Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been urged to act immediately to introduce legislation protecting trans equality, or bear responsibility for what follows, as trans advocacy groups warn the new Code of Practice is 'unworkable'.
Groups Sound Alarm
TransActual, Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, and Scottish Trans — three of Britain's foremost trans advocacy groups — have cautioned Starmer that the Code of Practice fails to safeguard trans people's ability to participate fully in society, does not support organisations wishing to remain inclusive, and falls short of meeting the UK's domestic and international human rights commitments.
Numerous MPs have already voiced concerns, with over 130 signing an Early Day Motion seeking to reject the Code. The motion was tabled by Labour MP Nadia Whittome, who said her fellow MPs 'have a responsibility to our trans constituents to resist' the code, which was updated in May.
Whittome argued that the code 'will exclude trans people from services and facilities that they have long used without issue, putting them at increased risk of harassment and violence, and effectively pushing them out of public life.' She added: 'It ushers in an era of enforced segregation for trans people, the policing of which will be outsourced to service providers, including businesses, charities and public bodies.'
Government's Own Assessment
The government's own Equality Impact assessment highlights risks of discrimination, physical harm, and restricted access to essential services for trans people, as well as dangers of appearance-based gender policing to public safety.
Helen Belcher, Managing Director of TransActual, said: 'Labour's bathroom ban is an affront to the spirit and intent of the Equality Act. It has turned decades-old settled policy on how trans people should be treated into a mess of contradictory, harmful and incoherent rules. It is past time for the Prime Minister to intervene.'
Alexandra Parmar-Yee, Director of Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, added: 'We have been very clear that allowing this situation to continue is a political choice, and that the government must now take responsibility and legislate to fix our broken framework for trans equality.'
Vic Valentine, Scottish Trans Manager at Equality Network, urged the PM to act now to prevent 'untold harm' to trans people in the UK. 'If all services ran how this Code says they should, it would cause untold harm to trans people across Britain. Rather than letting that come to pass, the Prime Minister should act now to prevent it – whether that means changing the Code, or changing the law.'
Government Response
The Government maintains that trans people are still protected by the Equality Act, and the draft Code is clear that trans people should not be left without services to use. A Government spokesperson said: 'The Equality Act enshrines our rights in law so that people can live free from discrimination and harassment. Our focus has always been making sure organisations have clear, accessible guidance on how to implement the law, which is what the Code of Practice delivers. Now we are in a 40-day laying period for the draft code for parliamentary scrutiny, and MPs will be able to continue to raise questions to Ministers in the usual way during this time.'
