JK Rowling has torn into Labour for abandoning plans to make it easier for people to change gender for fear of upsetting Donald Trump – after ignoring pleas from women’s groups and medical experts.

The billionaire Harry Potter author mocked Sir Keir Starmer after it was reported that a controversial pledge to change the process is now expected to ‘go away’ quietly.

The Times reported that it is part of efforts to counter the polling surge of Reform UK, with recent surveys suggesting Nigel Farage‘s party could win swathes of seats off Labour at the next election.

Insiders suggest that the election of Donald Trump –who has taken a tough line on gender issues – has also contributed to Labour softening its own position.

During the election campaign, Labour said it would make it easier to obtain a gender recognition certificate – which allows trans people to have their affirmed gender legally recognised – by letting a single doctor sign off on it instead of two.

They also intended to drop the requirement that a person must live as their preferred gender for two years before obtaining a certificate.

Writing on X Ms Rowling said Trump had ‘succeeded where a multitude of British women, including lifelong leftists, failed’.

Noting that plans for a conversion therapy ban were still expected to go ahead she added: ‘We know that children who are autistic, same-sex attracted and those who’ve experienced sexual abuse are overrepresented at gender clinics.

‘We also know, from multiple studies, that the vast majority of children grow out of gender dysphoria if allowed to go through puberty.

‘Therapists and gay activists have begged Labour to realise that the affirmation-only model could cause serious, irreparable harm to minors, to no effect. I suppose we have to hope Trump says it soon. Then, maybe, they’ll listen.’

The billionaire Harry Potter author mocked Sir Keir Starmer after it was reported that a controversial pledge to change the process is now expected to ‘go away’ quietly.

The Times reported that it is part of efforts to counter the polling surge of Reform UK, with recent surveys suggesting Nigel Farage ‘s party could win swathes of seats off Labour at the next election.

Writing on X Ms Rowling said Trump had ‘succeeded where a multitude of British women, including lifelong leftists, failed’.

The gender plans were not included in the King’s Speech setting out the Government’s priorities, and are now believed to have been shelved.

A Government source told The Times: ‘If we’re going to push back against Reform this is the kind of thing we need to be doing rather than reforms to the Gender Recognition Act which would be catnip for Farage.’

Helen Joyce, director of advocacy for Sex Matters, said: ‘If this news is correct, we welcome it with great relief.

‘We’ve long argued that any change that makes it easier to obtain gender recognition certificates risks introducing self-ID through the back door.’

Health Secretary Wes Streeting already appeared to have pushed back on the policy, and last year made the temporary ban on puberty blockers for youngsters ‘indefinite’ across the UK.

His order followed a landmark report published by paediatrician Baroness Cass, who said there had been ‘significant misinformation’ and ‘insufficient evidence’ to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of puberty blockers for adolescents.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting (pictured) already appeared to have pushed back on the policy, and last year made the temporary ban on puberty blockers for youngsters ‘indefinite’ across the UK

In one of his first acts as president, Trump sad the The United States will recognize only two sexes, male and female, that are unchangeable, as he moved to quickly end a range of policies aimed at promoting racial equity and protecting rights for LGBTQ+ people.

The order requires the government use the term ‘sex’ rather than ‘gender’, while mandating that identification documents issued by the government, including passports and visas, be based on what it described as ‘an individual’s immutable biological classification as either male or female.’