Why UK Liberals Had a Meltdown Over Rishi Sunak's Joke to Tory MPs

Leah Barkoukis | June 20, 2023 7:30 AM

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is defending his joke to Tory MPs, which took aim at his political opponent for claiming it’s possible for women to have male anatomy.

In the video, on which only Sunak’s voice can be heard, he tells fellow conservatives that Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, “has been very busy.”

He continued: “Like me, you can probably see that he was trying to convince everybody that women clearly had penises. You’ll all know that I’m a big fan of everybody studying math to 18, but it turns out that we need to focus on biology to 18.”

According to reports, the prime minister was likely referencing Davey’s support for trans rights in a May interview with LBC after he was asked whether a woman can have a penis. “Quite clearly,” he responded.

The joke angered leftists, with Labour MP Kate Osborne calling it "disgusting."

"Using trans women as a punchline is a new low for this awful Prime Minister," Osborne said.

LGBT charity Stonewall, meanwhile, was upset because "no community should be the butt of a joke."

"It is beyond disappointing that the PM chose to mock trans people in front of his colleagues," the statement continued, according to The Daily Mail. "This is a far cry from his pledge to govern with compassion and would be unacceptable in any workplace. The PM should apologise for his actions."

Far from it, however, Downing Street released a statement defending the PM.

“You’ve heard the prime minister talk about his enormous compassionate understanding for people questioning their identity and that they should be treated with dignity and respect,” the spokesperson said. “On this specific issue, these are points he’s made in interviews, publicly … My understanding is that this was a joke aimed at a political opponent rather than a specific group.”
Asked if Sunak would use any other minority group as the punchline for a joke, the spokesperson said: “I don’t agree with that characterisation. I think, again, he was making a point about a political opponent and their views.”
Sunak previously has made transgender rights a divisive culture war issue, regularly using a section of his speeches during last summer’s Conservative leadership campaign to say he would stand up for “our women”. (The Guardian)

While all Sunak did is point out a biological fact, nowadays that's considered courageous.