Martin Shipton
A Plaid Cymru MS has withdrawn from a newly established cross-party Senedd group on women’s and girls’ rights days after joining it.
The withdrawal of Safa Elhassan, who represents Gŵyr Abertawe, appears to stem from the group’s acceptance of the Supreme Court’s ruling that sex in equality legislation means biological sex only. The group will now have representatives from just three of the four main parties: Reform UK, Labour and the Conservatives.
When the group was launched, its chair, Tory MS Natasha Asghar, said: “The creation of this group marks an important milestone as it is the Senedd’s first ever cross-party group looking solely at the rights of women and girls in Wales.
“I am clear that I do not want this group to be a talking shop. I want it to be a vital platform where politicians, experts and others can come together to better understand what the law says about women’s and girls’ rights, what it means in practice, and how it should be reflected in policy and Welsh public bodies.
“Given the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that sex is defined as biological sex only, I hope the group will play a key role in ensuring public bodies are adhering to the law, particularly when it comes to single-sex spaces.”
At the group’s inaugural meeting, members agreed on topics to cover, including gender distress, barriers facing women and girls in sport, lesbian rights and the impact of pornography on young people.
But when the list of MSs involved in the group was published, Ms Elhassan’s name was missing.
We asked Plaid Cymru for an explanation and were sent a statement in which Ms Elhassan was quoted as saying: “There are two cross-party groups in the Senedd relating to women and women’s rights. I inadvertently attended one that did not align with my values or those of my party.
“Once I became aware of the issue, I took immediate steps to correct the mistake by resigning my membership of the Women and Girls’ Rights CPG and joining the CPG for Women, supported by Women’s Equality Network Wales.”
We asked Plaid Cymru to explain how the Women’s and Girls’ Rights CPG did not align with Ms Elhassan’s values or those of the party.
A Plaid spokesperson said: “Plaid Cymru is a party committed to protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ people in Wales, just as we are committed to equality for women and girls. These are not mutually exclusive. We will always stand up for equality and dignity for everyone in our communities.”
A political source said: “My understanding is that Safa Elhassan was bullied by Plaid Cymru male staff members into withdrawing from the group and was quite upset about how the matter was handled.”
Statement of opinion
We also asked why Ms Elhassan’s husband, Gwyn Williams, had withdrawn his support for a Senedd Statement of Opinion on women’s right to single-sex spaces.
Plaid Cymru sent us a statement from Dr Williams that said: “I signed this Statement of Opinion in error in June and, once the mistake was brought to my attention, I asked for my name to be removed.
“The statement did not reflect my or the party’s views and so I do not support its contents. I regret the administrative error but consider the matter closed.”
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