Tory MP Mike Wood Rebuked for Attempt to Ban 'Gender' from Government Publications

Conservative MP Mike Wood asked Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper in a written parliamentary question to replace the word 'gender' with 'sex' in all future departmental publications. Foreign Office minister Seema Malhotra, responding on Cooper's behalf, firmly rejected the proposal, stating the department would continue using 'gender' when appropriate. Malhotra then highlighted multiple instances where Wood himself had used the term 'gender' in Parliament between 2015 and 2024, including references to the gender pay gap, gender inequality, gender-based violence, and gender balance. She described these uses as 'perfectly appropriate' and urged Wood to 'reflect on his proposal, and possibly have a conversation with his former self on the matter.' The article frames the exchange as a humiliating rebuke for the MP.