Trans teen protestor sends powerful message to Keir Starmer
A trans teenager who joined a protest at NHS England’s headquarters has urged the UK’s new prime minister Keir Starmer to “stop weaponising” trans youth.
A group of transgender teenagers begun occupying a ledge at Wellington House in central London on 28 June, urging political pundits to stop discriminating against trans youth. Several banners, including ones that read, “We are not pawns for your politics” and “trans kids deserve better” remain stuck to the entrance of the building.
Ahead of Starmer’s landslide win in the general election, one of the youngsters told PinkNews they have had enough of politicians using transgender kids to score political points.
“Stop chucking us under the bus,” the activist said. “We are people, not numbers. We are not pawns for you to use on a chess set to try [to] win. We are here and we are people in ourselves. We have individual lives. We have our own personalities.”
The protestors are urging those in power to bring back gender-affirming healthcare for trans children after physically reversible puberty blockers were banned in the UK for those under the age of 18.
In addition, they called on MPs to stop using them and so many other trans under-18s as a culture-war topic and a political football, with some saying: “It is our lives that are at stake.”
The young activist went on to say: “We are not just a number for you to chuck around to win this, win that, get this vote, get that vote. We deserve to have peace, we deserve to have dignity and we deserve to live and have healthcare.
“Please stop trying to weaponise our identity and our lives just so you can have a better world or a better life in your eyes.”
While Starmer has promised to bring “change” to UK politics, his record on trans rights has left some unsure about how supportive he is.
In a statement given to PinkNews, the new PM said: “Our manifesto commits to a full, trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, a strengthening of the law so that LGBT+ hate crime attracts tougher sentences, modernising the gender-recognition process and upholding the Equality Act.”
Despite this, he recently said he doesn’t believe transgender women have the right to use women-only spaces even if they have a gender recognition certificate.
