The results of yesterday’s US elections make something very clear: attacking trans people, which Republicans did with great energy and at even greater expense, doesn’t work – and in fact such relentless demonisation of marginalised people may well motivate people to banish the bigots. This isn’t a huge surprise, because we saw the same in Australia and more recently in English by-elections, where anti-trans culture war bullshit was roundly rejected. But I doubt that it’ll change the planned ratcheting up of anti-trans rhetoric by the UK Conservative government and by their friends in the press in the run-up to the next election.

As satisfying as it was to see so many bigots rejected yesterday, and as satisfying as it’ll be to see the same happen in the UK next year, that satisfaction doesn’t begin to compensate for the damage these hateful bastards and their useful idiots in the media have done, the lives that they have ruined and the lives that anti-trans policies and rhetoric will continue to ruin. The religious and conservative right have lit fires that will take a long time to extinguish.