The Labour Party in the United Kingdom will implement a ban on transgender women attending its Women’s Conference next year, subsequent to a thorough legal review initiated by the Supreme Court’s April ruling that ‘sex’ in the Equality Act pertains to biological sex rather than self-identified gender.
As reported by GB News on Saturday, the party’s National Executive Committee ratified the change on Friday.
As a result, biological males who identify as female will be precluded from attending keynote speeches, participating in policy debates, or voting on motions and committee elections.
They will still have the opportunity to visit exhibition spaces, attend fringe meetings, and join an evening reception when delegates meet in Liverpool.
According to a Labour Party spokesperson, the National Women’s Conference is scheduled for 2026, subsequent to a thorough legal review, reflecting the party’s commitment to rectifying the under-representation of women and adhering to legal requirements.
This decision has been met with resistance from Labour for Trans Rights, who has called upon the NEC to reverse the decision, labeling it “terrible”. The group expressed concern that “trans members, who have devoted years of service to the party, including canvassing and standing as candidates, are being disenfranchised from the party’s democratic processes”.
‘Ignored women’s rights‘
At the same time, Labour is confronting scathing criticism from Baroness Falkner of Margravine, who resigned last week as chair of the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
She contended that the party has compromised on women’s rights in the face of internal pressure.
“What really dismays me about the current state of the Labour Party is that they seem to have completely abandoned women’s rights.
The traditional party of rights, in my 50 years in this country, was the Labour Party.
The party of feminism,” she remarked. Baroness Falkner stated that Labour had “lost its footing” and was “cowed by their MPs” on transgender issues.
She also accused ministers of refusing to publish statutory EHRC guidance on implementing the Supreme Court’s ruling because they fear a backlash from the party’s own backbenches.
Another explanation is that they are intimidated by their MPs, who would champion trans self-identification and trans inclusion across all areas of society, including Section 3 of the Equality Act, and would seek to abolish the exemptions,” she told The Times.
The guidance, submitted three months ago, remains unpublished. Baroness Falkner maintained that it was legally sound: “I am so confident in the lawfulness of our code that I have never been so certain about anything before.”
The government indicated that it is taking the necessary time to ensure the document’s robustness. A spokesman said: “We are unapologetic about taking the time to produce legally sound guidance that will guide businesses and organisations, and ensure they have the safety and dignity they deserve; the alternative of issuing rushed and flawed guidance would be utterly catastrophic and fail women across our country.”
Criticism on grooming gang response
Baroness Falkner also attacked Labour’s record on tackling grooming gangs, arguing it had failed the most vulnerable women and girls. She cited Baroness Casey of Blackstock’s review, which found disproportionate numbers of Asian men were responsible for child sexual exploitation.
“When you have Louise Casey having to remind us that there is something profoundly wrong with the fact that it happens in pockets of society where predominantly my co-nationals, Pakistani men, are there, why were the women and girls so misbelieved?
“You would have expected this traditional party to be standing up for women and girls, particularly the most oppressed, the most vulnerable. And it took Louise Casey to remind them of that,” she said.
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