Key facts
- Phillipson, the equalities minister, said Badenoch's Conservatives have "no interest in supporting LGBT+ people".
- The Conservatives dropped backing for the draft conversion practices bill, citing concerns about its scope on gender identity.
- The draft bill, published in June and open for consultation, sets potential jail terms of up to five years.
- Badenoch said last week the bill would mean parents start getting arrested for parenting their children.
- A Conservative spokesperson said no one can accuse Badenoch of abandoning LGBT people.
- Badenoch supported a legal ban as equalities minister in 2021, saying she wanted people to live without fear.
Bridget Phillipson, the equalities minister, said Kemi Badenoch has "no interest in supporting LGBT+ people" or in promoting tolerance more widely, after the Conservatives withdrew their previous backing for a planned law banning so-called conversion therapy. The comments were reported on November 11.
The draft conversion practices bill was published in June and is open for consultation. It sets out potential jail sentences of up to five years for attempts to change someone's sexuality or gender identity that are abusive and cause serious harm.
Badenoch's party says its objection concerns the scope of the bill, particularly how it deals with gender identity. Asked about the bill last week, Badenoch said it would "mean that parents start getting arrested for parenting their children", agreeing with a journalist who raised the case of parents refusing to let a child identify as a cat. Government officials argue that is not possible, because the bill sets a high threshold for an offence involving abuse, serious harm and an attempt to change the person.
As equalities minister under previous Conservative governments, Badenoch supported the idea of a legal ban, saying in 2021 she wanted to give people "the freedom to live their life as they see fit without fear or intimidation".
Phillipson said: "For almost a decade, there has been political consensus and there has been international consensus that abusing someone to try and change their sexuality should be illegal." She added that the consensus had included Badenoch and much of the Conservative frontbench, and that "in chasing Reform into the gutter, Badenoch's Conservatives have shown their true colours".
Many Conservative objections were set out in a report by the Policy Exchange thinktank last week, which argued protections for people with non-binary identities could extend to those who identify as "catgender", that conversion practices are comparatively rare, and that offences are covered by existing laws.
A Conservative spokesperson said: "No one can accuse Kemi Badenoch of abandoning LGBT people", citing her meeting with Keira Bell, a young lesbian prescribed puberty blockers and testosterone who later underwent a double mastectomy. The spokesperson said the bill "risks criminalising the honest, exploratory conversations" young people should have before being led toward surgery.