Kira Herdman

Whats wrong with the current Labour Government

So as I have stated I recently quit the Labour Party over a single issue, the indefinite stoppage of Puberty Blockers for Transgender Kids.

Transgender Rights is the ONLY reason why I got into politics in the first place. All my life, apart from once, I have voted for Labour. The last Labour government, under Tony Blair then Gordon Brown did amazing things for LGBT+ Rights. They brought in the Equality Act 2010, started the process for Same Sex Marriage (They brought in the Civil Partnership Act 2004, a precursor to the Same Sex Couples Act 2013) to become law, stopped the barbaric armed forces law that made it illegal to be LGBT+ while serving and generally made the lives of LGBT+ people a lot better.

I thought that this government would be the same. They have thrown Transgender Rights under the bus so to speak.

First off, they fully support the CASS review into transgender care for under 18s in full. This review has been criticised for its methodological flaws and bias, raising concerns about its scientific integrity. (https://ruthpearce.net/2024/04/16/whats-wrong-with-the-cass-review-a-round-up-of-commentary-and-evidence/)

Second, and this was the trigger that made me leave the Labour Party, is the current health secretary, Wes Streeting, has made the ban for puberty blockers for trans kids indefinite, despite the fact that cisgender kids can still get them for early puberty, or Precocious Puberty. He specifically stated the CASS review as one of the main reasons why he has done this.

LGBT+ Labour, the supposed wing of the Labour Party that fights for the LGBT+ community inside Labour, has said nothing about this. When the CASS report first came out they also said nothing. I left LGBT+ Labour a week after the report came out.

Meanwhile, a joined statement by LGBT+ LibDems, the SNP, LGBTQIA+ Greens and Rainbow Greens have published a damming statement about the ban.

Here is an important part of it :-

A joint statement from LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, Out for Independence (SNP), LGBTIQA+ Greens and Rainbow Greens on the Labour Government’s ban on Puberty Blockers for under 18’s.

The decision to ban puberty blockers across the UK, by the Westminster Labour Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, is incredibly distressing and dangerous. Putting thousands of young trans people at immense risk.

We have seen young trans people scale buildings, march in the streets, and camp outside England’s Department for Education, for days on end. And for almost a hundred days, left paper coffins outside the constituency office of the UK’s Health Secretary, Labour MP Wes Streeting, warning him of the dangers of a ban. 

And despite urgent pleas by trans people. It was ignored. The inhumanity of weaponising the healthcare of marginalised young people, putting lives at risk, is unforgivable.

As justification, decision makers keep pointing to the Cass Review, which has been previously condemned by medical organisations, and ourselves. It has been found to be poorly researched and cherry-picked for political purposes; its scientific literacy is on the level of the anti-vax movement. The review, we note, is deeply ableist towards neurodiverse trans young people—further pathologising and infantilising them, clearly ignoring the principle of Gillick Competency.

We have seen the review being biased against trans people, favouring the opinions of conversion therapists over trans communities.

This came out 5 days ago, a day after the current Labour government announced the policy.

There has also been no statement by LGBT+ Conservatives about this.

After the Labour Party, What Next?

So with all this in mind, who did I join after I left. Well most of the other polices by the Labour party I support, but want more of. So things like public ownership of the utilities, trains and buses, More social housing, a better NHS and one thing that Labour doesn’t seem to support, rejoin the EU or at least the Single Market. There is one party that supports all that, as well as the most important issue of transgender rights (to me that is) AND has enough MP’s in parliament to make a difference, and that is the Liberal Democrats.

So I have joined them.

I only joined yesterday, and I know they don’t have a strong base here in the North West of England, but at least they are active, they have also transformed themselves from the Nick Clegg era where they want into Government with the Conservatives.