It’s been a difficult time in this party recently. I’ll admit that. Those of us who are trans and non-binary have been vilified not just in the media, but within our own party too. I understand why some people want to leave or resign. It’s not easy to stay.
But if there’s one thing I’ve learned from being on the exec for Plus, it’s that the majority of our members, MPs, and activists support our rights. Most of this party fundamentally disagrees with the Supreme Court ruling.
And let’s be honest, if you do agree with it, you’re in the wrong party. The ruling is dangerous for both cis and trans women, and we must work to overturn it. There are already cases of cis women being kicked out of toilets because they don’t fit patriarchal stereotypes of what a woman should look like. Trans people are being left with nowhere safe to go in public.
Real Liberals are angry about this and want the Equality Act updated so it can no longer be used to strip away equality. But I digress.
With the recent internal election diversity quota scandal, it has felt like an attack not from the grassroots, but from the hierarchy. I’ve seen the emails and messages this week from members resigning over it, and I understand their pain.
When I first joined the Lib Dems at 16, back in 2010, I was full of energy and optimism. I left during the coalition years. I’ll even admit that government was probably the most stable of my lifetime, but I couldn’t stomach working with the Tories.
After that, I drifted through politics. I spent time in Labour, helped during Ed Miliband’s leadership, and became more active under Corbyn. And yet, something always felt off.
Coming back to the Lib Dems in 2021 felt like being 16 again. Recharged, energised, ready to get stuck in. Politics on full battery.
If staying becomes too much for your wellbeing, I completely understand. It’s draining to see your identity treated as a debate or an inconvenience. But if we all leave, we leave the party to be destroyed by a small group who aren’t even an affiliated organisation.
After our autumn conference, we saw a surge in the polls. That was the conference where we defeated the exclusionary diversity quota changes and proved that we are, proudly, a pro-trans party.
Then the Green Party held their own conference. They banned their unaffiliated transphobic group and saw an even bigger surge that’s still continuing now. They’re growing because they showed courage. That could have been us if we’d fought back harder.
But we didn’t. We were let down by a hierarchy scared of legal threats and unwilling to challenge transphobia in court.
Let that sink in.
This small group keeps claiming that “trans rights are destroying the party.” The truth is, they are the ones destroying it.
The majority of our members and politicians agree with us. It’s frustrating, yes, but not hopeless.
Can we come back from this? Absolutely.
We need to make some choices that might seem “radical” to some. We should revoke the Returning Officer’s decision and restore the diversity quotas to what they were. If that small group wants to take it to court, let them. There is plenty of alternative legal advice suggesting the party’s current interpretation is wrong.
Next, Ed Davey should say clearly and proudly: “Trans women are women.” That simple statement would mean a great deal in this climate.
We will never win over Reform UK voters, and that’s fine. But we can win soft Tory, Labour, and Green voters, and there are far more of them than the entire Reform UK base. We are not going to attract them by backtracking on our morals. Labour tried that, and look at where it got them.
We need to be brave, not timid. We are the party of equality and liberalism, and that must mean standing firm for trans rights, not treating them as negotiable.
You can take direct action to help. Don’t let candidates who are trying to ruin the party with continued legal threats gain ground. LGBT+ Lib Dems have published a list of trans-friendly candidates who want to work and build up the party here.
You can also sign LGBT+ Lib Dems’ letter to Mike Dixon, the Returning Officer, and Ed Davey here.
And you can revoke permission for the party to hold your sex at birth here.
But the main reason to stay is each other.
As members, we’ve rallied around one another. On the Plus Exec, I’ve seen love and solidarity pour in from all corners of the party.
So please, stay.
Stay, and fight.
* Onyx Rist is Membership Development Officer of LGBT+ Lib Dems
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13 Comments
Many, many thanks Onyx. This member of 44 years really appreciates your post.
Thank you Onyx 🖤
Thank you Qnyx. We must defeat those who would destroy our party We have shown time and time again the majority of members of our Party support Trans Rights, and we will defeat them again on this.
Our leadership has been far too timid in standing up against this threat. Let’s hope Lucas’s appeal is successful and we can overturn this ridiculous decision which is diametrically opposed to what members voted for at Conference in September
Thank you for this, Onyx. It hurts more than I can say watching good people be driven away by the sheer incompetence of a tiny number of people with undue sway.
I say incompetence – Grey’s Law springs to mind: “any sufficiently advanced incompetence is indistinguishable from malice.”
Signed.
I agree with Onyx .. stay and keep our party true to its values 🙂
Well said 👏
The reason this issue arose now is because we have a bunch of Internal Elections coming up, something positive we can all do is Vote, & Vote for Trans candidates. That will have a far larger effect than Quotas.
Can I appeal again for less anger & fewer insults ? We all support Trans Rights, that is not in dispute. This is an argument about how far we can risk losing money to Campaigners who are genuinely Anti-Trans. Lets have less “Othering” in our comments please.
Straight white male here, party member for over 60 years (yes I’m old too).
Proud of our Party’s commitment to diversity and equality – and not just at Conference. In this year’s county elections, (at least) two of our successful candidates are trans, and some others are gay. Most voters don’t care about that, they’re looking for hard working councillors who’ll care about their issues. The few voters who are anti trans wouldn’t vote Liberal Democrat anyway.
So how can 2 people change the election rules DURING the election process in a way totally incompatible with our constitution, beliefs and the will of Conference? Nothing has changed in law since the start of the election process. If the rules were to be changed that should have happened BEFORE the election was called, or not at all.
If we can’t afford to fight legal battles with well funded anti trans groups, then the only Liberal alternative is to suspend entirely the diversity-quota rules until such time as we can confirm their legality through parliamentary and/or legal action. Even if that means the current election vote will have to be re-started.
To continue with a flawed election will cost us far more in lost current and future members and councillors, and damage belief that the Party’s policies are genuine.
If we don’t stick to our principles, what is the point of having them?
As I have said elsewhere our response to the anti trans groups should be ‘see you in court’. We have enough lawyers and barristers in the party to represent us pro bono and we can raise the money through crowd funding if necessary. These people have to be defeated and we must do everything it takes to do so. Kowtowing to this will only bring more of it. It would help if our esteemed leader weighed in and said we are going to seek changes to the Equality Act to change to law to what we all thought it was, before the SC judgement.
@Mick Taylor
Suppose we see them in Court & lose ?
Who Pays ?
@Paul Barker. We fight elections all the time. Should we not bother in case we lose and spend money for nothing?
Are you really saying we should simply roll over and play dead?
Principles are either worth fighting for or we should shut up shop and leave the field to the others.
I am sure you know that if you give in to bullies, they always come back for more. Trans rights are human rights and I for one believe we should stand up for them. And, yes, I would contribute towards any costs if we lost as, I’m sure, would many others.
Trans people and their allies should absolutely stay but Paul Barker is right. If we defend a case that we’re likely to lose someone has to pay. Could be up to half a million pounds. That could also impact future donors giving us money if they don’t like how we are using it.