The candidates standing to be South Ribble's next MP were quizzed on the issue of single-sex spaces during a hustings event in the constituency.
The Lancashire Post, Lancashire Lead, Blog Preston and the Local Democracy Reporting Service invited all five candidates standing for the South Ribble seat at next week's general election to a debate in which they fielded questions from voters.
Four of those on the ballot took part in the event. In order of appearance from left to right on the stage, they are:
KATHERINE FLETCHER - Conservative
PAUL FOSTER - Labour
ANDY HUNTER - Reform UK
ANGE TURNER - Liberal Democrats
The one other candidate for the South Ribble constituency, who was unable to attend, is:
STEPHANI MOK - Green Party
The Lancashire Post, Lancashire Lead, Blog Preston and the Local Democracy Reporting Service invited all five candidates standing for the South Ribble seat at next week's general election to a debate in which they fielded questions from voters.
Four of those on the ballot took part in the event. In order of appearance from left to right on the stage, they are:
KATHERINE FLETCHER - Conservative
PAUL FOSTER - Labour
ANDY HUNTER - Reform UK
ANGE TURNER - Liberal Democrats
The one other candidate for the South Ribble constituency, who was unable to attend, is:
STEPHANI MOK - Green Party
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NewsTranscript
00:00I believe that women's rights in this country are under serious threat, for the first time probably since the suffragette movement.
00:08And my question is very specific. Do you think it's right for a biological male to be on the same ward, in the same bay, as a woman?
00:21Hi, thanks for your question. No, I don't think it's right. We have to look at the cause, and it's probably the, again, underfunding of the NHS,
00:40because you can also have women and men in the corridor, you can also have them outside in the car park.
00:47Our NHS will always deal with the issues that people come in with, but our hospitals don't have the capacity, or are not modern enough,
01:00after they've been crumbling, to probably accommodate proper areas for women and for men.
01:09Can you say it's not that, it's an ideological choice?
01:13Well, in terms of the ideological choice, I absolutely prefer that women being treated in wards in hospitals should have their own ward.
01:25It's dead hot, we can't hear you when you shout from the back. We're not being obnoxious.
01:31The lady's saying it should be required.
01:35I mean, the point is that it's an ideological choice made by the NHS. They believe it's correct for self-identified men, who actually are male-bodied,
01:46to be placed in the same room as female patients. I don't think it is.
01:54As a nurse, and I've worked in the health service for about 30 years, as a nurse, I'm telling you, it's very, very dangerous, both for the men and for the women involved.
02:07And he's specifically on that point in healthcare.
02:10No, I don't think it should happen either.
02:14No, I don't believe in mixed wards.
02:17No, I don't. And the problem is you've got to change the law to allow for that protection to be put in place.
02:25And the Labour Party are saying they won't change the law, and they are all over the place on this one.