Natalie Bird vs Lib Dems case in court August 2024

[fromorbit]

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

TY for bringing Yet Another Landscape Improvement project to our general attention.

Update: Natalie was in court today. The Lib Dems aren't defending as they admit to having breached the Equality Act in their treatment of her. Adjourned to 20 August for costs and damages hearing.

https://x.com/nat_freespeech/status/1815403706256351464?s=46&t=SPorwN-mokktL467rcZ57g

The @LibDems have unusually put in a judgement against themselves and admitted every aspect of my claims against the party.
Costs and damages are still to be resolved.

tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/natalie-bird-v-liberal-democrat-party?utm_campaign=post&triedRedirect=true

This is the full update from Natalie Bird via the crowd funder

update Post 22nd July

When we finally sat before the judge for my pre trial review on the 22nd the first thing she questioned was whether the fact that the Libdems have made a judgement against itself was correct. The barrister from their side explained that it was their hadn't been enough time for the party to withdraw from the case so they had to put in a judgement against themselves for breaching my contract and breaching the Equality Act.

My legal team advise me this is very unusual and very rarely happens.

The thing is this should never have been dragged out so long by the party, once Maya’s judgement came out the party should have sought to resolve the case and conduct a through internal review as to how exactly my case had happened and how to prevent it happening to others.

Although the party has admitted every part of my claim in full, it is still not holding itself or the activists that caused this accountable.

The party internal structures which have been completely overtaken by the trans activists are not working as they should.

My case however is not yet finished.

I would like to credit Kelly Jay Keen for her marketing genius because this case would never have happened if I hadn't had worn her t-shirt to an internal meeting.

There is still a damages and costs hearing to be undertaken scheduled for the 20th and 21st August.

There is still an immense amount of work to do in leading the party to sanity and good, strong governance within its internal structures. There are many unresolved questions and things that need to set right internally.

An article about this in the Telegraph

www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/07/27/lib-dems-admit-discriminating-against-gender-critical-candi/

https://archive.ph/JxUqL paywall jump

I wonder if they've decided to take the hit and move past it because of their elections results. Their statement is appalling, no apology, don't name Natalie and blame outdated procedures.

Is Natalie finished in the party? If she is they might consider that a price worth paying.

I wonder if they've decided to take the hit and move past it because of their elections results.

That's what I assumed.

Risky strategy given the Amelia Sparrow they are facing too. I don't they are thinking at all really just covering for men.

There are still gender crit members in the Lib Dems ready to build on the case.

Liberal Voice for Women
We are concerned that the party's response to the case, which not only contains inaccuracies but fails to name the complainant, apologise to her, or mention any of the facts about the case, raises questions about its ability to learn from it.

I think when they pay out occurs in August we shall see more on this.

I hope so. I don't want them to memory hole then business as usual.

Developments. Hopegully Natalie's win will get more publicity after she gets a payout at damages hearing this month.

https://x.com/Natfreespeech/status/1823666899143541014

I have finally received the court order where the LibDems
admit all parts of my claim including discrimination and victimisation on the basis of my sex realist beliefs and breaching the Equality Act.

Fantastic news. Presumably this will be public soon?

After the damages hearing.

Very good news for the various Greens suing their party and anyone else. Sex is real!

It is great to see organisations who felt they were so righteous in their treatment of those they saw as not worthy of any consideration at all having to admit that they were the very opposite of ‘tolerant’ and ‘inclusive’. And that all too quickly they had to admit they were not on the right side of history at all.

I hope this case gets lots of publicity.

Thanks for update.

Natalie Bird is at her damage hearing today and tomorrow. Hopefully gets a big payout : Remember the Lib Dems admitted they were sexist on record,.

Tribunal Tweets have recorded Morning session
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1868596693400453258.html

Afternoon session on X here:
https://x.com/tribunaltweets/status/1868640377005359514

Given the crisis within Lib Dems over gender ideas Natalie's case is very important and needs as much publicity as possible.

Thanks for update 🙂
I hope she gets the biggest payout possible!

Ouch, the morning's reading is uncomfortable.

Today in court there was a costs order submitted by the defendant (Lib Dems) for the claimant not following procedure to resolve the matter, that was partially granted, but was reduced significantly. I think it was agreed at 2k, which would offset any damages paid out to Natalie by the Lib Dems (there will be some, but they are arguing about how much is appropriate)

After that the judgment and costs hearing was adjourned to early January;

NR - I was surprised by how long submissions have taken.
J - the procedural matters are what took up the time.
NR - I think we need at least a day
J - say we start at 10 am, and allow an hour for judgment, then 45 minutes for costs for both sides,
EW - that's very tight
J - then we need time for the judgement, how about 4 hours? It seems proportionate to me. Thank you very much to both for your participation and help on the technical matters. I am not and will not express any views on the merits of Ms Bird's views. And should not
interpreted as endorsing or opposing her views.
I need a list of dates that you are jointly available.
NR - what period?
J - January as we only 3 days until the Christmas break. Shall we say from 6 January, as many dates as possible. Bear in mind that I'm supposed to give
judgment within 3 months. No one wants this to drag on. It's a disciplinary matter if it drags on. Please give me as many dates as possible.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1868958005833969904.html

The latest article in the Times

https://archive.ph/8QaQf

https://www.thetimes.com/uk/law/article/ex-candidate-lib-dems-natalie-bird-damages-feminist-p0lm9m6b8

From BBC yesterday Natalie has been awarded £14000

Link sorry
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c6272x8q1x3o

Ah I can edit posts to correct mistakes how useful

Thread from Natalie:

https://x.com/Nat_freespeech/status/1877097468015308968?t=Ar2h00FJIciF_XH28G9uKw&s=19

The behaviour that Natalie describes is replicated across so many institutions. It's what #nodebate looks like in real life 😡

I've copied and pasted from thread reader.
She was treated terribly.

There is some information still been spread by transactivists and their allies that needs to be countered and corrected publicly.
I was selected as candidate for Wakefield local party then two days later attended a English Council meeting in Birmingham.
The meeting involved a talk by Helen Belcher and Baroness Barker around 'Trans Rights'. No woman offering alternative viewpoints was on the panel.
Baroness Barker, Helen Belcher and other Stonewall transactivists have completely captured the internal structures of the party.
I arrived at the meeting in Birmingham. I put my coat in the cloakroom and got tea before the meeting.
The t-shirt was always on show,I didn't hide it and it certainly wasn't hostile or aggressive.
Helen was watching my every move and frantically texting people during this time.
I took my place at the meeting and listened quietly and respectfully to all points made.
I believed that a woman should have also have been on the panel providing alternative viewpoints particularly around the 'we just want to pee in peace' .
When it came to lunchtime I joined the sandwich queue with everyone else and got my sandwiches and coffee.
I spoke to a lovely gentleman whilst eating my lunch and we discussed #FreedomOfSpeech and that it was concerning that a supposedly 'liberal party' was only allowing 1 view.
The climate both internally and externally on this topic in late 2017/ early 2018 shouldn't be underestimated particularly in a party where half of the @stonewalluk transactivists are in charge on the LGBTQ faction and settling policies.
Anyway I quietly ate my lunch Nd had a lovely calm discussion until I was accosted by Prue Bray who barked at me 'why are you wearing that t-shirt?'
My response was that the party needs to have a discussion on this topic.
She then asked if I was an Approved candidate,I said I was. Her response 'we'll see about that then won't we'.
It further transpired in investigation reports against me after the meeting that numerous people had been taking covert photos of me in the t-shirt.
Not one of these people approached me for a civilised, adult discussion around the t-shirt.
The @LibDems have always supported protests, mine was a silent protest.i was disrespectful or hateful to any trans person.
I was concerned at the amount of English Council members at the meeting pledging allegiance to their 'trans sisters' to me it seemed sinister and cult like.
The problem with associations such as the @LibDems is that the party is like a family, in this case a dysfunctional one, it is filled with activists who frequently attend dinners with each other, and bold the same party roles.
In such climate it's easy for 'groupthink' to develop
The @LibDems has an unusually high no of transactivists within the party who are everyone's friends.
A culture has developed where people are scared of upsetting their friends.
The function of political party is to develop good policies for the country, not to stop discussion
because our friend may be upset.
After the first complaints were dismissed I was told very clearly to shut up on the topic.
I did not, I refused to do so.
Why could the transactivists pursue things they were passionate about but I couldn't?
The climate in early 2018 can't be underestimated.
I reached out to Paddy Ashdown, he refused to help and removed me as judge on his prize for 'radical' thinking.
The transactivists were his friends as well. He didn't want to upset them either.
The suspension letter came through on Monday, it hadn't come through though by the time I'd driven down to Wakefield to start campaigning.
Peter Williams told me he had the letter and that I couldn't be part of the meeting.
When I did discuss my points of concern with Peter Williams a few days later, he agreed with every point, particularly the violent man being in women's prisons.
He was worried I was being targeted, he wrote to @LibDems HQ setting out his concerns.
The letter along with my complaint disappeared into a black hole in HQ. Neither it not the complaints appeared in the evidence bundle.
The party had already decided that an excessive punishment was needed to get this northern woman to just shut up on this topic.
The excessive punishment and suspensions were to silence me, and not just silence me but to silence anyone else in the party who may wish to raise this.
I don't understand why they suspended me indefinitely but didn't outright expel me.
In late 2017/ early 2018 no other prospective parliamentary candidate in any political party or any MP had dared to speak up on this topic. It was an unspeakable topic. We couldn't say the unsayable and the narrative being promoted was the @stonewalluk party line.

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1877097468015308968.html

At lest one Redditor calls on her to "fucking die"
https://www.reddit.com/r/transgenderUK/comments/1hwroy0/lib_dems_forced_to_pay_14000_to_former_candidate/

Amazing win !!

Note the £14,000 is plus 90% of court costs which were high. Today's hearing is expected to resume at 11:45 to discuss costs which will EXCLUDE the amount raised by crowdfunding. So if Natalie settled for 40,000 she would have lost out.

The exclusion of crowdfunding seems unfair.

Tribunal Tweets coverage:
https://tribunaltweets.substack.com/p/natalie-bird-v-liberal-democrat-party?

Besides the excellent news for Natalie things are looking bleak for the Greens facing the cases from Emma Bateman and Dawn Foster who arguably were treated worse than Natalie. The Bird case considered they considered the ground breaking case Ali vs Green Party for relevant factors of discrimination and victimisation

Thanks to all the wonderful gardeners whose crops keep coming in abundantly. Lots more growing.

Reddit normally do delete violent rhetoric, I've got plenty of the right side of history's violent posts deleted before (because they can't help themselves) so it's worth a report.