Sunak is a bully, says Belgium’s trans deputy prime minister
Belgian’s transgender deputy prime minister has called Rishi Sunak a “bully” after he said a “man is a man” during his showpiece speech at the Conservative Party conference.
Petra De Sutter, the world’s first transgender cabinet minister, said Mr Sunak’s remarks on gender were “hurtful and very disappointing” and accused the Prime Minister of “fuelling transphobia”.
In his closing speech in Manchester on Wednesday, Mr Sunak claimed it was “common sense” to say that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman”.
“Hurtful and very disappointing,” Ms De Sutter wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, above a video of the speech.
“These words are fuelling transphobia and endangering the lives of many people around the world. Trans women are women, and in no way a threat to others.”
Ms De Sutter also appealed to Mr Sunak not to “join the real bullies” after he made the remarks – his most explicit on the subject – in his hour-long address to the Tory grassroots.
Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, whose party is leading the Tories in the polls, has struggled to explain his own stance on trans rights ahead of its conference, which begins this weekend.
Suella Braverman, the Home Secretary, also took aim at “gender ideology” in her speech, while Steve Barclay, the Health Secretary, said he would ban transgender patients being treated in single-sex wards.
Ms De Sutter, 60, is a member of the Green party and became a deputy prime minister in the coalition government in 2020. The former MEP was a doctor and gynaecology professor before becoming a politician.
As Belgium’s first transgender MP, she earned a reputation for combining a passion for LGBTQ+ rights with a sense of humour.
“I entered politics in 2014 and I was already under attack,” she once said. “I have the skin of an elephant – I am not afraid of attacks. I expect it. The trolls will continue, but I will ignore them. Fortunately, they are a minority.”
