I almost couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw the reporting that the prime minister of the U.K. had stood up to announce that transgender people don't or should not exist.

Up til now, the Conservative Party has played at least a little coy on the matter, even while acting increasingly to make life difficult for trans people and to encourage "dialogue" that brings true haters into the spotlight.

Now, we come to the pinnacle of the performance. Now, the Tories are no longer "just asking questions." The party's leader seems to believe his "questions" have been answered — in the extreme negative.

Of course I don't think he's sincere. He's playing the demagogue. What he really believes is irrelevant to his grasping for power.

As Meghan McKie wrote this week in P&P, Manitoba's premier ran on transphobia this election season, appealing to fear, claiming trans people are a social contagion and a threat to society.

She seemed to be on the same page as Sunak, but she badly miscalculated. In an election shocker, Manitoba voters just threw her and her party out of office.

Let's hope Sunak has miscalculated just as badly.