UK Left-Wing Parties Accused of Undermining Women's Rights

An 'unholy alliance' of left-wing parties in the United Kingdom is facing accusations of plotting to undermine established women's rights. The Liberal Democrats recently adopted a party policy to 'restore trans rights' at their annual conference, a move supported by leader Ed Davey. Concurrently, the Green Party is set to consider a motion that could amend the Equality Act, potentially granting 'gender-neutral' or 'gender-fluid' people new legal protections, which critics argue could dilute protections for biological women.

The controversy follows an earlier attempt by Labour MPs to block guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) regarding single-sex spaces. Women's rights campaigners had viewed a Supreme Court ruling in April 2025 as a definitive stance on protecting women-only spaces. However, these groups now allege that trans activists, in coordination with left-wing parties, are seeking to circumvent this ruling and the subsequent EHRC guidance.

Shadow women and equalities minister Joy Morrissey stated that Labour, the Lib Dems, and the Greens appear to be collaborating in their efforts to erode the principle of single-sex spaces and disregard women's concerns. She asserted that the Conservative party would continue to defend women's rights against this perceived coalition.

The Liberal Democrats' new policy calls for the scrapping of the EHRC guidance, which mandates that single-sex facilities such as toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, and refuges should be utilized based on a person's birth sex rather than their identified gender. The party's members overwhelmingly supported replacing this guidance with a pro-trans code that emphasizes inclusivity and safety for all in public facilities. The adopted policy also affirms that 'trans women are women' and 'trans men are men,' and that the rights of women and trans people are not in competition. Some members at the conference expressed a desire to go further, with one suggesting the abolition of all women-only spaces. Following the vote, two party members resigned, with one characterizing the Liberal Democrats as a 'horrible party full of deranged extremists.' Dr. Zoe Hollowood, chair of Liberal Voice for Women, expressed disappointment with the party's decision, stating it would relegate women to 'second-class citizens.'

Meanwhile, the Green Party's upcoming conference agenda includes a motion proposing to amend the Equality Act to establish 'gender identity' as a protected characteristic, alongside non-binary, gender-fluid, and other gender diverse identities. The motion also suggests modifying the protected characteristic of biological sex to 'recognize sex as bimodal rather than binary' and to allow for a person's sex to be changed at will. Furthermore, it aims to amend protections for women within the Equality Act to 'nullify the harm caused' to transgender individuals by the Supreme Court ruling. Another proposal within the motion seeks to grant 'protected-characteristic advocacy groups' a veto in the appointment of senior EHRC officials.

Joy Morrissey criticized the Green Party's proposals as an 'absurd attempt to give everybody some sort of victim status' and accused the party of engaging in divisive identity politics. Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, warned that such measures could lead to new legal protections for non-binary and gender-fluid individuals at the expense of women's rights, describing it as a worrying development for a liberal democracy.

A spokesperson for the Green Party noted that members submit a range of motions, with only a subset being debated and potentially becoming policy if passed by the conference.