Statement by TUV Lagan Valley candidate Lorna Smyth:
“If one were to have said a few years ago that the issue of what a woman is would become an election issue I have no doubt that people would have reacted with bemusement.
“TUV/Reform UK is clear. A woman is an adult female and her sex is determined at birth. Sex is real, it is important and it is immutable. It is disturbing that some want to live in a society where biological reality is ignored.
“TUV would welcome such clarity in law as it would protect single sex spaces. It is incumbent on local parties to spell out their own position.
“However, given that the Tories have been in power for more than a decade one does have to question if they are really serious about doing anything. I am pleased that my colleagues in Reform UK have forced the Tories hand on this but I suspect that when given the option to vote for a party which said this all along people will opt to vote Reform UK rather than putting any faith in the discredited Tories”.