Labour party rules updated after Supreme Court win - Women Exist !

[fromorbit]

The Labour party has suddenly posted a FAQ on the party's official response to the ruling

Supreme Court Judgment FAQs

On 16 April 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that references to “women” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex (meaning the sex of a person at birth), not gender. This means that certain sex-based rights and protections in the Equality Act 2010, including provisions allowing for positive action, apply only to individuals who are biologically female.

https://labour.org.uk/resources/supreme-court-judgment-faqs/

This FAQ almost certainly a response to the recent crisis inside LGBT Labour [a Labour affiliate group that should obey party rules] caused by the Trans Rights Alliance trying to stand a man as a woman's officer getting loads of press attention. LGBT Labour postponed its AGM as a response. Seems the TAs have managed to force Labour to act to stop this after probably after complaints from LGB Labour .

Thread on that:
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/5370660-labour-tears-itself-apart-over-trans-rights-as-biological-man-breaks-party-rules-and-stands-to-become-womens-officer

The full implications of this remain to be seen. One point in the FAQ is interesting:

I am concerned about the behaviour or conduct of a member towards another member. What should I do?
The Party expects its members to abide by the spirit and letter of its rules and to exhibit our shared values of solidarity, tolerance and respect at all times. We encourage people to report behaviour by our members that may constitute a breach of our rules or does not reflect our shared values.

While this may be aimed to mollify TAs, but in fact it is usually TAs who are rude to people who know biology. It may mean in correspondence with Labour party members whether MPs, councillors or others you might be able to complain about them if they are bigoted towards the idea that men or women are real as they will now be in defiance of Labour party policy.

Also this decision could be a big problem for Welsh Labour as they still don't believe in biology it seems from latest info. Also for various members of the Women and Equalities committee.

Responses coming in to the FAQ:

LabourWomen’sDeclaration 🦖

We welcome our Party's sensible approach & commitment to comply with
UKLabour's Equality Act, as set out here.

Revising its data collection as per the Sullivan_Review recommendations must now be a priority in order to deliver this obligation.

However, along with women throughout UKLabour party, we deplore the cancellation of Annual Women's Conference.

We call on our party to honour its constitutional commitment to strengthening women's voices via National Women's Committee, women's conference & women's branches

We note that our UKLabour party requires affiliate organisations, including socialist societies such as LGBT Labour, to conform to the party's procedures as set out here.

Despite cancelling women's conference, the NEC plans to host a women's reception on the Sat evening of the party conference. As a women's officer commented today: "What's the point of that? Those of us elected as women’s conference delegates won’t now be in Liverpool at all"

Thanks for posting this.

This does seem a step forward.

But I suppose we will have to wait for what will no doubt be a lot of loud voices saying it isn't fair and they dont have to comply.

Although for Labour to have published this is some sort of step forward? I mean we can quote this back to an bit of the Labour Party who starts going on about gender identity:

... On 16 April 2025, the Supreme Court clarified that references to “women” in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex (meaning the sex of a person at birth), not gender. This means that certain sex-based rights and protections in the Equality Act 2010, including provisions allowing for positive action, apply only to individuals who are biologically female. ...

Yes, as I said on the other thread, it’s only taken 8 years to achieve!

Telegraph gift link:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/585a9f1a0b95b46f

Awesome headline!

The last few years have felt like an anti-reality fever dream conjured up by fetishistic men. How anyone took TWAW seriously, I will never know.

Cue the tantrums, get me my popcorn.

The Party expects its members to abide by the spirit and letter of its rules

Interesting phrasing. No mucking about there with dodgy definitions.

It's great news, truly

The Labour party's National Executive Committee are now classed as 'Bigots'...if their previous attitude is to be perceived as the barometer of reasonableness.

Who else is expecting an ostentatious breaking of the rule? I hope they deal with it quickly and decisively when it happens.

“In what is a long and historied fight between the leadership and membership, this is, unfortunately, hardly surprising.

“BLPs and CLPs should have every right to pass whatever motion they like, particularly now that the party is in Government and can change the law from the confused and paradoxical situation the Supreme Court has placed us in. The idea that members should be restricted in asking for that, especially considering how thoroughly this likely undermines international law, is utterly reprehensible.

“This guidance’s claim that ‘The Supreme Court judgment does not reduce or remove the legal protections against discrimination for those with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment’ is simply untrue if the rest of the guidance is to be presumed to be legally accurate.

“It completely undermines the purpose of the Gender Recognition Act, which was to ensure that trans men could live as men and trans women could live as women in all aspects of their lives. The guidance is entirely trans-exclusionary in that regard. It utterly undermines not only trans people’s identities but also precedents set under the European Convention on Human Rights in recent years and since its Inception.”

https://labourlist.org/2025/07/news-labour-supreme-court-trans-clps/

Labour might redeem themselves further by appointing Mary Stephenson as chair of the Equality Commission in defiance of the bat shit committee of MPs. The education guidelines seem pretty sound as well. I expect to see gnashing and wailing from Whittome et al later and then our work here is done.

It completely undermines the purpose of the Gender Recognition Act, which was to ensure that trans men could live as men and trans women could live as women in all aspects of their lives.

And yet there’s such rage at the idea that a trans-identifying female who decides to have a baby shouldn’t get a GRC.

Thank F for that

One is watching the opinion polls. One is not.

I wonder if advance warning of this is what derailed the attempted coup in LGBT+ Labour.

Another interesting implication of this is what about the Unions. Various unions including Unison and UCU don't believe in biology. How can they affiliate to the Labour party now?

LabourLGB

We're pleased that Labour's NEC has made clear that the Supreme Court ruling must be respected at all levels of the party. A woman means a woman and men (however they dress) cannot take women's places. Supreme Court Judgment FAQs – The Labour Party

This quote is from Georgia Meadows one of the people that organised the Trans Rights Alliance slate inside LGBT Labour that triggered the publication of this FAQ. Meadows deliberately raised the stakes inside Labour by trying to take over an affiliate society and make it do illegal things. Meadows started something dumb and now is complaining that it went wrong.

Also this rule doesn't prevent local parties from advocating law change. CLPs can call for drug legalisation, but if they do that while all taking cocaine in a meeting guess what the party will discipline them.

Great post from Maya pointing to the Mumsnet thread in 2018 that peaked so many people.

Maya Forstater
https://x.com/MForstater/status/1945189799557820575

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

It is a period of gender war. Rebel feminists, meeting on Mumsnet, have begun organising. Jennifer James sets up a crowdfunder and starts a legal action against the Labour Party for their policy of allowing men to identify as women on all-women shortlists.

https://mumsnet.com/talk/womens_rights/3186454-Crowdfunder-Women-to-Labour-Party-on-All-Women-Shortlists-Official-Statement

A long time coming, but Mumsnet wins again. Who is next?

This came through late on Reddit, so not properly kicked off yet

https://www.reddit.com/r/LabourUK/s/zIDSVRBnXO

loving the headline being loud and clear

Plot spoiler: they’re all planning to join the Green Party as an entryist bloc to vote for Zac Polanski and ensure Adrian Ramsey, who they think is transphobic, doesn’t win.

Doesn’t AR have a co-leader candidate who is female running together with him? Zero mention of her, bunch of misogynists.

Plot Twist Those pesky people who know biology is a thing are already inside and suing the Green Party.

Even if Polanski wins the Green will soon or later have to obey the equality act.

However the TAs all leaving Labour will help push things along.

Oh please let it by true. There are a few in my CLP I would love to see resign. Some of them were the 2017 entryists to Labour. Please let them join the Greens and consign them to the dustbin of history.

Mention of the name Jennifer James made me realise just how long this obstinacy of the Labour Party has been going on.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/feb/01/labour-to-clarify-policy-over-trans-women-on-all-female-shortlists
(I removed the photo as it was another - this time unpleasant - reminder)

But also a reminder that women who take a stand even for a short period of time are just as much part of helping women secure their sex based rights, as those who do so over a longer period.

Result still spreading. What are the most ardent in TAs in Labour going to do?

Wales-Women’s Rights Network 💜🤍💚🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Well this 👇 is a welcome (albeit begrudging) statement. Well done to all those who’ve pushed, persuaded and fought to get to this. Looking at YOU
LabWomenDec LWDCymru23

When can we expect a statement from Welsh Labour
? Tick tock.