Getting a thread ready for this case. Could have a big impact and implications for other parties and the UK in general. It seems the Lib Dems know they are going to lose see their latest gambit below to minimise blowback by admitting they were at fault.
Natalie's summary of the case. Gardening is still needed, but lots of sprouts growing now .
My crimes were wearing a Tshirt to an internal party meeting, to question why women's rights weren't central to the LibDems agenda and why trans rights were put over and above the rights and needs of all other groups.
Unfortunately following the wins by Lynne Featherstone around same sex marriage, the LibDems have allowed the LGBT faction to bully, harass and discriminate and target other members, the wider party are emboldening them instrad of holding them to account and the Libdems are currently suffering from overconfidence believing that they will gain so many seats in the election they eill not have to deal with these issues publicly or personally.
I've been in ongoing discussions with the party for many months and one of my asks have been for adequate training around the Equality act to be rolled out at all levels within the party and for all Libdem run councils, the Libdems are currently unable or unwilling to put this reasonable requests in place even thought it would benefit the women in the consistency, and would be helpful to the wider party and have no personal benefit for me personally.
I also believe a wide ranging review needs to be undertaken around the discrimination against GC people within the party and the culture that has enabled and created it, again the party are unwilling to hold a mirror up to the behaviour that has been comdoned by the highest levels of the party.
I have had ongoing targeting since 2016, with a disciplinary panel in 2018 banning me from any party role for 10 years a punishment double that of electoral fraud and akin to me actually undertaking a criminal activity, on top of this I was further targeted by the Stonewall transactivists within the party in 2021, who again used the complaints system to target and harass me and to put a suspension without a end date in place, this behaviour was condoned by the outgoing party president and peer Sal Brinton.
It is unacceptable for a working class mother to be targeted and treated in this manner and its important that Justice is served.
I hate to ask for money particularly when so many of us are struggling but the reality is that I need to raise over £30k to pay counsel to get the justice needed, discrimination against GC individuals must not be allowed to continue in the party and change is urgently needed. This won't happen unless the party are held to account in a public trial.
My case will be heard at the Royal Courts of Justice from the 19th till 26th August.
According Natalie's latest update the Lib Dems have all, but admitted their guilt in an attempt to avoid revealing the sexist bullying in the party:
We are rapidly heading towards my trial and I have a pre-trial review at the Royal Courts on the 22nd. [July?]
In an interesting development, the libdems have put in an application for the Court to award judgment against themselves stating that they have breached my contract and admitting to breaching the Equality act.
They haven't provided any details with regard to how they have breached the Equality act, for how long not how they intend to rectify it so this seems to me to be an exercise in trying to minimise my wider claims around discrimination, victimisation and harassment by party officials and activists.
This seems to me to be an exercise in entirely avoiding active scrutiny and accountability around the culture in the party that allowed discrimination against GC individuals to happen within the party, and that is still continuing within the party to date.
With your help we can ensure that justice is done and the public is made aware of what is going on within the libdems.
A win will also impact the new Amelia Sparrow case. Those pesky wims keep calling out sexism in the Lib Dems:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5109461-parliamentary-staffer-taking-lib-dems-to-tribunal
Original thread from 2018:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3399104-Times-Lib-Dem-trans-activists-hounded-abuse-victim-Natalie-Bird-Article-refers-to-Zoe-OConnell-Sarah-Brown