JK Rowling has revealed that she turned down two offers of a peerage following Kemi Badenoch publicly saying she would appoint the author to the House of Lords.
The Harry Potter creator, 59, was praised by Ms Badenoch, who if she wins the Tory leadership contest would be able to appoint some peers as leader of the Opposition, for being an outspoken figure in the gender debate.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, Rowling wrote: “It’s considered bad form to talk about this but I’ll make an exception given the very particular circumstances.
“I’ve already turned down a peerage twice, once under Labour and once under the Tories. If offered one a third time, I still wouldn’t take it. It’s not her, it’s me.”
It’s considered bad form to talk about this but I’ll make an exception given the very particular circumstances. I’ve already turned down a peerage twice, once under Labour and once under the Tories. If offered one a third time, I still wouldn’t take it. It’s not her, it’s me. https://t.co/LnLoG8qc3p
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) October 20, 2024
Former equalities minister Ms Badenoch claimed in an interview with the Talk online streaming service that she had “managed to get Dr Hilary Cass a peerage” following her controversial review of NHS gender identity services.
The Cass review, published in April, found care had been directed by “ideology on all sides” and was based on “remarkably weak evidence”.
Lady Cass took her seat on Monday having been elevated to the upper chamber as an independent crossbench peer in Conservative leader Rishi Sunak’s dissolution honours list earlier this year.
Rowling welcomed the findings, which led to NHS England ending the prescription of puberty blockers for children experiencing gender dysphoria.
Scotland’s only clinic offering gender services to young people followed suit.
Some doctors and academics both in the UK and internationally have criticised the report, expressing concern about its methodology, and the British Medical Association has announced it will carry out an evaluation of the Cass Review.
Rowling has long been advocating for spaces for biological women to be protected, and spoken up about trans issues in the sports industry.
The former Labour donor, who gave the party £1 million under the leadership of Gordon Brown, has previously claimed it has “abandoned women”.
The Labour Party manifesto has pledged to “modernise, simplify and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a new process” while also stating pride in the Equality Act “and the rights and protections it affords women”.
“We will continue to support the implementation of its single-sex exceptions,” the Labour Party has previously said.
The Labour and Conservative parties have both been contacted for a response.
