A coalition of left-wing parties in the United Kingdom is facing accusations of attempting to undermine established women's rights through proposed policy changes regarding transgender protections and single-sex spaces. Critics allege an "unholy alliance" is forming between the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party, with potential implications from the Labour Party also cited.
The Liberal Democrats recently adopted a party policy at their annual conference to "restore trans rights," a move supported by party leader Ed Davey. This policy includes a call to scrap guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) on single-sex spaces, which came into effect in April and mandates that facilities like toilets and changing rooms be used based on birth sex rather than gender identity. Lib Dem members voted overwhelmingly to replace this guidance with a new code that they believe is inclusive and ensures safe access to public facilities for all.
The party's adopted policy states that "trans women are women" and "trans men are men," asserting that the rights of women and trans people are not in competition. However, some members at the conference reportedly expressed a desire to go further, with one individual suggesting the abolition of all women-only spaces.
Following the vote, two members reportedly left the Liberal Democrats, with one describing the party as "horrible" and filled with "deranged extremists." Dr. Zoe Hollowood, chair of Liberal Voice for Women, expressed disappointment, stating the adopted policy would "treat women as second-class citizens."
Meanwhile, the Green Party is set to consider a motion at its upcoming conference that could amend the Equality Act. This proposed motion aims to grant "gender-fluid" and "non-binary" individuals special legal status, potentially nullifying existing protections for biological women. The motion also seeks to change the protected characteristic of marriage to elevate "polyamorous" and "non-monogamous" relationships to the same legal standing.
According to proposals obtained by the Daily Mail, the Green Party motion advocates for "strengthening" the Equality Act 2010. It suggests modifying the protected characteristic of biological sex to "recognize sex as bimodal rather than binary" and to allow a person's sex to be changed at will. The motion also calls for the introduction of the protected characteristic of "Gender Identity" to complement, not replace, the existing characteristic of Gender Reassignment, explicitly including non-binary, gender-fluid, and other gender diverse identities.
Furthermore, the Green Party motion proposes that protections for women under the Equality Act be "specifically worded to nullify the harm caused" to transgender people by the recent Supreme Court ruling. Critics, including Shadow Women and Equalities Minister Joy Morrissey, have condemned these proposals as an "absurd attempt to give everybody some sort of victim status" and a move towards "divisive identity politics."
Helen Joyce, director of advocacy at the sex-based rights charity Sex Matters, voiced concerns that such policy changes could grant new legal protections to non-binary and gender-fluid individuals while simultaneously eroding rights previously secured for women. She stated, "It's extremely worrying that any party in a liberal democracy would wish to pursue policies that destroy women's hard-won rights."
Despite these criticisms, a Green Party spokesperson noted that members submit a range of motions, and only a small number are debated and become party policy if passed by the conference. Earlier this summer, Labour MPs were also noted for attempting to block the latest EHRC guidance on single-sex spaces.