In 2015, when I was newly elected, I was proud to be part of the first ever Women and Equalities Select Committee in the first parliament in the world to undertake an investigation into transgender rights. Our brief was to highlight the issues and concerns raised by transgender people, groups and parents and present our findings to the Government to respond. It was clear, at the time, that health, wellbeing and employment opportunities for transgender people were inadequate, and the Women and Equalities Committee report on Transgender Equality made over 30 recommendations over a wide range of policy areas. This was a cross-party report reflecting the asks and insights from evidence taken.
While I continue to believe everyone in the UK should be free to live their lives and fulfil their potential regardless of their sex or gender identity, this issue has, sadly, become a somewhat zero-sum game between women’s rights and transwomen’s rights, and in the media.
It has, however, become very clear, over the years, that being inclusive and supporting a very small minority group was having a significant, systemic impact on women and girls across the board. We ended up with a situation where women’s rights - to privacy, safety, fairness and equality - were being eroded which was never the intention.
As I wrote in my article in the Daily Express on the 16th April,
“in recent years, common sense interpretation has given way to activist campaigning that takes the law beyond its original meaning”
Labour must now protect women and girls in sport, work and school | Politics | News | Express.co.uk
Over the past 10 years, we have seen how this translated into real life – in women’s prisons, in women’s sports, in women’s rape centres and domestic abuse shelters, in courts when women have to refer to their male attackers or rapists as female, in the Cass Review on puberty blockers and transgender children, in the Sullivan Report on the risks of inaccurate data reporting, in NHS wards and same-sex care, in women’s shortlists, in strip searching policy for women as well as in toilets and changing rooms.
The Supreme Court has now ruled that a woman is legally defined by biological sex and I welcome that ruling, which has been many years in the making. However, I fully recognise, and understand greatly, that the Supreme Court’s recent judgement has caused distress to many transgender and non-binary people, including in East Grinstead and Uckfield, and I do honestly sympathise - I understand most people just want to be able to quietly get on with their own lives.
The Supreme Court did clearly state that transgender people remain protected by the indirect discrimination provisions of the Equality Act 2010 (irrespective of whether they have a Gender Recognition Certificate). The judgement also reaffirmed that trans people are also protected from indirect discrimination where they are put at a particular disadvantage they share with members of their biological sex. I strongly support this.
I know the Supreme Court’s judgement has raised issues about the participation of transgender and non-binary people in women’s spaces and services. While I recognise and understand the strength of feeling, we have seen there are legitimate concerns about access to female single-sex spaces and participation in women’s sports. Too often organisations have adopted the interpretation of activists who state the ability to self-ID trumps the rights of women to single-sex spaces, services and associations, including same-sex gatherings.
Therefore, we need to now start moving forward and I look to the Labour Government to provide crystal clear guidelines and policies, based on the Supreme Court clarification of the Equality Act that are respected by everyone – from schools to workplaces to public services and beyond. In Oral Questions on the 7th May, the current Labour Equalities Minister said,
'I made a statement to the House setting out the Government’s position where we welcomed the clarity of the Supreme Court ruling. I should also stress that, of course, everyone within our country deserves to be treated with dignity, respect and compassion, and trans people continue to enjoy protection from harassment and discrimination under the law. We are working with the Equality and Human Rights Commission on its code of practice, which it will set out in due course following consultation.'
The Equalities Minister, Bridget Phillipson, has also said, “services should be accessed on the basis of biological sex.”
I am glad society has moved on so far since 2015. For example, many businesses and public buildings already provide unisex toilets or individual cubicles which transgender people may feel more comfortable using. Sporting organisations are increasingly offering ‘open’ and mixed sex categories and rape crisis centres offer mixed gender group sessions alongside women only. The NHS can provide private rooms, and the Sullivan Report suggests separate data can be collected on transgender and gender-diverse identities, where appropriate. We must continue, rightly, to advocate for neutral third spaces and ensure services are appropriate and available for all people, and to protect all rights and privacy.
Saying ‘trans-women are women’ was never true in fact and is not true in law; I do not believe that you can change your biological sex but you can, of course, identify as your chosen gender. Please, however, know that I firmly support rights for transgender people under the law.
Conservatives believe that it’s absolutely right you can be yourself and project your true self – this is exactly my stance on the pragmatic, sympathetic approach I believe we should all take, and reflect, in society. The UK must ensure that everyone has the freedom to live their own lives, regardless of their sex, sexual orientation or gender identity.
I echo the words of Saqib Bhatti, the Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East -
'I am a great believer in Britain being one of the greatest meritocracies in the world, where—at least in our party—people can rise to the very top, irrespective of race, religion or gender. The Government’s consultation on reforming equality law is a litany of activist demands and bureaucratic burdens, with no proof that any of the measures would reduce inequality. Why are the Government so determined to put people into boxes (….) instead of promoting equality of opportunity for all?'
