Reform has taken on former prison governor Vanessa Frake as their “justice adviser”.
But they don’t seem all that keen on taking her advice on justice, nor respecting her experience. Their desire to stoke the flames of a culture war apparently outweighs their respect for her experience.
One point of contention is the question of trans women being placed in prisons. Reform apparently want them all removed, no questions asked. Frake’s advice, based on her knowledge and experience, is that the risks to all concerned should be considered individually.
She suggested instead that the placement of trans women should be considered on a case-by-case basis and depend on risk assessments.
“People who want to just see a blanket ban clearly have never stepped foot in a prison and seen how prison runs and seen [how] risk assessments on individuals happen,” she said.
She also shows a surprising amount of humility for a Reform supporter. Probably because her actual expertise leads her to realise she doesn’t know everything about everything
What she said:
“I’m not an expert on trans people, all that I know is that everybody should be treated with humanity and decency.”
Humanity and decency! What a novel concept. Did she know what she was signing up for?
What the Reform asked when ask if they agree with her views:
No.
In a later interview, Nigel Farage, quite surprisingly, seemed to also be defying the hate-filled policy of his own party, adopting a view more similar to Frake’s.
I’ve personally never worked in a prison so I can’t answer it,” Farage said.
“Basically, it’s about risk assessment, isn’t it?” he added. “In terms of the problems in prisons, it’s a relatively small one.”
A Labour source is rightly sceptical, saying:
Much like Boris Johnson, he’ll say anything to get himself through a press conference. It’s never coherent or reasoned. As scrutiny increases, this stuff will further fall apart.
The current Justice Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, goes on to point out that at least in Downview prison, transgender females are held within a transgender-only facility, a point which I’m sure is missed by many folk with opinions. As, for what it’s worth, is the fact that even back in 2023 90% of transgender women were already housed in men’s prisons.