Reflecting on the Liberal Democrat’s Party Conference which took place from 15th-17th September, Chair of the LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, Charley Hasted, spotlights the issue of trans rights by reflecting on the Party’s commitment to trans rights.
At Party Conference, Liberal Democrat members stood in solidarity with the trans community, and LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, posing with the ‘UK’s largest trans flag’ in front of the conference hall, and later at the infamous Liberal Democrat gathering: Glee Club.
Charley Hasted
Chair of the LGBT+ Liberal DemocratsA History of Inclusivity and Advocacy – LGBT+ Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats Autumn Conference has always been a highlight of my year. It is a place where I have felt safe and welcomed. As Chair of LGBT+ Lib Dems, I have strived to ensure that this safety and welcome is extended to others. I particularly enjoy the official debates, late-night discussions where we set the world to rights, ,discovering what people are passionate about in the fringe events and of course the cheerful self-deprecation at Glee Club.
Moreover, I am proud of the LibDem record on LGBT+ rights and how we have faced up to the challenges for LGBT+ people today, both domestically and internationally. These challenges include the discrimination faced by LGBT+ people who rely on social care due to a lack of training, the detention of LGBT+ asylum seekers in facilities where their gender identity or sexuality makes them unsafe, the lack of funding and support for the bi community, efforts to end HIV transmission, and the needs of LGBT+ people in rural areas who often experience higher rates of mental illness and other negative effects of isolation.
This is before we even consider the ongoing demonisation of trans people in the UK. I have friends who are either planning to or have already left the UK in search of tolerance. With waiting lists for trans healthcare approaching a decade long, it’s no surprise that people leave or self medicate so they can get on with their lives.
A Threat to Party Values
I believe that one of the greatest assets the Liberal Democrats have is that any member has the ability to submit policy. This means that issues which can, and have been, overlooked or oversimplified in other parties can be given centre stage in ours. I’m also always pleased by how many of our MPs have a willingness to listen. It is a party where policy is led by evidence and not populism or fear-mongering.
So, naturally, I was concerned to be told that an external group of so-called ‘gender critical’ activists claiming to represent women in the party had threatened legal action if they did not get a stall at the conference.
As the news filtered out, I received messages from people expressing both upset and support. Groups within the party contacted me to ask how they could help. The leadership was proactive in getting in touch to explain and work with us to mitigate harm. At the conference itself, other exhibitors chose to display their solidarity with us. Last Sunday our 15-metre-long trans flag was unveiled outside the conference centre by hundreds of our members, with the full knowledge and support of the leadership. A number of MPs proactively sought us out to ask how they could support us. We had meetings with leaders in the party, including Christine Jardine MP, who has shown allyship throughout my time as Chair. It was, in short, my party at its absolute best.
The Need for Clarity in Political Spaces
However, this does not change the fact that the party was forced to allow a stall that so definitively contradicts our values. Reflecting on this, I cannot help but feel that the time has come for Parliament to issue some clarity on the protection of belief as it applies to membership organisations like political parties.
UK courts have now created a situation where, if we follow things to their logical conclusion, anarchists could join the Conservative Party if they wanted to, and it would be illegal to remove them. There are hundreds of other examples of protected beliefs, but if political parties cannot remove groups or individuals who radically disagree with their aims or values because of a protected belief, then is there any point in having political parties anymore? I can’t believe that’s what Parliament intended when the Equality Act was passed.
For more of Chamber UK’s analysis of the UK Party Conferences, stay tuned here.