A legal challenge has been launched against new guidance on single-sex spaces on the day it came into force. The Good Law Project is seeking to block the code of practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), with backing from Labour MPs including those aligned with Andy Burnham.
Guidance confirms biological sex basis
The new code confirms that for a service to be classed as single-sex under the Equality Act, it must be used on the basis of biological sex. This means toilets, changing rooms, hospital wards, and refuges must be used according to birth sex, not gender identity.
The EHRC says it is responding to the April 2025 Supreme Court ruling that 'woman', 'man', and 'sex' in the Equality Act refer to biological sex at birth. The regulator stresses it is not creating new law but providing services like cafes and leisure centres with legally accurate guidance.
Legal action and political backing
The Good Law Project, a non-profit that uses legal action against the government, argues the guidance is unlawful. It is assisting an unnamed trans person and a trans-inclusive organisation in taking legal action against the code.
Nadia Whittome MP, who led efforts in Parliament to block the code in June, told Metro: 'The Code will lead to the segregation and exclusion of trans people, and will subject many others to gender policing based on stereotypes. It is harmful and unworkable.' She added: 'Despite 1 in 4 MPs signing my motion opposing the guidance, it is now coming into force without any vote in Parliament taking place.'
Almost 170 MPs backed her Early Day Motion against the guidance. Labour MP Richard Quigley welcomed the legal challenge, saying the guidance 'has created nothing but confusion and anxiety and appears contradictory when even light scrutiny is applied'. Backbencher Kim Johnson said: 'The Good Law Project is right to warn that this guidance is incredibly dangerous and likely to cause unlawful discrimination.'
Liberal Democrat MPs Vicki Slade and Tom Gordon, and Green Party deputy leader Rachel Millward, also signalled opposition. Millward said the guidance left 'trans people facing the very real prospect of being excluded from essential services and public spaces'.
Good Law Project's challenge
The Good Law Project has written a pre-action letter to the government and EHRC. Its challenge focuses on parts of the code advising that services for both cis and trans women must also be provided to cis men, or be 'very likely' discriminatory. The guidance also says non-single-sex services 'must be open to all service users'.
The campaigners argue the EHRC's reasoning is flawed, as trans-inclusive services may be legally justified. They claim the code's blanket approach excluding trans women from all women's services violates human rights.
In February, the Good Law Project lost a legal challenge against the EHRC's interim update on transgender inclusion, with a judge ruling no error of law. The group is vowing to continue that challenge, focusing on workplace toilets and changing provision. Their trans rights lead, Jess O'Thomson, said: 'It's difficult to believe just how far backwards our government has gone on trans human rights. This Labour government pushed through its transphobic guidance in the face of opposition from many MPs, including nearly a hundred of its own backbenchers. It's not just immensely harmful. We think it's unlawful, and completely against human rights. So this challenge is absolutely essential.'
Support for the code
Sex-based rights groups have welcomed the code, saying it offers practical instruction for organisations managing single-sex spaces. Maya Forstater of Sex Matters said: 'The law is clear and the code is practical, giving many examples that apply to everyday services.'
An EHRC spokesperson said: 'We are unable to comment on any threat of legal action at this stage.' A Government spokesperson said: 'We cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings. It would be inappropriate for us to do so.'
