Rishi Sunak says woke issues DO matter in jab at Keir Starmer and insists he will protect women

RISHI Sunak came out swinging for women’s rights today, insisting woke issues do matter and single-sex spaces must be protected.

The PM dismissed calls for settings such as domestic abuse shelters to be open to anyone with a penis who defines themselves as a woman.

Reuters

Rishi Sunak today insisted women’s rights must be protected[/caption]

And in a jab at Sir Keir Starmer, who claimed culture wars don’t matter to voters, Mr Sunak told the Mail: “When it comes to the issue of women’s rights, I do think that it’s important… making sure that we protect women’s safety and women’s rights is important.”

The PM caveated that transwomen and transmen should be respected in a safe and welcoming society.

And he said Brits should “of course” practice “compassion and tolerance and understanding for those who are questioning their gender”.

In Westminster a row has erupted over whether women’s rights are under threat from woke activists who think anyone who self identifies as a woman should have access to single-sex spaces, such as toilets.

Brave MPs including Labour’s Rosie Duffield and the Tories‘ Miriam Cates have spoken about harmful this woke mindset can be.

The issue came to head when Scottish male double-rapist Isla Bryson was almost transferred to a female prison in Edinburgh because he claimed to be woman.

But just last week Sir Keir suggested that voters don’t care about woke issues.

“The NHS trumps woke every day of the week,” he said.

The Labour leader has faced huge criticism from women’s rights campaigners across the political spectrum for suggesting thousands of people with a penis can still be classified as women – rather than transwomen.

Ms Duffield has complained on multiple occasions that Sir Keir has failed to adequately stand up for women.

Meanwhile, the Department of Education has been criticised by numerous MPs for teaching kids that there are 72 genders.

And some schools have failed to notify parents when their children have started questioning their gender in class.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan has now launched an independent review into how sex and relationships are taught in school.

The PM said: “As I’ve talked about in the past we must make sure that what our children are exposed to at schools is appropriate for them.

“I’m a parent, and I think most parents would care about that.

“They’d want to know what their kids were being taught, what materials they were being exposed to.”