UPDATE 17

26 April 2025

Dear Supporter

Welcome to the April update. Here's what we are covering in this month's edition:

  • Supremely Deluded: Lucy Beney on the recent Supreme Court judgement

  • Feedback from the NCF Locals Event in Norwich

  • Please support Carol Richardson in her fight against racial segregation in the NHS

  • A voice of reason from Free Speech Backlash

  • Journal calls for papers and comments from psychologists and psychotherapists

Supremely Deluded by Lucy Beney

As the dust fails to settle on the Supreme Court judgement that confirmed what we all knew:  that 'sex' means biological sex and that women are women and men are men, Lucy Beney warns that the 'gender wars' are far from over.  She reminds us that "the torturous tentacles of the gender cult run deep" and that the "myth of the 'Trans' child" persists.  Lucy talks about the "many thousands of deeply distressed children in our society, who have been sold a lie" and how "the belief in the existence of 'trans' children displays a thoughtless neglect of the complex needs of the most vulnerable in our society".  

Lucy cites the recommendations of the Cass Review which call for a comprehensive mental health assessment for all gender-confused children. However, the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) has yet to issue guidelines to its members on Dr Cass's report. In fact, as Lucy points out, it has recently issued a partisan response to the Supreme Court ruling, which expresses concern for "trans, non-binary, and gender questioning (TNGBQ) individuals", confirming "we stand alongside you always".  You can read the BACP's extraordinary statement here.   Lucy comments that "No such statement of support has ever been issued to skilful therapists working professionally with young people in line with evidence-based practice, or the women and children whose lives have been upturned by this ideology". 

Lucy concludes with a rallying call for all of us to "stand up and be counted" in protecting children and young people from "this pernicious ideology" that continues to have an iron grip over Government, schools and so many areas of public life. This is another 'must read' article from Lucy Beney.  Please share widely and sign up to Lucy's new Substack here to read more of her work.

For those who wish to learn more about ill-informed objections to the Supreme Court ruling and how to debunk them, here is an article in The Times by Akua Reindorf KC, a commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

Feedback from NCF Locals event in Norwich

Carole Sherwood's talk on EDI in the NHS, for the New Culture Forum Locals group in Norwich, was well-received by an enthusiastic and welcoming audience. Many thanks are due to organiser Chris Davis who provided exceptional support and to Howard Sherwood for acting as 'roadie' and technician. Howard made a recording of the event that we hope will be made available, together with the slides.  Carole is planning to write a piece based on her talk, which will be published on the Save Mental Health website. The event was co-hosted with Don't Divide Us (DDU) and chaired by DDU's own Alka Sehgal Cuthbert.  Alka and Carole were joined by Carol Richardson who had travelled all the way from Yorkshire to join us.  Carol is a Health Care Assistant who is taking her NHS Trust to an Employment Tribunal for practicing racial segregation.  She spoke about her case to NCF Locals who were shocked to hear her story.  You can read about Carol's case in the next section.

 Please support Carol Richardson in her fight against racial segregation

When her NHS Trust announced a new leadership course that was only open to 'BAME' staff, Health Care Assistant Carol Richardson asked why, as a white member of staff, she could not apply.  She was told by her employer that they needed to create a 'safe' learning space for 'BAME' staff.  This was justified as 'positive action' under the Equality Act (Section 158). 

Having met Carol and found her to be a warm, friendly and amiable person, it is hard to imagine why her 'BAME' colleagues might not feel 'safe' in her presence. Carol Richardson is taking her NHS Trust to an Employment Tribunal on the basis that offering a leadership course to 'BAME' staff only, is unlawful segregation and discrimination. Section 13(5) of the Equality Act expressly prohibits racial segregation. This will be the first case in the UK to examine the meaning of 'racial segregation' (as compared to 'positive action') in law.  Do please support Carol if you can.  You'll find her Crowd Fund here.

A voice of reason from Free Speech Backlash

One of the great advantages of giving talks is that you meet some very interesting people.  After her NCF Locals talk Carole Sherwood was approached by a member of the audience who told her about a website called Free Speech Backlash.  One of the regular contributors to this website is a psychologist named Xandra H.  Xandra is refreshingly outspoken about what is happening to the psychology profession and to life in general. She has written an excellent piece about the unintended consequences of introducing well-meaning procedures into the workplace – in this case the NHS.  You can read her piece here and find more of Xandra's work here.  It's great to find a psychologist who tells it like it is with wit and a sense of humour (they are thin on the ground these days). Thank you, Xandra, for making us laugh out loud - even though the subject matter should bring tears to our eyes.  Do sign up to Free Speech Backlash to read Xandra's articles and others that may be of interest.

Call for papers and comments!

We hear from Arnold Cantu, one of our valued supporters, that the Journal of Teaching in Social Work, in addition to inviting commentaries on their recent Special Issue: Beyond Ideological Mandates: Critical Reflections on Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Social Work Education has also placed a call for papers for a new upcoming Special Issue: Academic Freedom and Critical Thinking in Social Work. 

Arnold tells us that this invitation extends to anyone from any discipline, not just social work.  Do please share within your respective networks and consider contributing if you wish to do so.  Our voices are needed!  You can comment on articles in the Journal's current Special Issue here.  Further details of the new special issue and when submissions are due can be found here.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The End of Woke

Andrew Doyle has just announced that his new book The End of Woke: How the Culture War Went Too Far and What to Expect from the Counter-Revolution will be published on 29th May. It can be pre-ordered from Amazon or Blackwells or any good book shop. In The End of Woke Doyle argues that there are now clear signs that the woke are losing their power.  He cites the re-election of Donald Trump, the scaling back of DEI initiatives and a growing awareness of threats to women's sex-based rights as signs that the tide is turning.  Let's hope he's right. Place your pre-orders for his book now. This will be a best-seller.


Over-Diagnosis

Two books on the over-diagnosis of physical and mental health problems have been published recently.  Dr Suzanne O'Sullivan's book The Age of Diagnosis: Sickness, Health and Why Medicine Has Gone too Far, questions "long held assumptions and reframes how we think about illness and health."  In his book No More Normal: Mental Health in an Age of Over-Diagnosis Dr Alastair Santhouse notes that the concept of 'normal' is shifting. Hannah Barnes reviews both books for the New Statesman here. You can also read a review of Dr Santhouse's book here.

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