More than 300 female Labour Party members are due to quit today over a decision to include transgender candidates on all-women shortlists even if they have not legally changed gender.
Under the recent change to shortlist rules - which are used to select candidates, from parliamentary elections down to local government - Labour will “guarantee candidates the right to self-identify as female without the need for a medical test or other certification showing that they [have] biologically changed sex”, reports the Daily Mail.
A draft resignation letter penned by Labour activist group Mayday4Women warns that its supporters “cannot continue to be in a party that takes women for granted”.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The letter, sent to The Times, continues: “We are dismayed at the Labour Party’s support for sex as a self-identified characteristic for all-women shortlists.
“We now face a situation in which any man can simply claim to be a woman and be included on all-women shortlists.
“Sex is not a self-defined characteristic and it is disingenuous for Labour to pretend that it is. Self-identity - ‘I am what I say I am’ - reeks of male authority and male supremacy.
“In contrast, women are rarely believed about the sexual violence we face or about harassment on the streets and domestic violence in the home. It is for that reason that we - alongside 300 other women - are resigning from the Labour Party today.”
A party spokesperson responded: “All women shortlists are and always have been open to all women, which of course includes trans women. The Labour Party recognises the vital importance of self-definition for the trans community. The Labour Party continues to have an inclusive definition of women.”
Leigh Drennan, a councillor and vice-chair of Young Labour, believes much of the debate relates to “casual transphobia”.
Speaking to The Observer, he said: “I think that the overwhelming majority of the Labour Party certainly support the inclusion of trans women on all-women shortlists. In 40 years’ time people will look back and view campaigns for the exclusion of trans women as bizarre.”
-
An introvert's dream? Flu camps that offer £4,400 to spend two weeks aloneUnder The Radar A fortnight in isolation may not be as blissful as it sounds
-
Can Trump put his tariffs on stronger legal footing?Today's Big Question Appeals court says 'emergency' tariffs are improper
-
Film reviews: The Roses, Splitsville, and TwinlessFeature A happy union devolves into domestic warfare, a couple's open marriage reaps chaos, and an unlikely friendship takes surprising turns
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
Anti-trans scandal roils major LGBTQ+ literary prize as authors withdraw en massein the spotlight Multiple nominees for the UK's premier queer writing award have removed themselves from contention to protest the inclusion of a self-proclaimed 'trans-exclusionary radical feminist' in their ranks
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum
-
What difference will the 'historic' UK-Germany treaty make?Today's Big Question Europe's two biggest economies sign first treaty since WWII, underscoring 'triangle alliance' with France amid growing Russian threat and US distance
-
Mortgage reform: is Rachel Reeves betting the house on City rules shake-up?Today's Big Question Reforms could create up to 36,000 additional mortgages next year
-
Corbynism returns: a new party on the LeftTalking Point Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana's breakaway progressive party has already got off to a shaky start
