Trans activists hold rally at Labour Party conference

Dozens of transgender men and women and their allies have gathered outside the Labour Party conference in Liverpool to call on prime minister Keir Starmer to put trans rights back on the agenda.

The rally, organised by Labour for Trans Rights, took place outside close to the Arena and Convention Centre where Labour’s first annual conference since returning to power is taking place this week. Trades unionists, party members and an MP give speeches.

Despite Starmer talking of a “reset moment” on “toxic” discourse in a pre-election pledge to PinkNews, the return of Labour to government was met with caution by members of the trans community after years of anti-trans rhetoric from the Conservatives, and the then opposition’s wavering stance on issues such as single-sex spaces and self-ID.

Just weeks after July’s general election, Labour renewed the emergency Tory ban on the sale and supply of puberty blockers which came into force in the wake of the publication of the Cass Report in April.

Health secretary Wes Streeting, who had earlier said he regretted making the statement that “trans women are women“, defended extending the emergency ban, saying he was “determined to improve the quality of, and access to, care for trans people” and that some public statements being made were “highly irresponsible and could put vulnerable young people at risk”.

The decision was met with outrage from trans people, activists and other Labour politicians, who viewed it as a back step on promises to “remove indignities” for transgender people.

At the rally, Nottingham East MP Nadia Whittome, who had already called on her party to tackle the transphobia in its ranks, said she had been left disappointed by Labour’s first months in power.

“I don’t want us to get to the end of next year and say it’s been another difficult year for trans people,” she said. “I want us to be able to say things are improving, things are moving in the right direction and I truly believe we can do that and that is why I have to say I am very disappointed in the start our government has made.

“That we have continued with the Conservatives’ ban on puberty blockers, young people and their families have told me just how terrified they are. I do not believe the evidence supports a blanket ban. I want to see healthcare decisions being made by medical professionals not politicians.”

She also attacked the Tories’ record on transgender rights and the rise in anti-trans narratives in politics across the board.

“For a number of years now, previous governments and politicians in this country have not only failed [on] positive progress for trans people but they [also] have attacked their existing rights,” she said.

“This country has been destroyed by the Conservatives and to distract from it and to divide us, so that they [could] hold on to power, they fanned the flames of hate towards marginalised groups.

“It may feel like a life-time, but it wasn’t that long ago Theresa May was promising reform of the Gender Recognition Act. I am hopeful that once again we can build a consensus in this country that respects and supports trans people and their rights and wellbeing.”

Whittome went on to say that tackling transphobic narratives requires leadership and that the government must reject “toxic culture wars” and acknowledge that “trans people are human beings who just want to live decent, fulfilling lives”.

The co-chairperson of Labour for Trans Rights, Alex Charilaou, told PinkNews after the rally that Labour is not “where we want it to be” for the community.

“It’s painful to see how pervasive transphobia can be in the Labour Party,” they said, adding that the government “needs to listen to what trans people need” by listening to what Labour for Trans Rights and the wider trans community have been telling them about various issues, such as self-ID and the puberty blockers ban.

Giving a message to transgender Labour members and the community more widely, Charilaou continued: “Don’t give up hope. It is a bleak time at the moment but there are so many people, both in the Labour Party and [outside it] who love you and want trans people to go from strength to strength. Things will get better.”

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