Latest news with #2010EqualityAct
Western Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Western Telegraph
Labour set to cancel women's conference over Supreme Court transgender ruling
The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will be asked on Tuesday to postpone the event, which is due to take place in September, because the 'only legally defensible alternative' would be to restrict attendance to biological women. The NEC will also be asked to make clear that all-women shortlists should be restricted to biological females. This is the joint statement from myself as Trans Officer for LGBT Labour, @Lab4TransRights and @PrideInLabour. — Georgia Meadows (@MsGrgaMeadows) May 19, 2025 The Supreme Court ruled in April that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Labour had previously operated its 'positive action' measures on the basis of self-identification, allowing transgender women to take part. A leaked advice paper produced for the NEC meeting recommended postponing the women's conference on September 27 because 'there is a significant risk of legal challenge to the event as it currently operates' and 'there may be protests, direct action and heightened security risks' if it goes ahead. That could carry a 'political risk' of overshadowing the party's showcase autumn conference which begins the following day. The recommendation in the paper is to postpone the women's conference pending a wider review of positive action measures. The paper also says the party should issue guidance to make clear that all-women shortlists can only apply to 'applicants who were biologically female at birth'. Labour did not use all-women shortlists at the last general election. It is understood Labour will respect the Supreme Court judgment and comply with statutory guidance when it is published. Ministers will consider the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice when a draft is submitted by the body. The Labour for Trans Rights group, along with Pride in Labour and LGBT+ Labour's trans officer, Georgia Meadows, condemned the NEC paper and its recommendations. They said: 'It is a blatant attack on trans rights and is seemingly an attempt to isolate trans people even further within the Labour Party and the labour movement more widely.' The Labour Women's Declaration group, which backs 'sex-based rights', said cancelling the conference would be a 'knee-jerk reaction'. A spokesperson told the LabourList website: 'We are shocked that hundreds of women in the Labour Party might be prevented from meeting at conference because the NEC would prefer to disadvantage all women rather than to exclude the very small number of trans-identified men who may wish to attend the women's conference.'
Leader Live
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Labour set to cancel women's conference over Supreme Court transgender ruling
The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will be asked on Tuesday to postpone the event, which is due to take place in September, because the 'only legally defensible alternative' would be to restrict attendance to biological women. The NEC will also be asked to make clear that all-women shortlists should be restricted to biological females. This is the joint statement from myself as Trans Officer for LGBT Labour, @Lab4TransRights and @PrideInLabour. — Georgia Meadows (@MsGrgaMeadows) May 19, 2025 The Supreme Court ruled in April that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Labour had previously operated its 'positive action' measures on the basis of self-identification, allowing transgender women to take part. A leaked advice paper produced for the NEC meeting recommended postponing the women's conference on September 27 because 'there is a significant risk of legal challenge to the event as it currently operates' and 'there may be protests, direct action and heightened security risks' if it goes ahead. That could carry a 'political risk' of overshadowing the party's showcase autumn conference which begins the following day. The recommendation in the paper is to postpone the women's conference pending a wider review of positive action measures. The paper also says the party should issue guidance to make clear that all-women shortlists can only apply to 'applicants who were biologically female at birth'. Labour did not use all-women shortlists at the last general election. It is understood Labour will respect the Supreme Court judgment and comply with statutory guidance when it is published. Ministers will consider the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice when a draft is submitted by the body. The Labour for Trans Rights group, along with Pride in Labour and LGBT+ Labour's trans officer, Georgia Meadows, condemned the NEC paper and its recommendations. They said: 'It is a blatant attack on trans rights and is seemingly an attempt to isolate trans people even further within the Labour Party and the labour movement more widely.' The Labour Women's Declaration group, which backs 'sex-based rights', said cancelling the conference would be a 'knee-jerk reaction'. A spokesperson told the LabourList website: 'We are shocked that hundreds of women in the Labour Party might be prevented from meeting at conference because the NEC would prefer to disadvantage all women rather than to exclude the very small number of trans-identified men who may wish to attend the women's conference.'
South Wales Argus
20-05-2025
- Politics
- South Wales Argus
Labour set to cancel women's conference over Supreme Court transgender ruling
The party's ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) will be asked on Tuesday to postpone the event, which is due to take place in September, because the 'only legally defensible alternative' would be to restrict attendance to biological women. The NEC will also be asked to make clear that all-women shortlists should be restricted to biological females. This is the joint statement from myself as Trans Officer for LGBT Labour, @Lab4TransRights and @PrideInLabour. — Georgia Meadows (@MsGrgaMeadows) May 19, 2025 The Supreme Court ruled in April that the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. Labour had previously operated its 'positive action' measures on the basis of self-identification, allowing transgender women to take part. A leaked advice paper produced for the NEC meeting recommended postponing the women's conference on September 27 because 'there is a significant risk of legal challenge to the event as it currently operates' and 'there may be protests, direct action and heightened security risks' if it goes ahead. That could carry a 'political risk' of overshadowing the party's showcase autumn conference which begins the following day. The recommendation in the paper is to postpone the women's conference pending a wider review of positive action measures. The paper also says the party should issue guidance to make clear that all-women shortlists can only apply to 'applicants who were biologically female at birth'. Labour did not use all-women shortlists at the last general election. It is understood Labour will respect the Supreme Court judgment and comply with statutory guidance when it is published. Ministers will consider the Equality and Human Rights Commission's code of practice when a draft is submitted by the body. The Labour for Trans Rights group, along with Pride in Labour and LGBT+ Labour's trans officer, Georgia Meadows, condemned the NEC paper and its recommendations. They said: 'It is a blatant attack on trans rights and is seemingly an attempt to isolate trans people even further within the Labour Party and the labour movement more widely.' The Labour Women's Declaration group, which backs 'sex-based rights', said cancelling the conference would be a 'knee-jerk reaction'. A spokesperson told the LabourList website: 'We are shocked that hundreds of women in the Labour Party might be prevented from meeting at conference because the NEC would prefer to disadvantage all women rather than to exclude the very small number of trans-identified men who may wish to attend the women's conference.'
Glasgow Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Glasgow Times
Supreme Court gender case battle cost Scottish Government almost £160,000
This came after an earlier legal challenge from the campaign group For Women Scotland cost the Government £216,000. The bills were revealed in a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives. In April, the UK's highest court ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. The dispute centred on whether someone with a gender recognition certificate recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Act. John Swinney has said he accepts the Supreme Court's judgment (Jane Barlow/PA) First Minister John Swinney has said he accepts the court's ruling and the Government is in discussion with the Equality and Human Rights Commission about its implications for the Scottish public sector. For Women Scotland had brought a series of challenges over the definition of 'woman' in Scottish legislation mandating 50% female representation on public boards. The last step of these ended in the Supreme Court ruling, which the campaign group's supporters hailed as a 'watershed for women'. In the freedom of information response, the Scottish Government indicated the total bill may rise further than £157,816 as final costs have not been decided. The bulk of the sum was taken up by 'counsel fees'. Conservative MSP Tess White said: 'It will rightly stick in the throat of taxpayers that they are picking up a huge legal tab for the SNP's needless and humiliating court defeat. 'John Swinney's party threw good money after bad in a doomed attempt to defend their reckless gender policy which betrayed women. 'They dug their heels in defending the indefensible to the highest court in the land, instead of accepting that gender self-ID was a dangerous fallacy that ignored the legal rights of women and girls.' The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
Leader Live
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Leader Live
Supreme Court gender case battle cost Scottish Government almost £160,000
This came after an earlier legal challenge from the campaign group For Women Scotland cost the Government £216,000. The bills were revealed in a freedom of information request by the Scottish Conservatives. In April, the UK's highest court ruled the terms 'woman' and 'sex' in the 2010 Equality Act 'refer to a biological woman and biological sex'. The dispute centred on whether someone with a gender recognition certificate recognising their gender as female should be treated as a woman under the 2010 Act. First Minister John Swinney has said he accepts the court's ruling and the Government is in discussion with the Equality and Human Rights Commission about its implications for the Scottish public sector. For Women Scotland had brought a series of challenges over the definition of 'woman' in Scottish legislation mandating 50% female representation on public boards. The last step of these ended in the Supreme Court ruling, which the campaign group's supporters hailed as a 'watershed for women'. In the freedom of information response, the Scottish Government indicated the total bill may rise further than £157,816 as final costs have not been decided. The bulk of the sum was taken up by 'counsel fees'. Conservative MSP Tess White said: 'It will rightly stick in the throat of taxpayers that they are picking up a huge legal tab for the SNP's needless and humiliating court defeat. 'John Swinney's party threw good money after bad in a doomed attempt to defend their reckless gender policy which betrayed women. 'They dug their heels in defending the indefensible to the highest court in the land, instead of accepting that gender self-ID was a dangerous fallacy that ignored the legal rights of women and girls.' The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
