James Kirkup

The court judgement that confirms women pay for trans rights

3 July 2021 7:59 am

I am coming out of semi-retirement from writing about sex and gender to write this, because it’s about women in…

Cummings's messages aren’t a ‘bombshell’ revelation

16 June 2021 9:35 pm

On days like this, I despair of the media-political village where I’ve spent most of my adult life. Because that…

British MPs are finally engaging with the gender identity debate

18 May 2021 9:02 pm

I used to write a lot about sex and gender here. I don’t do so quite as much these days…

The shamelessness of David Cameron

14 May 2021 4:28 pm

I’m almost starting to admire David Cameron. Almost. There is something that borders on the impressive about the former prime…

Will Rishi Sunak fund Boris’s skills promises to the red wall?

11 May 2021 11:58 pm

Queen’s Speech day is one of the set-pieces when the government gets to decide that morning’s headlines. Barring disaster, the…

Why the Hartlepool election result doesn’t really matter

6 May 2021 4:00 pm

Ah, Hartlepool. The by-election there brings back memories: I am old enough to have reported on the last one, back…

In praise of David Lammy, a true Englishman

30 March 2021 3:02 am

David Lammy, the shadow justice secretary, has been doing his LBC radio phone-in show. If you believe LBC, he has…

The delightful humiliation of David Cameron

26 March 2021 8:44 pm

Say what you like about David Cameron, the man never stops trying to exceed expectations. I once thought that he’d…

Tavistock gender clinic whistleblowers have been vindicated

21 January 2021 2:50 am

The Care Quality Commission has released its reports on the gender identity services offered by the Tavistock and Portman NHS…

The BBC should be ashamed of its reporting on trans teenagers

23 December 2020 9:30 pm

This is an article about some difficult, complex subjects: suicide, mental health, support for transgender children. It’s also about something…

Why the Treasury always wins

29 November 2020 7:00 pm

One of the abiding flaws of British political discourse is that it overlooks the importance of organisation and institutions. The…

Boris's eco-optimism will get the better of him

18 November 2020 11:18 pm

Vote blue for green jobs in the red wall. That’s the message we’re supposed to take from Boris Johnson’s ten…

The trans debate could cost this Cambridge porter his job

27 October 2020 7:28 pm

This is a story about a man called Kevin Price, who was until last week a councillor and who is,…

The Burnham that could have been

22 October 2020 3:15 am

Watching anorak-clad Andy Burnham go toe-to-toe with Boris Johnson might leave Westminster-watchers of a certain vintage a bit bemused. How…

How women won the war against gender 'self-ID'

22 September 2020 10:29 pm

Liz Truss, in her role as equalities minister, has confirmed to Parliament that the Government will not amend the Gender…

Tories need to get real about tax rises

3 September 2020 3:40 am

It’s sometimes said that Rishi Sunak has been playing politics on easy mode: when you’re giving away loads of cash,…

What explains the rising number of children with gender issues?

15 August 2020 12:22 am

I have recently read a fascinating new paper, via a Mail on Sunday report, about the growing number of children…

Why I'm glad Boris and Starmer are sitting out the trans rights war

3 August 2020 7:24 pm

I’m starting to think that Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer have quite similar views about the politics of trans rights,…

The BBC's failure to report gender identity accurately

17 July 2020 8:14 pm

‘Blackpool woman accessed child abuse images in hospital bed’. It’s a good headline, in that it catches your attention. But…

Gavin Williamson is right to call out educational snobbery

9 July 2020 10:32 pm

Politicians give speeches all the time, but with differing levels of significance. Can you think of a genuinely important political…

Are whistleblowers being silenced at the NHS gender clinic?

9 July 2020 2:24 am

The Gender Identity Development Service (GIDS) at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust carries out some of the most…

Boris’s gender change shake-up leaves Labour with a difficult choice

14 June 2020 9:36 pm

The Sunday Times says Boris Johnson is going to reject May-era proposals to allow people to “self-identify” changes of their…

JK Rowling and the road to terfdom

8 June 2020 9:17 pm

The tale of JK Rowling, finally revealed as a modern-day witch guilty of wickedness over sex and gender, is one…

The NHS has quietly changed its trans guidance to reflect reality

4 June 2020 5:44 pm

Imagine you have a child who says they believe they were born in the wrong body, describing what amounts to…

Dominic Cummings is more powerful than ever

30 May 2020 3:25 pm

Power does not corrupt. It reveals. It was once said of Abraham Lincoln: ‘Nothing discloses real character like the use…