- Conference
- 2024 National LGBT+ Conference
- Date
- 17 July 2024
- Decision
- Carried as Amended
The last Westminster government had a terrible record on trans rights, ranging from inappropriate jokes and comments to actively seeking to change the Equality Act 2010 to remove gender reassignment as a protected characteristic. The United Kingdom’s (UK) Conservative government’s final act before being voted out was to enact a ban on prescriptions of puberty blockers for trans youth, meaning that there was no way for trans youth to legally obtain them in England, Wales and Scotland.
The hope was that the incoming UK Labour government would prove to be more of an ally. However, comments have been made from senior people within the party regarding their belief that trans women do not have the right to access women’s spaces, even if they have a Gender Recognition Certificate. And then, less than a week after their election, the new UK government announced that they would, if the courts allow it, be making the ban on puberty blockers being prescribed to trans youth permanent. The new UK government also appears to be determined to follow all the recommendations of the independent review of gender identity services for children and young people (the ‘Cass Review’), which could lead to further restrictions on trans youth.
Conference further notes that:
1)Gender services across the UK are under increasing pressure.
2)There is an increase in anti-trans rhetoric and trans hate crime in the UK which is inflamed by certain sections of the media and some politicians espousing trans exclusionary views.
3)Research from ‘More in Common’ carried out during the UK General Election campaign clearly established that the debate about trans people did not have an impact on voters’ decision on who to elect.
Conference calls on the national LGBT+ committee to work with Labour Link to develop a strategy to lobby the UK Labour government to protect and improve trans rights, including (but not limited to):
A)Adopting a definition of transphobia
B)Implement the Cass Review’s recommendations for improving gender services
C)Remove the ban on prescribing puberty blockers for trans youth
D)Enact legislation to strengthen trans peoples’ legal access to gendered spaces that correspond with their gender identity.