Andy Burnham said trans women should be able to use female toilets
Andy Burnham has said that biological men who identify as women should be allowed to use female toilets.
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In a speech in 2022 the Greater Manchester Mayor said that the idea that single-sex spaces should be exclusively for the use of biological women was a "minority view".
His comments were made prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling which found that single-sex spaces should be reserved for people of that biological sex.
Shadow Minister for Equalities Claire Coutinho said Mr Burnham was 'shockingly out of touch'.
She told the Daily Mail: “Protecting the safety, dignity and privacy of women is not a minority view – it's the law.”
Mr Burnham's comments came at a 2022 meeting with Manchester's 'youth combined authority' where he was asked whether men who self-identify as women should be allowed to use women's toilets.
He replied: “Clearly there is a group of people who do feel that toilets should be a safe space only for women and there should not be anyone biologically a male allowed in that space.
“I don't think that's a majority view. I think it's a minority view and quite a small minority view, actually. But it is a view so you can't completely ignore it. Possibly they might be women who have experienced male violence at some point in their life. I don't know, that's one way of looking at it.
“The idea that people are falsely portraying their gender in a different way just because they want to abuse a women's space or encroach on women's safety… maybe it happens but you are talking a tiny, tiny, tiny number of people.
“So why are we allowing everyone to get into this really polarised and terribly hateful debate about these issues?
“I am going to make it really plain: I support trans rights and I want that to be known.”
Last year Mr Burnham criticised the interim guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission following the landmark Supreme Court case, arguing it would make the issue "more confusing in the real world".
The interim guidance stated that transgender people cannot use single-sex facilities corresponding to their identified gender, although employers and service providers must ensure trans people are not left without any facilities at all.
Mr Burnham has not yet commented on his remarks.
Mr Burnham is bidding to win the Makerfield by-election which would pave the way for him to challenge Sir Keir STarmer for the leadership of the Labour Party.
In a speech on Monday, he said: 'A vote for me will be a vote to change Labour.”