Labour MP Alex Sobel has issued an apology after suggesting that fellow MP Jonathan Hinder should consider quitting the party due to his opposition to certain policies regarding gender rights. Sobel, representing Leeds Central and Headingley, made these comments during a video recording with the campaign group Act! For Trans Liberation, which was later reported by the Daily Mail.
Sobel criticized Hinder for a speech advocating for women's rights, labeling his views as 'hard-Right.' He stated, 'I'm not quite ready at this point to say that, because of that issue and that view, we should expel him from the Labour Party; he can make his own decisions. His view will not be the one that's going to go forward.' Sobel further commented that those who believe in biological sex 'come from other worlds, with views from those cultures and have brought them in with them to the Labour Party.'
In response, Rosie Duffield, another Labour MP who resigned over the party's stance on gender issues, criticized Sobel's remarks. She expressed concern about the implications of prioritizing men's rights over women's rights, stating, 'It's such a shame that MPs like Alex Sobel cannot understand the serious threat to basic women's rights that their obsessive campaigning for men's rights causes to the ordinary working people they were elected to represent.' Duffield praised Hinder and a few other Labour MPs for their support of women's rights.
Following the backlash, Sobel apologized on Sunday night, acknowledging that his comments were inappropriate. He stated, 'I recognize that I should not have referred to a Labour colleague in this way. It is important that we always engage in debate in a collegiate and constructive way. I have reached out to Jonathan to apologize in person.'