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Labour MP Nadia Whittome criticises party’s direction on trans rights: ‘We’re continuing the rollbacks’

"Because the focus is on firefighting, we've gone backwards"

By Aaron Sugg

a head and shoulders shot of Nadia in white top and grey blazer with hair down
Nadia Whittome (Image: David Woolfall)

Labour MP Nadia Whittome has publicly criticised her party’s current direction on trans rights, warning that Labour risks continuing a pattern of regressive policy she says began under Conservative leadership.

This is in light of April’s Supreme Court ruling that the term ‘woman’ in UK law refers only to ‘biological women’, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s subsequent proposed bathroom ban for the trans community, prohibiting gender-diverse individuals from using toilets of the gender they identify as.

“We’re not focusing on the real problem” – Nadia Whittome

Speaking to The Independent, the 28-year-old said: “At the current rate the government is going, our legacy will be continuing the rollbacks of trans rights that began with the Conservatives.”

She added: “If we’re continuing to marginalise and scapegoat trans people, especially trans women, as a threat to other women, that means we’re not focusing on the real problem – men who are violent.”

The politician stressed that she is not planning to leave the Labour Party, but instead wants to push for progress from within. She said: “I want to see the government finally delivering a trans-inclusive conversion therapy ban.”

She also added the need for NHS access to fertility treatment for lesbian couples who, in many areas, must self-fund several IVF cycles before becoming eligible.

“Because the focus is on firefighting, we’ve gone backwards”

Whittome has been an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ in parliament since she joined the labour party in 2019.

Whittome furthermore said: “We would have been able to talk about these issues [ a few years ago], but because the focus is on firefighting, we’ve gone backwards. Now, we’re not in the position of even getting the basics right.

Last year, Health Secretary Wes Streeting introduced a ban on puberty blockers for trans youth and most recently Labour leader Keir Starmer has stated that he no longer believes trans women are women.

Last weekend, at Pride in London (7 July), the Mayor of London spoke out on the Supreme Court’s definition of ‘sex’. Speaking exclusively to Attitude Sadiq Khan said: “I’m fed up with trans people being used as a political football.”