Sunak is a bully, says Belgium's transgender deputy prime minister

Petra De Sutter called Rishi Sunak's comments «hurtful and very disappointing». Photo: James Arthur Ghekier/AFP via Getty

Belgian transgender Deputy Prime Minister called Rishi Sunak a «bully» after he said «a man is a man» during his revealing speech at the Conservative Party conference.

In her final statement speech in Manchester on Wednesday, Mr Sunak said it was “common sense” to say that “a man is a man and a woman is a woman.”

“It’s a shame and very disappointing,” Ms. De Sutter wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, above a video of the speech.

“These words incite transphobia and endanger the lives of many people around the world. Trans women are women and are in no way a threat to others.»

Ms De Sutter also urged Mr Sunak to «not join the real bullies» after he made the most frank of his statements on this issue. — in his hour-long address to ordinary Conservative parties.

Sir Keir Starmer, the leader of the Labor Party, whose party leads the Conservatives in the polls, is struggling to explain its position on transgender rights ahead of the conference starting this weekend.

Suella Braverman, the home secretary, also took aim at «gender ideology» in her speech, and Steve Barclay, the health secretary, said he would ban transgender patients from being treated in single-sex wards.

Ms De Sutter, 60, is a member of the Green Party and in 2020 she became deputy prime minister in the coalition government. The former MEP was a doctor and professor of gynecology before becoming a politician.

As Belgium's first transgender member of parliament, she has earned a reputation for combining her passion for LGBTQ issues.+ right with a sense of humor.

“I came into politics in 2014 and have already been attacked,” she once said. “I have the skin of an elephant — I am not afraid of attack. I expect it. The trolls will continue, but I will ignore them. Fortunately, they are a minority.”