Majority of Labour voters support trans ruling, poll reveals
The Supreme Court ruling that trans women are not legally women under the Equality Act has been backed by a majority of Labour voters.
A poll of more than 2,500 people found that 42 per cent of Labour voters agreed with the judgment. A third, 32 per cent, disagreed with it, while 12 per cent did not know.
The findings, the first major polling since the ruling, suggest that Sir Keir Starmer's previously equivocal statements on transgender women are out of touch with the majority of Labour voters.
Some 48 per cent of Labour voters said it was acceptable to exclude transgender women from women's sports, 41 per cent said the same for women's prisons and 38 per cent agreed it should be the case for women's toilets, according to the survey, by Electoral Calculus and Find Out Now.
Labour voters were, however, concerned that the ruling would lead to an increase in discrimination against transgender people, with 57 per cent believing this would be a consequence. Only three per cent believed it would decline.
They were also split over JK Rowling's efforts to help fund organisations that advocate for women-only spaces, with 33 per cent against and 32 per cent in favour.
The Supreme Court ruled that when the term 'woman' was used in the Equality Act, it meant a biological woman and 'sex' meant biological sex.
It also made it clear that if a space or service was designated as women-only, a person who was born male but identified as a woman did not have a right to use it.
Overall, the public backed the ruling, with 59 per cent in favour, and 18 per cent disagreeing – a three to one majority.
Tory and Reform UK voters had the biggest majorities in favour, at 83 per cent and 88 per cent respectively. Lib Dem and Green voters were least likely to back the judgment, at 31 per cent and 24 per cent in favour.
Support for the ruling also declined with age. While 41 per cent of people aged 18 to 24 supported it, that rose to 68 per cent among those aged 55 to 64 and 76 per cent for those over 65.
More than half of all voters backed exclusions on transgender women from women's sports (58 per cent), women's prisons (52 per cent) and women's lavatories (51 per cent). That fell to 44 per cent for women's gyms and 41 per cent for rape crisis centres.
Lesbian groups were some of the biggest supporters of the Supreme Court ruling, with the LGB Alliance saying it was a 'landmark for lesbian rights in the UK'. But access to lesbian social groups ranked significantly lower among the public, with only 27 per cent saying trans women should be excluded from those groups.
Nearly half of voters believed that the ruling would have a positive impact on women's rights and safety (47 per cent), with 19 per cent disagreeing. Tory and Reform voters were most likely to believe it would have a positive impact, at 76 per cent and 67 per cent.
The Supreme Court ruling was prompted by the Scottish Government's Bill on gender recognition, which was challenged by For Women Scotland. However, despite its calls for stronger transgender rights, 53 per cent of Scots believed it would improve women's rights.
While most people agreed with the ruling, 41 per cent said it could increase discrimination towards transgender people compared with the 37 per cent who believed it would be unchanged or even reduced.
Green party voters (74 per cent) and Liberal Democrats (62 per cent) overwhelmingly believed that it could lead to an increase in discrimination. Labour voters come close behind at 57 per cent, compared to 32 per cent of Conservative voters and 27 per cent of Reform voters.
On Tuesday, Alex Sobel, a Labour MP and former frontbencher, said he was 'deeply concerned' by the implications of the Supreme Court decision, writing in a blog post that he was 'a firm believer of self determination, self-ID and allowing all to live their lives as long as they do not cause harm to others'.
He said: 'Our manifesto was clear that we must protect the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity. We need to stick to our manifesto commitment to modernise, simplify, and reform the intrusive and outdated gender recognition law to a new process. We must remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance.'
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