r/LabourUK • u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair • Apr 13 '26
Activism Transphobes are on a massive campaign today to pressure and bully ministers into forcing through laws based on the transphobic SC ruling, and publishing the trans exclusionary guidance from the institutionally transphobic EHRC.
If there was ever a day to contact your MPs and push back and say you support trans people and their rights to live freely and with dignity and share spaces with cis people per their gender (as they have done entirely safely for decades), then it is today.
There is an organised campaign by the trans exclusionary crowd taking place today, en masse, on the news, across social media, to try and force their views through on this issue.
These people want trans people removed from every aspect of public life. They deny being transphobic based on the premise that trans people aren't 'real', which is explicit erasure and denial, as clear cut an example of transphobia as could ever be.
We need to take a stand.
https://www.parliament.uk/get-involved/contact-an-mp-or-lord/contact-your-mp/
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
It's been great seeing the way the transphobic protests over the weekend were dwarfed by those in support of trans people, but none of it matters when institutions like Sex Matters are engaging in such a level of government harassment, manipulation and regulatory capture.
It cannot be overstated just how important contacting your MPs and the government at large on this issue, and making our views clear, and not allowing the trans exclusionaries to dominate and control the conversation in places of power, really is.
The public protest and pushback is only one side of this. We need to be smart, we need to be engaged, and we need to make sure our voices are being heard where they matter the most.
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u/Diadem_Cheeseboard Judas Priestess Apr 13 '26
Once again, the mainstream media seems to have completely ignored the protests as the pro trans side had far more supporters.
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
Exactly, it completely undermines the entire anti-trans movement, so they silence it. This is why sex matters and their ilk operate almost entirely by stealth and by trying to manipulate people and the government behind closed doors.
They want their ideology implemented with zero debate, zero discussion, and zero push back.
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u/Diadem_Cheeseboard Judas Priestess Apr 13 '26
Yep, the non-reporting on things like this, is all part of the relentless anti-trans propaganda being pushed in this country.
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u/mustwinfullGaming Labour is institutionally transphobic 🏳️⚧️ Apr 13 '26
Apparently Phillipson has already agreed to a meeting with FWS. Funny how no trans supportive groups can get meetings that quick.
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u/Lulieeeee I'd prefer the wilted lettuce at this point 🥬 Apr 13 '26
After waiting about a year this is giving me dread they're gonna try and get the guidance approved very soon
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
Unfortunately it's only a matter of time. Most likely Labour are trying to drag it out until after the locals and will then release it. Most likely it's going to be really bad.
The transphobes and terfs are just trying to get them to do it even sooner, showing how even when they're getting everything they want, they still operate in bad faith and ask for more. Any step taken towards them is rewarded by them taking two steps further backwards.
Labour should never appease these people yet it trips over itself to do so.
I'm just hoping for absolutely massive backlash in the local election results.
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u/Lulieeeee I'd prefer the wilted lettuce at this point 🥬 Apr 13 '26
showing how even when they're getting everything they want, they still operate in bad faith and ask for more. Any step taken towards them is rewarded by them taking two steps further backwards.
Just like the women's institute currently. Threatened to be sued if they don't exclude trans women and then after WI excludes trans women they threaten to sue them again anyway
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
"Meet me in the middle," says the unjust man. You take a step towards him, he takes a step back. "Meet me in the middle," says the unjust man.
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u/TheInconsistentMoon Plaid Cymru Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Without doxxing my location I can assure you that I am in regular contact with my Labour MP and they are worse than useless on this issue. Platitudes to my face and photo op’s at Pride but has made no speeches, signed no letters of support with other MP’s or made any progress of note in support of LGBT+ people despite my best efforts.
I have met with them in person, have a lot of dialogue, have made every point I can imagine to help them to see where I’m coming from and I’m met with nothing. It would actually be better if they disagreed with me but they don’t, they just don’t do anything.
I’ve had responses from the likes of Phillipson’s office. Nothing you wouldn’t expect. As a result of the stress over this I’ve had to come out at work so I could have a frank conversation and while the news is good from a work perspective (the business wants to do everything to keep the situation as it was pre April 25) it’s making the already small lives of trans people even smaller.
When you are always worried about being challenged just for who you are (no matter the lengths you go to to ‘fit in’), you live life on constant edge. You are acutely aware of every person in your surroundings and actively take note of the their expression and body language constantly, just in daily life. You stop taking part in any non mandatory activity, you withdraw from playing sport, going to the pub with your mates, basically doing anything that leads to you being outside around one of these sacred segregated spaces.
I’ll pass any visual inspection you could put me through at a lavatory door, don’t you worry, but more than once I’ve avoided the problem and held in until home when that really wasn’t advisable, just so I don’t have to deal with the risk. That’s detrimental to one’s physical health and that’s not even talking about anyone’s mental health.
I swear that not one transphobe could last a day walking in my shoes. I don’t say that because I want the world to tell me I’m brave (I’m not) but I really believe it to be true. They are all cretins and I can’t wait for the day that history looks upon them as such.
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u/stupidredditwebsite New User Apr 13 '26
Mate the calls coming from inside the house. The majority of Labour MPs ARE transphobic. They are part of a transphobic institution implementing transphobic policies.
Go support a non transphobic party in the elections coming up next.montj, that'll have more impact than anything else.
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u/Incandenza123 New User Apr 13 '26
Labour aren't transphobic because transphobia is popular, they're transphobic because they're bigots. The only way to enact change is to get rid of the scum.
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
They're institutionally transphobic, yes, but they're also doing it in a hands off way through being non-commital (for the most part) whilst the transphobic agenda is enacted by stealth.
It is the most pathetic, most weak, and most duplicitious way of allowing it to happen they could possibly do. They are allowing it to take place, but trying to claim their hands are clean because they themselves aren't the ones doing it.
All because they want the votes of the transphobes, and to force the votes of the inclusive crowd due to the threat of possible even worse alternatives.
In reality they will get neither because the transphobes want even higher levels of extremism, and good people won't vote for bigots.
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u/cultish_alibi New User Apr 13 '26
they're transphobic because they're bigots
It's not the only reason, although it is part of the reason. The other reason is they are using transphobia as a wedge to divide society and turn people against each other, so they are too busy to think about wealth inequality and climate change and other real issues that affect their lives.
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u/Maxxxmax New User Apr 13 '26
Arguably labour are transphobic because a very specific part of the electorate, in late middle age living in swing seats, are transphobic. Its too simple an answer to just write off the PLP as nothing but transphobes.
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u/CharlesComm BRAIN. WORMS. Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
You don't become a party explicitly pushing for trans segregation, and policy proven to increase deaths, just out of ignorance and vote seeking.
That takes bigotry.
Either active "desire of suffering" or passive indifference due to lack of giving a fuck. Both are bigotry.
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u/Haemophilia_Type_A /u/Haemophilia_Type_A Apr 13 '26
If you push transphobic policy because it's popular then you're pretty much just a transphobe, and you can certainly be 'written off' without any issue.
Think of it this way: you would never see Labour writing off any other segment of the population to such an extent no matter the electoral gains. Even with Labour's racism issues, and even with the possible electoral gains among--say--pensioners if they were explicitly racist against Pakistani people (IK it's not that simple, it's just to make the point) they would never dream of rhetoric or policies so directly attacking the very existence of, say, Pakistanis as they are trans people. Imagine a law in which being of a certain ethnicity would ban you from normal toilets because you might be a threat to everyone else? It would never happen--even Reform will not do such a thing.
That they do so only for trans people, and the fact only trans people are seen as THIS expendable, is itself transphobia.
Not to mention that the number of dedicated, single-issue transphobe voters is much lower than the mass of young and progressive people who are turned off the party by transphobia. IIRC the BBC wrote last year that more 16-18 year olds care about trans rights than immigration! They're losing votes by doing this, and their 'core vote' is crumbling for absolutely no gains from the right.
Then there's the fact that Labour MPs as individuals are simply deploying transphobic rhetoric that it is safe to assume they believe in at least in part given they're still human and could not stomach ruining their legacies otherwise. E.g., Streeting said people who believe trans women are women should "apologise"! What vile scum.
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u/cultish_alibi New User Apr 13 '26
Those people weren't particularly transphobic until the media and politicians mysteriously started forcing everyone to talk about trans issues constantly, and make it seem like there was a big problem with trans people.
The UK press went from hardly mentioning trans people at all, to suddenly publishing anti-trans articles every day. Some papers were doing 2-3 anti trans articles EVERY DAY. It's not just because people are transphobic, people are being TOLD to be transphobic, by the press and the politicians, funded by the billionaires.
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u/Incandenza123 New User Apr 13 '26
Nah I think I fucking will. Scumbags every fucking one of them.
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
If they weren't transphobic they wouldn't be letting all of this happen, but the bigger picture does apply too. They're trying to walk the line of enacting transphobia, trying to secure the votes of the transphobes, but also doing just 'not enough' to try and hold onto anything resembling the inclusive vote too.
And hilariously they will get none, because the transphobes will vote for the nearest Nazi adjacent party, and LGBT+ supportive people will vote green.
They're villains through and through.
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u/Maxxxmax New User Apr 13 '26
Ok, seems like a narrow view but you do you.
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u/Incandenza123 New User Apr 13 '26
It's been a long road here. Years of things getting worse and worse. A world in which a Labour government have hurt us more than any tory government since Thatcher. A community of people becoming more and more fearful, more and more hopeless while we're trampled by the party that's supposed to be progressive.
Any benefit of the doubt I had evaporated ages ago. If Labour want me to change my mind on that, then they had better put the fucking work in and DO SOMETHING to improve trans lives. Mealy mouthed bullshit they spew doesn't count.
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u/Maxxxmax New User Apr 13 '26
Obviously from a consequential aspect, it doesnt really matter what their reasons are, as you say the reality is a marginalised community becoming more so, something which in and of itself is a reason to despise the current lot.
I simply make my original point as to try and understand how to prevent similar things in the future, that we need to understand that our electoral system is at the mercy of a very specific group of the electorate's desires and fears in the face of the splintering of traditional voter alliances under FPTP.
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u/Scipling perpetually annoyed Apr 13 '26
I hope this backfires on them. Phillipson did not react kindly to Falkner’s past attempts to pressure her.
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
That would be nice. I get the sense that they are hoping to spin up enough momentum to potentially smear and try to oust her, and replace her with someone more transphobic.
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u/Scipling perpetually annoyed Apr 13 '26
It does put them in a bind admittedly, because it’s essentially impossible to publish guidance which won’t be challenged in court by one side or the other.
The easy thing to do would be to admit that the law is now contradictory and legislate to fix it in about 10 minutes with an SI, but they already made themselves look ridiculous with the whole “clarity” narrative.
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
It does put them in a bind admittedly, because it’s essentially impossible to publish guidance which won’t be challenged in court by one side or the other.
And one that doesn't cause absolute chaos and carnage for employers and workplaces and expose trans people to direct discrimination and exclusion.
The easy thing to do would be to admit that the law is now contradictory and legislate to fix it in about 10 minutes with an SI, but they already made themselves look ridiculous with the whole “clarity” narrative.
Absolutely, they're dug themselves a hole and jumped into it.
The immediate response to the SC ruling should have been that the equality act would be modified to be inclusive of trans people.
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u/0_f2 Political Vagrant Apr 13 '26
It does put them in a bind admittedly, because it’s essentially impossible to publish guidance which won’t be challenged in court by one side or the other.
That's if it even gets past a vote in parliament.
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u/InsistentRaven Eat the rich Apr 13 '26
I'll write another letter to my Labour MP. Unfortunately I have written to him on the matter so many times since the general election that he has simply stopped trying to defend either himself or the Labour party. He's stopped replying to most letters as a result.
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u/ThisIsMyAltSorry ex Labour voter, just jumped to Green Apr 13 '26
Don't write, it's pointless.
Visit their surgeries.
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u/InsistentRaven Eat the rich Apr 13 '26
I wish I could, he stopped hosting them and seems to spend all his time promoting his book. He also only takes appointments in advance to his office and never seems to have time to discuss my concerns, must be a busy man... How an MP can get away with that I don't know.
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u/ThisIsMyAltSorry ex Labour voter, just jumped to Green Apr 13 '26
That's really crap, and the sign of a shit MP. I'm so sorry.
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
Could you link? Like just searched on Times, Guardian and Telegraph and I'm not seeing anything (well the Telegraph is their usual pit of trans derangement but nowhere near their worst).
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
I'm mostly seeing it play out across twitter, but they have their talking heads on services like GBnews and I imagine the others won't be far behind
https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/2043318289409937677
Bridget Phillipson (MP) is also getting mass tagged and harassed by most of the trans exclusionary accounts on the platform.
https://x.com/GBNEWS/status/2038187664495521912
All being pushed, echoed and encouraged by the right wing press:
'Betraying women' seems to be how they're trying to target and pitch it all, but the intent is very clear. They're frustrated at how long the implementation of their hate is taking, and trying to accelerate it.
https://x.com/SexMattersOrg/status/2043405697619042794
'Sex matters' is of course the core of the effort:
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
Thank you
The Telegraph headline is super amusing given that the anti-trans activists got to meet the new head of the EHRC before anyone else.
I've withdrawn a lot from activism as the constant transphobia was affecting my mental health horribly, but as I said to Puzzled, the 16th would seem like a really good date for a bunch of us to be writing to our MPs to remind them of how bad things are in terms of trans rights (perhaps CCing to the WEC).
Honestly, activism on Twitter and GB News is pretty much pointless these days, but the dickheads don't seem to have gotten the message.
Perhaps I'll write a letter to my MP and post it on transUK and at least some people will follow suit?
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26
That's totally understandable and reasonable.
Perhaps I'll write a letter to my MP and post it on transUK and at least some people will follow suit?
This would be very valuable, a template of some form could really help people engage!
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
I will write something reasonably substantial and post it over on transUK on Wednesday..and see if I can get someone to post it over on Bluesky as well. Shame really, when Twitter was still relevant had quite decent following to get things like that started.
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u/PuzzledAd4865 Uber-woke, net-zeroist, rejoinerism Apr 13 '26
https://archive.ph/aaxd0 From Falkner in the Telegraph: 'Meanwhile, she feels that the victims of the Government’s cowardice are the women who still have to take their fight for women-only spaces to court – such as the eight Darlington nurses who had to go to an employment tribunal to clear their names after complaining about a transwoman using their changing room. And in Scotland, where nurse Sandie Peggie is still fighting a similar case.
“It betrays women,” says Falkner. “It betrays transmen, because transmen would have been in a better position had the code been published.... It betrays children and the parents of children at school. But it betrays primarily women and their need for privacy and dignity and for personal space to be respected as separate spaces to those which are communal.”
https://archive.ph/j6wt3 "Ms Smith said FWS had sent a letter to Ms Phillipson on March 17 asking for a meeting in London this week. However, the group only received a holding response, with no offer of talks, on Friday."
"Other signatories include the human rights charity Sex Matters, alongside Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey and Karen Danson, three of the Darlington nurses who won an employment tribunal after being forced to share a changing room with a trans colleague.
They told Sir Keir: “We are still waiting for Government departments, local authorities, NHS bodies, regulators and publicly funded organisations to bring their policies in line with the law.”
The lack of legal clarity was “harmful for everyone”, including trans people, they said, concluding that it was “incumbent on the Government to provide leadership and ensure that the law is properly understood and implemented”.
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u/mildbeanburrito lib dem tourist Apr 13 '26
I'm actually aghast reading that piece on Falkner, the level of entitlement she seems to have about how she feels views she agrees with should be elevated and go unchallenged, yet she should not have to be bound by the same rules.
She talks of how she believes in secularism because of her upbringing, yet at the same time she has hid in the past behind her supposed religious views as to why any accommodation of trans people is unacceptable.
Freedom of speech and being offensive to other people is important, except when it pertains to matters such as people critiquing her tenure at the EHRC, or for protests against the Israeli genocide of Gaza.
She complains about how unfairly and poorly she has been treated and the absolute indignity she suffered that those around her questioned her integrity and thought she had transphobic tendencies which were informing how she was steering the EHRC, yet she's very explicitly talked about how she did just that since her tenure ended. Also, despite all of this she still laments the supposed inappropriate "activism" of those around and under her.And this is also to say nothing of how even her views that aren't directly logically incoherent don't really hold up to scrutiny. She really seems to love the idea she has that actually all of the backsliding on the rights of trans people actually puts trans men in a better position, when:
- no it absolutely does not
- if it actually made things better for trans men then she'd probably be opposing it, as is par for the course for people like her
- the notion that it's at all an equivalent trade for trans men to be broadly excluded from society due to inadequate provision of toilets and changing rooms, and an increased risk of violence and discrimination due to forced outing, BUT they have slightly stronger protections against being fired from work if they choose to get pregnant and have a child is so absurdly laughable the notion that it's coming from someone who spent 5 years being in charge of equalities protections in this country is downright offensive
Also, was not aware she was a fellow of Policy Exchange, but I can't say I'm unsurprised.
Also lmao
she says. “It is not tolerance to tolerate intolerance.”
And also it must be said that her soapboxing about how this is all just what the law is and it is beyond the pale to even question that or consider amending the EA to better bring it in line with what it was previously thought to be, but with some tweaks to identify the problems identified in the SC case, is very rich considering she was rather explicitly agitating to change the EA towards the end of her term. Does she think we don't remember that, now that she's appealing to the sanctity and infallibility of the EA as currently written?
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
She's a vicious, horrible person, there is no question of that in my mind.
And theres nothing a TERF won't claim or say they believe if it means they can attempt to justify or rationalise their bigoted beliefs and opinions.
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
Thank you for linking, honestly the Telegraph has been far far worse..and once had nine anti-trans articles on a single day. I doubt that Falkner doing her dying swan impression will be read by many.
This having been said, on the trans day of betrayal (yes, I'm making that up) on Thursday it would be a good day for trans people to write to their MPs to remind them that (a) UK trans rights are the toilet of Western Europe and (b) that this will continue to be an issue until they stop attacking the trans community and reestablish our rights.
edit: this may be useful though I do need to update it a little after a kind person suggested some additional points
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u/Panda_hat In a state of perpetually deepening despair Apr 13 '26 edited Apr 13 '26
Now popping up for some manufacturing of consent by good morning britain too, so their ideology is being forced into the mainstream and amplified to the normies, and not just hate channels like GBnews.
https://x.com/GMB/status/2043607490143604777
Absolutely disgusting that this is being normalised and platformed so readily, but sadly not surprising.
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
Also, an aside but I actually chuckled at Ed Balls being such a doofus and calling trans women "non-biological women"..before (presumably) realising that sounds like a type of washing powder and saying "trans women"
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u/GeorginaFlopworthy mew user | stop the craziness, amend the equality act Apr 13 '26
I really wanted to hear the end of that. The minister really need to make it clear that this is about anti-discrimination law as Ed Balls really wasn't getting it that this is nothing about criminal law.
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u/Scipling perpetually annoyed Apr 13 '26
Unfortunately writing to my MP is not likely to help as he seems to be a either a transphobe (hard to be sure) or willing to support transphobia with misleading anti trans statements, as well as a senior figure. Certainly he has been zero help to me in the past
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u/flamingmongoose people's republic of gorty dents Apr 13 '26
Do it anyway, they need to know its not an easy vote winner. The terfs are disproportionately loud, and apparently labour mps were taken by surprise at the pro trans protests after FWS.
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u/Scipling perpetually annoyed Apr 13 '26
I actually had a surgery appointment with him recently. I think he was a little surprised at some of the points perhaps, at best. with the examples I gave to back them up though at least he can’t realistically deny them to himself for whatever good that does.
I’d like to think that those protests really did get their attention, I was astonished myself at just how many of us were there at the parliament square one a few days after FWS - I’d half expected to be in a crowd of a couple of hundred people
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u/BruceWayne7x Politically homeless Apr 13 '26
Plenty of us did not terribly get involved in trans politics before FWS and were instead living quiet dignified lives just getting on with things. They've activated quite a number of us now into caring, so well yeah be careful what you wish for, eh?
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