our top story - 'Sex is a fact of biology'

Let's start by bringing you our top political story of the morning which features on the front page of today's Daily Mail

The Mail's chief political correspondent David Churchill reports Rishi Sunak has pledged to rewrite equality laws to define sex as biological if he wins the election.

The landmark change would help safeguard girls' and women-only spaces for biological females by stopping sex being conflated with gender identity, the Prime Minister said.

Read David's story here:

Good morning

Hello and welcome to MailOnline's live coverage of the general election as campaigning enters its second week in full.

With politicians hunting votes across the country we will bring you all the news you need you know plus the most eye-catching pictures and videos on the campaign trail.

If you want to get involved join in the conversation in our comments section

Right, let's get cracking!

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