The Supreme Court ruling of April 2025 caused considerable fear and distress amongst transgender people living in the UK and their loved ones. I am acutely aware of the very real harm this climate is causing to individuals and their families. It is particularly alarming that there have been reports of trans people seeking to leave the UK as they no longer feel safe here.

I share concerns that the latest guidance from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) will only further harm and marginalise trans people and risks excluding them from facilities they have used without incident for a long time. The government’s own equality impact assessment acknowledges the widely negative impact it is likely to have on trans rights: from excluding trans people from facilities to outing them without consent and safeguarding risks for trans women forced to use men’s services.

It specifies that trans women should not be permitted to use women’s facilities in places such as hospitals, shops, and restaurants. It also stipulates that people may be asked to confirm their birth sex where a service provider considers it “necessary and proportionate” to do so. Requiring trans people to confirm their birth sex in this way is an unacceptable infringement of their human rights: in particular, their right to privacy and dignity.

I also worry about the broader consequences of this decision for AFAB women who may not conform to traditional notions of femininity. This guidance could have worrying implications for their dignity, public perception and safety.

Trans people deserve to live with the dignity, freedom and safety to participate fully in public life. This guidance represents a significant step away from this aspiration. I recently raised my concerns in Parliament around the EHRC proposals, the implications for trans people and the wider LGBTQ+ community and the need for trans-inclusive guidance on sex-based spaces.

I have signed Early Day Motion 240, aiming to disapprove the draft Code of Practice for Services, public functions and associations laid before the House of Commons on the 21st May. I have also added my name to Early Day Motion 1251, which recognises that transgender transition liberates trans people to be their true selves, condemns baseless fearmongering in the media, and calls on the Government to fulfil its statutory public sector equality duty to trans people.

I will continue to advocate firmly to ensure that trans people, and all members of the LGBTQ+ community, are able to participate fully in public life as their authentic selves, free from discrimination, and welcomed and respected accordingly.