For those of us who passionately believe in equality the need for the Bill

For those of us who passionately believe in equality, the need for the Bill is self-evident.”What you need in society is that old thing: a little less judgement and a little more understanding.”. My Lords and Members of The House Of Commons

My Lords and Members of The House Of Commons
My Government will maintain its key commitment to economic stability and growth.This will enable my Government to continue to deliver reform of the public services and continue to focus on greater opportunity and social justice, enhanced security and protection and constitutional reform.Delivering a world class education system that enables individuals to achieve their full potential remains my Government’s main priority for Britain’s future success. “The Bill on the top of all this is going to be of tremendous benefit,” she says “It will make the going a bit easier. I’d say to people thinking of going through what I went through, ‘Stick with it, don’t be put off’.”"If this Bill had been going through 10 years ago, there would have been a lot of people against it,” says Shaun “But things have changed a lot since then The Bill is a human-rights issue. “A significant percentage of transsexuals may not be in work They may have problems with housing.

It is not unknown for people in these desperate circumstances to turn to prostitution,” he says.Lesley says that the Bill will improve the lives of transsexuals, and marks the culmination of a growing acceptance in society of people who change sex. He listened, and told me to contact his office.”Not long afterwards, at a Tory party conference, Michael Howard, surrounded by minders, spotted Christine on the seafront “He came over and said, ‘Hello Christine, how are you?’ I was very touched,” she says. “It said a lot.” Christine hopes that, as the new Tory leader, he will be supportive of the Government’s Bill.Despite such encouraging stories, Shaun Woodward believes that life for people who decide to have sex changes is not always easy. “I took him aside while I was handing round the sandwiches on this tray, and I said, ‘I am a transsexual woman and the state of the law is difficult to defend’. Christine saw the advantage and, in campaigning mode, pounced.

“I was on smoked salmon-sandwich duty, the height of Cheshire Tory womanhood,” she says. And, after initial stunned silences, she found most of her Conservative colleagues extremely supportive.”At the Tory party conference, the local chairman walked me to a taxi and gave me a kiss on the cheek I burst into tears. I got a card from his family saying, ‘We support you, Christine’,” she says. “It taught me a lot about the grassroots of the Conservative Party.”During one fund-raising afternoon in the constituency, shortly after her revelation, the then Home Secretary Michael Howard turned up in support. As it happened, the tabloids did turn up at her doorstep but decided not to run the story on the grounds that she was “too ordinary”. “I didn’t want to cause the Conservatives embarrassment,” she says. Two years ago, Claire was the victim of an arson attack on her house by a group of people who had targeted her because of her sex change.

Such victimisation, however, led other villagers to rally round “I learnt a lot about how decent most folk are,” she said. “A few idiots causing trouble is a problem for everyone, after all.”Christine Burns also learnt how tolerant ordinary people can be when she broke the news to members of her local Conservative Association that the woman who been baking their cakes and running their raffles for years was not quite who they imagined.In 1994, Burns was a stalwart of the Cheshire Tories. She was a regular representative at party conferences and one of the local party’s most diligent voluntary ladies. She always looked neat, took care of her make-up and had a lovely collection of expensive clothes.