Shabana Mahmood is a longstanding supporter of Labour Women's Declaration and appeared on a panel with a bunch of other pesky women at the last Labour conference :
https://labourwomensdeclaration.org.uk/lwd-hosting-two-fringe-meetings-at-labour-conference-2023/
She is a liberal Muslim and is rather more representative of British Muslims ideas on gender and sex than lets say Humza in Scotland.
More to the point Kier really likes her and they get on another barrister. She was Labour Party National Campaign Coordinator under him and did a great job, lots more election wins and was appointed to front bench last September. She is a rising star in the party. Note she was never a Corbynite which is a plus with current leadership.
Shabana Mahmood is one reason why when Labour gets into power the TRAs will have serious issues. The bungled reaction to Cass report is really damaging their position within Labour. There are battles to come, but the Pro-woman faction in Labour has a huge advantage - reality. If there is open debate sooner or later the side that believes women exist are going to win. Especially as the TRA side does self sabotage.
The real big Labour name who knows women are real by all accounts is Rachel Reeves, the Shadow Chancellor. She hasn't declared openly, but plenty of hints are out there. Reeves is a political machine. As she is going to be controlling the purse strings that is a big thing. Telling quote from Reeves in 2022 here:
One issue she has clearly done some reflecting on is the angst-ridden subject of transgenderism. When asked about women and cervixes last year by the radio host Nick Ferrari, Reeves stumbled, one of many Labour politicians struggling to find a suitable answer. She has one now, though — rejecting the mantra that trans women are women for a punchy, more JK Rowlingy position.“Biology is important,” she says. “A woman is somebody with a biology that is different from a man’s biology. We’re seeing in sport sensible decisions being made about who cannot compete in certain cases.” She says she would “have a problem” with someone with male genitals identifying as a woman and using a female changing space, and isn’t entirely sold on the use of gender pronouns. “You don’t have to say to someone, ‘Shall I call you he or she?’ — it’s pretty obvious. But there are also difficult cases of somebody who is born as one sex and defines as another. I wouldn’t want to deny their right to define themselves in the way they want to be defined.”
You may ask why isn't Reeves saying stuff more obviously. The same reason TRAs started by being seeming reasonable, and got a long way then got greedy. Reeves is interested in power, real power. She is moves ahead of the TRAs in that. Become the first female Chancellor first without making too much fuss then you have room to manoeuvre later. Mysteriously then it seems there is little budget for Stonewall stuff. I wonder why....
"The former British girls’ chess champion has the political hunger of someone with a point to prove. In a joint New Statesman interview with her sister Ellie, a fellow Labour MP and shadow justice minister, Reeves said: “What I feel very strongly is that because we were constantly underestimated, we need to prove that two girls from state school in south London are just as good as any Eton or Winchester boy.” As Labour prepares for government, no one today should underestimate the influence of Rachel Reeves."