Roar sat down with Claire Coutinho, Shadow Secretary of State for Energy & Net Zero and Shadow Women & Equalities Minister, on Friday 17 April to discuss King’s puberty blocker trials, single-sex spaces, and the Conservative Party’s offer for the younger generation.
The former Cabinet Secretary has climbed ranks in the Conservative Party since her election to East Surrey in 2019. One of Rishi Sunak’s key allies at the end of his term in office, Coutinho was even rumoured to be in the running for Chancellor.
As one of the remaining former ministers in the Parliamentary Conservative Party following their historic defeat in 2024, she remains one of their core voices.
King’s Controversial “Pathways” Trial
In February 2026, King’s College London paused the controversial “Pathways” trial which was set to test puberty blockers on under-16s. The MP for East Surrey was one of the core campaigners against the move.
The trial was paused following guidance from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which highlighted significant long-term harms to participants. This followed the 2024 Cass Review, which set out that puberty blockers should not be routinely prescribed due to significant concerns.
When asked about the u-turn from King’s, Coutinho told Roar: “I very much worry that we have taken on quite radical ideology when it comes to puberty blockers without proper evidence behind it. So when we did the Cass review, which looked at the whole healthcare provision for trans people, one of the areas that Cass specified was poorly evidenced was the use of puberty blockers in children.”
“Now, whatever you want to do as an adult is completely fine, but when you’ve got children as young as eight who may have gone on this trial, it’s very important that we understand what the consequences of these drugs are, and that those families understand what those consequences are.
“And personally, if you look at what the MHRA had said, the consequences are, for example, loss of bone density, potential infertility and potential loss of sexual function.
“My view is that no child at age eight can consent to those things.”
There is no update on when or if the trial will re-start, and what changes may be made to comply with MHRA guidance.
Same-Sex Spaces in Light of the Supreme Court Decision
Last year, on 16 April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that the legal definition of a woman is based on biological sex. A year on, the government has received criticism, including from Coutinho, for the lack of guidance issued on single-sex spaces.
She spoke to Roar about the importance of the changes she would like to see: “We do need to make sure that we have provision for all, but making sure that people are provided for isn’t the same thing as open access to single sex spaces.
“Whether you have a women’s refuge crisis where women have been sexually assaulted, or you have women’s prisons, or you have women’s changing rooms, it is important that some spaces are protected for biological women.
”That doesn’t mean that you don’t then make a separate provision for other people with different needs. And that includes trans people. I do want to see everybody provided for. But what I don’t think is right is that when you have spaces which are needed for women’s dignity, safety and privacy, that they are asked to have those spaces given up”
When asked about how the right “balance” between protecting women’s rights and those of trans individuals, Coutinho made the case for ensuring many different groups in society, including mothers with prams and disabled people, are given special provision:
“For those people having a separate provision, a separate sort of gender neutral space, I think is the way forward. And you know this isn’t about trying to force people to go into the toilets of a biological sex that they’re uncomfortable in, but it is making sure that there are provisions which are right for them.”
The Government is expected to announce guidance following the May local elections.
Tackling the Student Debt Trap and Youth Unemployment Crisis
Last week, senior Tory figures such as Sir Jeremy Hunt and Lord Michael Gove floated the idea of scrapping the “triple-lock” on pensions to assist graduates with the financial pressures facing them. This follows the government’s recent announcement to cap interest on Plan 2 student loans at 6%.
Roar asked the Shadow Energy Secretary where she positions herself on this: “In terms of trying to get the right balance between the generations, I personally think we do need to make sure that pensioners who do not have an ability to get their income from somewhere else are able to be protected and we need to have fairness for that group.”
“But I do want to see more help for young people. We want people to be able to go to university and have a good quality of life afterwards, not have the loan hamper their ability to be able to go on and have a good life. I’m glad that since we’ve spoken about it, other political parties have started to talk about it, but I fear that they’re not doing nearly enough
“The things that I worry about are whether it’s access to housing, access to jobs or access to childcare if they want to start a family. That at the moment they’re struggling to get their foot on the ladder or family life and that’s the thing that I think we need to solve for young people.”
The Conservatives’ Offer For Young People
Recent polling by YouGov displays the Conservatives unpopularity among the youth, with only a 5% voting intention among those aged 18-24, compared to a stark 49% for the Green Party and 17% for Labour.
When asked about how the Conservatives could target younger voters, Coutinho emphasised an economy-focused approach:
“Well, you know, I remember when I was young, the attractiveness of soft of radical new movements is always going to be there. But I would say if you look at some of the biggest challenges that young people face, it’s to do with the economy.
“Are we creating enough jobs across the economy that people can go on and find the right job for them and earn enough money from that job to pay for a home that they can own. And to be able to have a good quality of life. That’s where I spend a lot of my time and effort.
“I want us to be able to have cheap abundant energy. I want us to be able to have a great quality of life around the cost of housing. I want us to be able to have the kind of jobs in the economy, which means that people are paid high wages and are cutting edges of the technologies of the future. It’s one of the things that I’ve been fighting for. We need to have the right energy policy for the country so that AI can succeed here.
“Without those things, there is no bright future for young people, and I hope they’ll be able to see that the Conservatives are putting serious thought into how we can turn the economy around and get them to a position where we have a growing economy that they themselves can benefit from.”
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