Green Party Councillors Present at Controversial Protest
Several Green Party councillors attended a transgender rights rally outside Hackney Town Hall on July 13, 2026, where protesters were filmed repeatedly throwing darts at an effigy of Andy Burnham. The demonstration called on the Green-run Hackney Council to refuse to implement guidance on single-sex spaces issued after last year's Supreme Court ruling defining sex as biological sex.
According to a report by The Times, activists stabbed darts into the head and eye of the effigy of Burnham, who has supported both the Supreme Court ruling and the Equality and Human Rights Commission's (EHRC) guidance on single-sex services. Leaflets distributed at the protest claimed transgender people would face "increased discrimination, more harassment and worse mental health" due to the EHRC guidance, and urged campaigners to respond with "non-compliance, trans defiance."
Councillors Identified at the Rally
Laura-Louise Fairley, deputy cabinet member for SEND support, and Alastair Binnie-Lubbock, cabinet member for regeneration, planning and inclusive neighbourhoods, addressed the demonstration. Florence Schechter, cabinet member for finance, resident services and digital, and Green councillor Jas Crowe were also reportedly present. It is not suggested that any of the councillors were involved in using the darts.
The leaflets called on Hackney Council to "issue a statement saying it will not police the use of single-sex facilities" and to "join the Green Party and many MPs, including some from Labour, in opposing the guidance."
Widespread Criticism of the Event
Heather Binning of the Women's Rights Network criticised the event, telling The Times: "Members of the council cabinet chose to stand alongside activists at an event where an effigy of the likely incoming prime minister was used as a target for darts on a war memorial. That goes far beyond legitimate political protest. It normalises intimidation, glorifies hostility towards political opponents and debases our democratic culture."
A spokeswoman for the Green Women's Declaration, a party group supporting sex-based rights, said: "Thousands of people voted Green in Hackney hoping for a competent, careful council that will save the environment, not one in thrall to performative trans rights activism. Zoë Garbett and her councillors need to uphold the law on single-sex spaces. Governing for all means representing everyone in Hackney, including women whose rights deserve protection, not pandering to activist bullies with the loudest voices."
Context of the EHRC Guidance
The EHRC code of practice was produced after the Supreme Court ruled last year that, for the purposes of the Equality Act, the term "sex" refers to biological sex. The guidance has been controversial, with transgender rights groups arguing it marginalises trans people. Supporters of the Labour Women's Declaration group, including four former Hackney councillors, have written to the council's chief executive urging clarity on whether the authority intends to implement the law.
Hackney Green Group Response
Responding to the criticism, a Hackney Green Group spokesperson said: "A number of Green councillors attended the event in order to reiterate their solidarity with the trans community, including holding a minute silence for transgender people who have lost their lives due to societal prejudice and violence. This event was held in the context of the revised EHRC guidance, which works to segregate trans people from public life, exposes them to risk and makes unfeasible asks of businesses, services, and public bodies. Any protest involves various organisations and individuals. There is no collective responsibility for each attendee to account for the actions of other attendees."
The Express has contacted the councillors for comment.
