National Autistic Society accuses Farage of stigmatising disabled people with ‘wildly inaccurate’ comments about Send
The National Autistic Society has described Nigel Farage’s comments about Send children (see 12.09pm) as “wildly inaccurate” and accused him of perpetuating “stigma” and making life harder for disabled people. Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the NAS, said:
Nigel Farage’s comments are wildly inaccurate and show that he’s completely out of touch with what autistic children and adults have to go through to get a diagnosis or any support at all.
For the record, absolutely no one has got an autism diagnosis through the GP – this is just incorrect, wrong, fake news.
Children with Send and disabled adults, including autistic people, are not victims who are being ‘over diagnosed’. They are people who face huge delays and long fights to get the most basic support across every aspect of their lives, including diagnosis, education, health and social care.
Spreading misinformation only perpetuates stigma and makes life harder.
We’re calling on all politicians to drop the political point scoring and stand up for their autistic and other disabled constituents.
Key events
Afternoon summary
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The National Autistic Society has accused Nigel Farage, the Reform Uk leader, of making “wildly inaccurate” remarks about people with special educational needs and disabilities (Send) and mental health conditions. Farage claimed doctors were “massively over-diagnosing” these conditions. The Liberal Democrats said this showed Reform UK will slash Send spending if it wins controls of councils. (See 12.09pm, 2.30pm and 3.20pm.)
Supreme court ruling won’t lead to trans women being treated in male NHS wards, Streeting says
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said the supreme court ruling last week will not lead to trans women being treated in male wards in the NHS.
The supreme court said that references to sex in the Equality Act should be taken to mean biological sex, not gender.
In an interview with LBC being broadcast tonight, asked if that meant trans women would have to be placed in male wards in NHS hospitals, Streeting replied:
No. What we want to do is to make sure that we’ve got single-sex provision and wards in the NHS, and that’s based on biology, and to make sure that trans people have access to safe and dignified and respectful care.
Asked where trans people would be treated, Streeting said:
The NHS is updating its guidance and what we would like to see is appropriate kinds of rooms and private spaces for trans people to be cared for in NHS hospitals.
Streeting said the supreme court ruling had generated “palpable anxiety amongst trans people about their rights, their identities, their dignity, their respect”.
Asked if there was a case for having designated trans wards in hospitals, Streeting said that was not practical because of the relatively small number trans people in the country and the “tiny number of [trans] people who might be accessing a different range of NHS services at any one time”.
Asked if he thought other patients would object to trans patients in hospital getting their own room, Streeting replied:
I think most people in this country are fair-minded and decent people. And, when it comes to trans people in our country, they would recognise not just that we’re talking about a tiny minority of people, but we are talking about group of people who are at the wrong end of all of the statistics on hate crime, harassment, on mental ill health, self harm and suicide.
And most people in this country want trans people to be able to live with freedom, with dignity and respect. And that’s what this government wants too.
Streeting says politicians who said ‘trans women are women’ should have ‘humility’ to admit that wasn’t right
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has said that Labour politicians who used to argue “trans women are women” should have the “humility” to admit that was not right.
Streeting first disowned the “trans women are women” argument a year ago, when he said that he had been wrong to use the phrase in the past and that he was willing to “take the criticism [for using the phrase] on the chin”.
In an interview with LBC’s Ben Kentish, being broadcast at 10pm tonight, Streeting went further, suggesting that Labour politicians should show “a bit of humility” with regard to admitting that their previous stance was too simplistic.
Streeting’s comment may be seen as implied criticism of Keir Starmer, who also used to adopt a “trans women are women” position but who has not expressed any regret in public over doing so since the supreme court settled this issue (in legal terms) last week.
When Kemi Badenoch asked him at PMQs this week to admit that he had been wrong, Starmer just explained his current thinking on the issue but without referencing what he said previously.
The charity Stonewall started promoting the slogans “trans women are women” and “trans men are men” in 2018, partly inspired by by ‘Some People are Gay. Get Over it!’ campaign run by the charity a decade previously.
The phrases were widely adopted by pro-trans politicians and campaigners, many of whom just took them as a generalised statement about how trans people should be allowed to live in the gender of their choice.
But the slogan became problematic when it started being interpreted as a literal statement of fact, or as an assertion that trans women should treated exactly the same as cis women in all circumstances.
When it was put to Streeting in his LBC interview that he was wrong when, in the past, he used to argue ‘trans women are women – get over it”, he replied:
I’ve addressed this previously and I don’t mind saying, ‘Look, I don’t think that was the right thing to say.’
And, actually, I wish I’d listened much earlier.
And to be honest, given some of the rough discourse we’ve had on these issues in recent years, I don’t think we lose anything by having a bit of humility to say, ‘Actually, I wish we’d listened.’
Streeting also said he thought Labour had spent a lot of time listening, when it was in opposition and now in government, to trans people, and to women’s rights organisations.
And now the government was trying to “find a way through that respects women’s rights voices and spaces and respects trans people’s rights, dignities and identities”, he said. He went on:
I don’t think the two need to be in competition. I think we can find a way through. I think that’s what most people in this country want and that’s what this government will do.
School suspensions in England far higher than before Covid, DfE figures show
Richard Adams
Richard Adams is the Guardian’s education editor.
Student suspensions for misbehaviour from state secondary schools in England remain far higher than before the Covid pandemic, despite improvements early last year.
Figures published by the Department for Education show that seven students per 100 in mainstream secondary schools were suspended at some point during the spring term of 2024 – lower than the more than eight students per 100 suspended in the autumn term.
But the rate remains far higher than in spring 2019, the year before Covid, when fewer than four students per 100 were suspended.
The rate of permanent exclusions in secondary schools was 0.07% of pupils in spring 2024, lower than the previous term and similar to pre-pandemic levels.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said the figures remained “worryingly high”. He added:
School leaders only take these serious measures when they have exhausted all other options, and therefore we need to focus on early intervention strategies that provide help to pupils who are struggling.
We know that the government wants to improve attendance and behaviour but this can only happen if they provide a level of investment that gives schools and other local services the tools they need to provide support to children and young people at an early stage.
Persistent disruptive behaviour remained the most common reason cited for exclusions and suspensions in all schools, followed by verbal abuse or threatening behaviour against an adult, and physical assault against a pupil.
Some 45% of suspensions were for one day or less, while 9,000 pupils missed 10 or more days through suspensions during the term.
Von der Leyen says UK and EU should cooperate on regulatory framework for North Sea renewable energy
Lisa O’Carroll
Lisa O’Carroll is a senior Guardian correspondent covering the EU and Brexit.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has urged Keir Starmer to build a joined-up regulatory framework for investors backing renewable energy infrastructure in the North Sea.
She told the International Energy Agency conference in London that there was an opportunity for the EU and the UK to “team up” to deliver the certainty they need.
Referencing the uncertainty in the electricity trading market, she said the UK had a chance to make a difference along with the EU.
Clean energy – the North Sea region has it all: offshore wind, marine energy, hydrogen, capture caption and storage.
But what is important is that there is not only the resources out there but the regulatory certainty.
Certainty is something we can deliver, [something] the EU framework offers, it is what investors are looking for. Therefore, dear Keir, this is something where the two of us should team up and deliver on what is needed for the investors.
The investors, for many years, are ready to start. They just need the regulatory certainty, they need the predictability and they need one framework to work with – so let’s deliver on that one.
A reader ask:
Need an article about neuro divergence Andrew please
We have a whole catalogue of articles on the topic, filed on our neurodiversity keyword page. You could start with this column by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett. It starts with the question: “Is “overdiagnosis” the new culture-war buzzword of choice?” Nigel Farage’s comment today suggests the answer is yes.
Nigel Farage has also been condemned by the charity Rethink Mental Illness for his claim this morning that doctors are “massively over-diagnosing” Send and mental health conditions. (See 12.09pm.) Brian Dow, the charity’s deputy chief executive, said:
If Nigel Farage has a medical degree, he clearly hasn’t been keeping up with his continuous professional development. Rather than over-diagnosing young people, we’re abandoning a generation in crisis.
Armchair analysis won’t fix a broken system. With someone now eight times more likely to wait 18 months or more for mental health treatment than physical health treatment, what we need from political leaders is commitment to finding serious solutions.
Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president, is now speaking at the energy security conference. Keir Starmer repeatedly stressed that he regarded her as a friend as he introduced her, and she spoke about him as a “dear friend”. The tone was never this chummy when the last government was in power.
Farage’s comments show Reform UK will axe Send funding if they take control of councils, Lib Dems say
The Liberal Democrats have said that Nigel Farage’s comments about special educationa needs and disabilities (Send) show what would happen to Send if Reform UK wins control of councils. In a response to what Farage said at his press conference this morning (see 12.09pm), Munira Wilson, the Lib Dem education spokesperson, said:
Farage is clearly laying the groundwork to axe crucial special needs provision in councils he’s got his eye on – communities where families and vulnerable young people are already waiting years to access threadbare special needs funds and special schools bursting at the seams.
If Nigel Farage had spent any time speaking to parents in his constituency, he’d know he’s barking up the wrong tree. The special needs crisis needs urgent repair – not his lazy rhetoric. We need a National Body for Send to end the special needs postcode lottery now.
Starmer says government will make energy ‘source, not of vulnerability, but of strength’
Keir Starmer is speaking now at the energy security summit in London.
He says “since the 1970s half of the UK recessions have been caused by fossil fuel shocks.”
What is different now is the government’s determination to address this, he says. He goes on:
So to the British people, I say this government will not sit back. We will step up. We will make energy a source, not of vulnerability, but of strength.
We will protect our critical infrastructure, energy networks and supply chains, and do whatever it takes to protect the security of our people because – this is the crucial point – energy security is national security.
Scottish Tories urge Swinney to end Sturgeon’s ‘era of divisive gender politics’
Russell Findlay, the Scottish Conservative leader, has urged the Scottish government to “end the era of divisive gender politics” following last week’s supreme court judgment on the definition of women in equality law.
Speaking during first minister’s questions at Holyrood, Findlay said:
John Swinney has got a chance to be his own man and go a different way from his closest ally [former first minister Nicola Sturgeon], who isn’t even showing up for work anymore.
He can guarantee all public bodies will have new and lawful policies to respect women’s rights in place by summer.
He can admit that trans women are not women.
He could hold his hands up and apologise fully and sincerely.
John Swinney could ditch Nicola Sturgeon’s toxic legacy once and for all.
Will he now take the chance to finally bring to an end the era of divisive gender politics?
In response, Swinney, the first minister, quoted a former Tory MSP Alison Harris tellying Holyrood during a debate in 2018 that she was pleased about an amendment to the gender representation on public boards (Scotland) bill that, Harris said, would “broaden the definition of ‘woman’ so the legislation would be as inclusive as possible, recognising that not all trans women possess a gender recognition certificate”.
Swinney said he was quoting this to make the point that the Conservatives “have changed their position on this”. He went on:
What my government will do is what it always does, follow the rule of law, take careful account of the decisions and the context in which we take our decisions, and act wisely to protect the rights of all within Scotland.
The first duty of the government is to protect the rights of everyone in Scottish society.
Earlier Findlay said, in the light of the supreme court ruling, Swinney should tell the Scottish prison service to send all trans women in femail jails to male prisons.
Swinney said the government was considering how to respond to the judgment, and that all public bodies would operate within the law.
And these are from my Guardian colleague Frances Ryan on Bluesky on Nigel Farage’s comments about people with special educational needs and disabilities. (See 12.09pm.) Frances has just published Who Wants Normal? – The Disabled Girls Guide to Life, which I have not read. But I have read her previous book, Crippled, which is a powerful account of how disabled people suffered during the austerity era – not least as a result of politicians (like Farage) presenting them as bogus and undeserving.
Being disabled does not make someone “a victim”, Nigel Farage. Having state support to go to school does not make someone “a victim” either. These kind of remarks are in many ways why I wrote Who Wants Normal? Disabled young people deserve more than this vile narrative.
I’m not going to get into the factual inaccuracies in the quote. This is about more than fantasy registers or the longstanding GP myth. The problem is bigger: it is a politics and culture that normalises the idea disabled people – even disabled children – are burdens, valueless, and subnormal.
National Autistic Society accuses Farage of stigmatising disabled people with ‘wildly inaccurate’ comments about Send
The National Autistic Society has described Nigel Farage’s comments about Send children (see 12.09pm) as “wildly inaccurate” and accused him of perpetuating “stigma” and making life harder for disabled people. Mel Merritt, head of policy and campaigns at the NAS, said:
Nigel Farage’s comments are wildly inaccurate and show that he’s completely out of touch with what autistic children and adults have to go through to get a diagnosis or any support at all.
For the record, absolutely no one has got an autism diagnosis through the GP – this is just incorrect, wrong, fake news.
Children with Send and disabled adults, including autistic people, are not victims who are being ‘over diagnosed’. They are people who face huge delays and long fights to get the most basic support across every aspect of their lives, including diagnosis, education, health and social care.
Spreading misinformation only perpetuates stigma and makes life harder.
We’re calling on all politicians to drop the political point scoring and stand up for their autistic and other disabled constituents.
Lib Dems back ban on playing music and videos on public transport in England
As Peter Walker reports, the Liberal Democrats are proposing a ban on people playing music and videos out loud on their phones on public transport.
My colleague John Harris, who is promoting his new book about his autistic son, has had a go at Nigel Farage this morning (see 1.18pm), but he has applauded the Liberal Democrats for this proposal. As he explains in a post on his Substack blog, loud music in public spaces can be a big cause of stress or discomfort for some people with autism. Here is an extract.
This is an idea reflected in the actual laws and rules that operate in other countries (The Guardian reports that a man was recently fined €200 after making a phone call on loudspeaker in a quiet area of Nantes station in France), and it also goes to the heart of autism awareness and overlooked aspects of neurodivergence. I mention some of these in my new book: what some people call Sound Sensitivity is a psychological feature I have in common with my autistic son James, so I know exactly what it means … and why the 21st century cacophony of noise that often erupts on trains and buses can be very bad news indeed.
Self-evidently, this is one big part of the sensory aspects of neurodivergence. Here’s the absolute beginners’ version, which took five seconds to find via Google: “Sound sensitivity — also known as hyperacusis — is common in autistic people. Some noises might make you uncomfortable, especially loud or shrill noises, but many people are sensitive to quieter sounds, too…. These noises cause unwanted intrusions that the person can’t ignore… Hyperacusis can make it difficult to go out in public as you can’t always predict what sounds you will encounter.”
In James’s case, these issues are mostly manageable (we just get away from the source of the noise, be it a hand-dryer, railway-station tannoy, leaf-blower or whatever). But on public transport, that usually isn’t possible – and if you have the kind of cognitive make-up that leads to Hyperacusis, that can be a big problem.
Nigel Farage claims too many children are being assessed as having special educational needs and disabilities. (See 12.09pm.) That is not what parents of Send children would say. As this Guardian video explains, their experience is that they need help and support which too often they are failing to get.
