A women's health campaigner and former local Labour women's officer has been banned from the party's women's conference because she is trans. Steph Richards, 74, said she is 'gutted' to have been effectively labelled a man by the party which she said once selected her as a candidate from an all-women shortlist.
Background and Previous Involvement
Steph Richards first joined her local Portsmouth Labour branch in 2018 and attended the party's women's conference in 2022. She later became the local party's women's officer, organised marches around violence against women and girls, and campaigned for a Women's Health Hub for Portsmouth. In 2023, she was honoured with an Inspirational Woman of Portsmouth Award. Labour also picked her from an all-women shortlist to stand as their candidate in Fratton ward, Portsmouth, at the 2024 local elections.
The Ban and Supreme Court Ruling
Labour voted last year to exclude trans women from taking part in formal proceedings at the women's conference in Liverpool this September following the Supreme Court ruling on sex. The ruling determined that the term 'women' in the Equality Act referred to biological sex at birth and that a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) does not make a person legally a woman in respect of single-sex spaces. Prior to the ruling, Labour allowed people who self-identified as women, including trans women, to attend.
Steph, who has a GRC and is post-operative, said: 'I'm appalled if I'm really honest. I deserve to be a delegate there. I've done everything to make me happy as a woman and I get treated like this.' She added: 'One year the Labour Party are telling me, 'Steph, you're a woman', and literally two years later, they're saying, 'you're a man, and you're banned'.'
Impact on Expertise and Union Boycott
Steph, who served as CEO of an endometriosis charity, said the conference will miss out on her vital expertise on women's health challenges. She said: 'I'm also sorry for all the delegates that's going to women's conference this year, because they're being robbed of my expertise in areas around pregnancy, baby loss, violence against women and girls.' Four powerful Labour unions – Unison, Aslef, Usdaw, and the Musicians' Union – are boycotting the event over the ban.
Labour's Response
A Labour Party spokesperson said: 'Labour is committed to advancing women in politics and to providing opportunities for all members to network, debate and contribute. Labour's Women's Conference reflects our commitment to addressing the underrepresentation of women in the Party, inclusion for all, and compliance with the law.'
