Politics latest: MPs respond to Supreme Court ruling on gender (2025)

Next, Ali hears from Maggie Chapman MSP, for the Scottish Greens.

She says her reaction to the judgment has been one of "concern and disappointment".

"I am concerned...about what this might mean for trans people. for the services and facilities they have been using and have had access to for decades now," she says.

"One of the grave concerns that we have with this ruling is that it will embolden people to challenge trans people who have every right to access services," she says.

She adds that there have been some "questions around what it might mean for people who deliver services as well".

"We know that over the last few years....their lives have become increasingly difficult, they have been blocked from accessing services they need," she adds.

Asked whether she believes the judgment could draw a line under the culture war, Chapman says: "Today's judgment only stokes that culture war further".

Duffield is now asked what she thinks the Supreme Court ruling will mean in practice.

She says there will be "complexities" but that the law "has been very clear".

"People can still do what they want to, but they're going to have to face up to the fact that women are going to take them to court, potentially, and we're going to win because of the law... we always do actually, in all these cases.

"But the law has just been absolutely made clear that we have the right to challenge those things."

Asked whether she thinks the Supreme Court's ruling will lead to a change in the way the Labour Party approaches the issue, Duffield says: "I'd like to think so.

"Certainly women like me and all of the gender critical, so-called, feminists who've been very silent, very quiet in Labour and haven't supported me - perhaps they'll feel braver now about speaking out. "

Ali is now hearing from Rosie Duffield, the independent MP for Canterbury who quit Labour last year over differences in opinion over policy, as well as the prime minister's decision to accept thousands of pounds worth of gifts while in opposition.

While in the party, Ms Duffield consistently expressed opposition to transgender women being able to access single-sex spaces and suggested Sir Keir Starmer had a "problem with women".

Ali now turns to today's ruling, in which the Supreme Court found that "woman" and "sex" refer to a biological woman and biological sex in the Equality Act 2010 .

She reads out a comment by fellow independent MP John McDonnell, who wrote on X: "The fact the court failed to hear the voice of a single trans person may help explain why today’s decision lacked humanity and fairness and instead replaced them with a narrow definition of the Equality Act.

"There has to be a better and empathetic way forward that respects trans rights."

'It's about women's rights'

Asked what she makes of McDonnell's words, Duffield says: "I think it's a real shame that those who've been in the party for ages fail to put women's rights at the centre of our political movement.

"Women are 51% of the population. This ruling doesn't affect trans people in the slightest. It's about women's rights: women's rights to single sex spaces, women's rights, not to be discriminated against.

"It literally doesn't change a single thing for trans rights and that lack of understanding from a senior politician about the law is a bit worrying, actually."

Ali then presses Duffield on whether she has some sympathy with trans people, whom the judge said were a vulnerable and often harassed minority.

She replies: "It's nothing to do with this ruling, but I've always had sympathy for them. They are protected in the Equality Act as they always should have been.

"Trans rights are the same as every other human right, but women have come across the fact that our rights have clashed with men with a gender recognition certificate, and now people who just say that they are women and people who self-identify into women's groups will no longer be allowed to do so."

By Connor Gillies, Scotland correspondent

For years there has been a toxic, emotion-driven debate over gender and sex in this country. Today came clarity.

This was the legal crescendo in a saga that has rolled through the courts for more than half a decade.

It impacts half of the population in England, Scotland and Wales.

Five judges at the highest civil court in the land were unanimous: the legal definition of a woman isbased on biological sex.

It essentially means holders of gender recognition certificates are not women in the eyes of the law.

Without getting bogged down in the legal technicalities, this whole case centred on two pieces of Westminster legitimation, meaning the Equality Act 2010 and the Gender Recognition Act 2004.

Those with a gender recognition certificate (GRC) have lived for the last 20 years on the basis that the document they possess changes their sex for "all purposes".

Later anti-discrimination laws, the Equality Act, stated trans people could be excluded from women-only spaces in some circumstances.

Women's rights campaigners took the case to court to seek clarity after the Scottish government tried to include trans women in quotas for gender balance on public sector boards.

This definitive decision today in London has immediate real-world consequences.

You can read more from Connor on the Sky News website:

Ali Fortescue is back with the day's biggest political stories on today's episode of the Politics Hub.

Watch live via the stream at the top of this page, or follow the latest updates here.

We're pausing our coverage in the Politics Hub for a few hours.

But don't fret - we'll be back at 7pm for live coverage from the Politics Hub With Ali Fortescue.

Until then, you can scroll through the page to catch up on today.

Prisons across England and Wales are at their highest capacity for months, with fewer cells available than at any time this year.

There are fewer than 1,000 spare prison cells across England and Wales, a record low for this year.

Only 961 spaces are now available, meaning prisons are now almost 98.9% full, according to new government figures.

Watch: The early release scheme was criticised at the time

Ministers will be under increased pressure to act as it means the prison estate is now under more strain than it has been for more than six months.

This includes when the government was forced to release around 3,000 prisoners early to avoid overcrowding in autumn last year - a move the Conservatives called a "rookie error".

The Howard League, a charity calling for reform of the prison system, said the new figures shows the system is "failing" and "unsustainable".

It added it "could not be clearer that further action is necessary" and called on the government to send fewer people to prison.

There are just 551 empty places in men's prisons, and 261 in women's prisons across England and Wales, as of 14 April.

More than 700 migrants landed in the UK having crossed the English Channel in small boats yesterday, which is believed to be a record number for this year.

705 people travelled here in 12 boats on Tuesday, according to figures from the Home Office and Border Force.

The total number of arrivals by small boats in 2025 now stands at a provisional total of 8,888.

This is 42% higher than at the same point last year, when the total stood at 6,265, and 81% higher than at this stage in 2023, when the total was 4,899.

The Conservatives have been quick to respond, calling it "yet another day of Labour failure".

Chris Philip, the shadow home secretary, said: "Nearly 9,000 illegal immigrants have already arrived this year, the worst start on record, and 705 crossings in a single day with no sign they will ever leave Britain.

"Labour scrapped our deterrent before it even began and replaced it with nothing. Now, crossings are surging, extremists and criminals are slipping through the net, and British taxpayers are picking up the bill."

Philip added that the Conservatives are "offering serious, workable reforms to take back control".

He said: "Cancelling Rwanda was a catastrophic mistake, and now Britain is paying the price."

For context, the Rwanda scheme was a £700m plan to send asylum seekers and migrants to the African country, where they would be processed.

It was subject to numerous legal challenges and no deportation flights took off before the 2024 General Election. The new Labour government then canned the scheme after coming into office.

Home Office: 'We will stop at nothing to dismantle gangs'

Responding to the figures, a spokesperson for the Home Office said: "We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.

“The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay and we will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.

“That’s why this government is investing in border security, increasing returns to their highest levels for more than half a decade, and imposing a major crackdown on illegal working to end the false promise of jobs used by gangs to sell spaces on boats."

The spokesperson added that the government already has an agreement with the French to deploy a "new elite unit of officers" along the coast, the creation of a specialist intelligence unit, increased officer numbers and new powers to allow the French to intervene in shallow waters.

They added: "We are introducing tougher enforcement powers with new legislation, and intensifying our collaboration with France and other countries who face the same challenges by exploring fresh and innovative measures to dismantle the business models of the criminal smuggling gangs.”

This morning, it was reported that the government is in discussions with France to introduce a new migrant returns scheme, which would see the two countries exchange migrants.

The Conservatives have already said this deal "won't work" and that it is "no deterrent", as they claim it will only see "small numbers" returned to France.

Arsenal fan Sir Keir Starmer will be tuning in to watch his team take on Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals, Sky News understands.

A notorious Gunners fan, the prime minister will be hoping Mikel Arteta's side can follow his party's example from July and deliver a decisive victory against the opposition.

The PM is currently on holiday and will be hoping these ninety minutes will be less stressful than the past few days in politics.

Kick off is at 8pm - fingers crossed in the Starmer household...

Some MPs' views on China are "extremely absurd", and reflect their "arrogance, ignorance, and twisted mindset".

That's according to the Chinese Embassy in London, which accused politicians of "anti-China rhetoric".

A spokesperson for the embassy went on to ask: "What on Earth are they up to?"

So, what are MPs up to amd what's their position on Chinese investment in the UK?

Scunthorpe shines a spotlight on Chinese cash

First things first, why is everybody talking about China?

In short, the government's emergency takeover of British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe exposed the UK's reliance on a foreign company.

It caused parliament to be recalled on a weekend for the first time since the 1980s.

And it was in part because the plant, owned by Chinese company Jingye, was near to turning off the UK's only blast furnaces.

As the dust settled (and the furnaces kept burning), politicians began to ask how Britain ended up relying on a Chinese company for our only virgin steelmaking plant.

That's led to accusations from some MPs that China was trying to sabotage the UK's steel industry.

The Labour government

James Murray, a finance minister, said today that the government is "encouraging investment from China".

Murray said: "The government's approach to China is one where we cooperate where we can; where we challenge in other areas; where we make sure we compete in areas where we have different interests.

"China is the second biggest economy in the world. The fourth biggest trading partner for the UK."

Watch: Jonathan Reynolds appears to row back on criticism of Chinese investment in the UK

But he recognised China can't be given unfettered access to the UK economy, saying "the highest level of scrutiny" is required when it comes to critical infrastructure.

It's a reverse on the government's policy earlier this week, where Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he wouldn't "personally bring a Chinese company into our steel sector". Reynolds later said a Chinese company could take on British Steel but would be looked at "in a different way".

The Conservatives

Kemi Badenoch has said her party's policy on China is that the government "doesn't know what they're doing" and are "lurching from one place to another".

The leader of the Conservatives said this afternoon that the government's policy "cannot be coherent".

Watch: Former Tory MP Tobias Ellwood warns China must be removed from UK infrastructure

She cited how Labour say "they're trying to get China our of critical national infrastructure" but are also "going to China trying to get more of their help on solar and wind turbines".

Badenoch says the Conservatives removed Huawei from critical national infrastructure while in government, and said this shows the Tories are "taking our national interests seriously".

Pushed on what her party's current policy on Chinese investment is, Badenoch said: "We need to make sure that any country which may act against our national interests does not have ownership of critical national infrastructure."

But she declined to say whether the Conservatives would ban other Chinese firms, apart from Huawei, from investing in critical infrastructure such as power plants or steelmaking firms.

The Liberal Democrats

Sir Ed Davey hasn't pulled his punches when it's come to China in recent days, calling the country's investment in infrastructure a "real danger".

Davey told Sky News this morning that he thinks Jingye "might have been under orders, being influenced by the Chinese government" when trying to close the furnaces in Scunthorpe.

He warned: "It's in China's interest that we don't have our own ability to make virgin steel, that these blast furnaces were to close."

Yesterday, he said there is no place for China in Britain's steel industry. Today, he said his party would "push back" on suggestions the government might allow another Chinese company to take on the plant.

He added the government "need to find a different type of partner".

Reform UK

When you think of likely alliances, Reform UK and the Lib Dems don't tend to come to mind. But their policies on China are remarkably similar.

Speaking to Sky News yesterday, leader Nigel Farage said: "The very thought the government could even contemplate the idea of another Chinese owner of British Steel is truly dreadful.

"There is no such thing as a private company in China - they're all effectively under the control of the Chinese Communist Party.

"Clearly, the government have learnt nothing."

The Greens, the SNP and Plaid Cymru

Sky News has contacted all three parties to find out their position on whether they would welcome Chinese investment into the UK, both generally and specifically into national infrastructure.

It understands none of the three have publicly stated their position in recent days.