The Conservatives have written to every Tory council in the country urging them to implement new rules to protect single-sex spaces without delay. It comes after a group of Left-wing councils warned they will defy the new equality watchdog guidance as they claimed it is 'harmful to the rights of trans people'. The guidance states that service providers are legally required to enforce single-sex spaces on the basis of biological sex, rather than gender identity. In an open letter to Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson, the councils made a joint commitment to keep their services 'inclusive' and said 'trans women are women, trans men are men'. 'Only the Conservatives will ensure that every council under our control fully complies with the law to protect single-sex spaces and safeguard women and girls.'