Outside the Labour Party’s annual conference in Liverpool this September, a bright LED sign on a van caught the attention of delegates and passersby alike. The message was unmistakable: the Labour Party, once the standard-bearer of LGBTQ+ rights in the UK, now faces a defining moment—one that could cement a legacy of exclusion if it proceeds with policies that many see as a “bathroom ban” targeting trans people. The van, organized by the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, carried quotes from trans community members and inclusive businesses, all expressing deep anxiety over the party’s trajectory. “Over the last week I don’t believe there has been a day in which I haven’t cried from the worry and anxiety,” read one quote from an anonymous trans woman, as reported by PinkNews. “I have felt I can’t go out in the same way I once did.”
This public demonstration was just one front in a rapidly escalating political battle over trans rights in the UK. The roots of the current crisis trace back to April 2025, when the United Kingdom’s Supreme Court ruled that, under the Equality Act 2010, the legal definition of ‘woman’ referred specifically to biological females. The ruling sent shockwaves through the country’s legal and political systems, and its effects were immediate and profound. According to The Advocate, the LGBT+ Labour organization was forced to cancel its leadership election because several candidates were trans women running for positions reserved for women. The group cited “unclear” legal guidance and the risk of litigation, but many—including Councillor Georgia Meadows, a candidate for co-chair—suspected political motives. “The current committee decided to cancel the election because they were going to lose it,” Meadows told Erin in the Morning in a candid interview.
As the dust settled, it became clear that the Supreme Court’s decision was not just a legal technicality—it was a catalyst for a broader rightward shift in the Labour Party’s approach to LGBTQ+ rights. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who had declared in 2022 that “trans women are women,” reversed course in 2025. When pressed by The Independent, a Starmer spokesperson insisted that trans women should use men’s restrooms and trans men should use women’s restrooms, reflecting a hardening stance that aligned more closely with so-called “gender critical” activists. Other senior Labour figures echoed this position, supporting trans-exclusionary health care policies and endorsing an anti-trans activist to lead the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).
The EHRC, now at the center of the controversy, finalized an updated code of practice on single-sex spaces in September 2025. While the final version is not yet public, sources suggest it will likely recommend barring trans people from using gendered spaces such as toilets and changing rooms, as reported by PinkNews and The Advocate. Interim guidance already suggests that trans women should not use women’s facilities, stoking fears among campaigners and businesses alike of a formal “bathroom ban” if Equalities Minister Bridget Phillipson approves the changes. More than 650 UK companies and non-profits—including Ben & Jerry’s, Lush Cosmetics, and Lucy & Yak—signed an open letter urging the government to block the EHRC’s proposals. The letter warned that such rules would force staff into the role of “gender police,” requiring intrusive questions about birth sex and potentially violating Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.
Jude Guaitamacchi, founder of the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, minced no words at the Labour conference, declaring, “Labour isn’t working for the LGBT+ community, with their vote share plummeting and a terrifying and unworkable bathroom ban on the horizon.” Guaitamacchi continued, “The EHRC wants to ban trans people from gendered spaces and services, even when the provider and service users all want to remain inclusive. If Bridget Phillipson approves this, it would devastate trans people’s everyday lives, cause real economic damage and be totally unworkable for all of us—including the businesses and service providers told to implement it.”
The fallout for Labour has been swift and severe. According to polling reported by The Advocate and PinkNews, Labour’s share of lesbian, gay, and bisexual voters plummeted from 42% in July 2024 to just 25% in May 2025. Trust among the trans community, campaigners say, has collapsed entirely. The Trans+ Solidarity Alliance led a mass lobby of Parliament, bringing hundreds of activists to meet MPs and push for blocking the EHRC’s proposals, which they described as a “human rights crisis” that could relegate trans people to second-class citizenship.
Businesses, too, have voiced their alarm. A major cultural venue in the West of England stated, “As a cultural organisation, a hospitality business and as an employer of over 100 people, making any change to who can use which bathroom will not be operationally viable.” The open letter from the business coalition argued that the proposals would “place organisations at constant risk of complaints and litigation from multiple directions” and warned that staff would be forced into “the unacceptable role of ‘gender police’, told to ask intrusive questions or demand documentation about a person’s birth sex.”
The Labour Party’s rightward shift on trans rights has not gone unnoticed by voters or political rivals. Many trans people and allies are leaving Labour for more progressive parties, such as the Green Party or the Liberal Democrats. Dylan Tippetts, a local Labour official and one of the party’s few openly trans representatives, resigned and joined the Liberal Democrats, lamenting that Labour “has thrown transgender people under the bus and has taken us backwards decades.” In a social media statement, Tippetts explained, “I cannot continue to represent a party that does not support my fundamental rights.”
Labour’s troubles are compounded by broader social and political trends. The Alliance Defending Freedom, a U.S.-based group designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has poured millions into anti-trans litigation in the UK, helping to shift the political climate. British inventions like the “Cass Review”—widely criticized for its lack of clinical expertise—are now cited by American lawmakers and federal agencies to justify rollbacks of trans rights in the United States. Meanwhile, some Democrats in the U.S. have mirrored Labour’s shift, supporting bills with anti-trans provisions and, in some cases, blocking pro-LGBTQ legislation.
For many activists and observers, the lesson is clear. As Georgia Meadows, now LGBT+ Labour’s national Trans Officer, put it, “We won a massive majority, but it doesn’t feel like it.” She described the party’s new direction as “an ideological sleight of hand,” blaming minority groups for deep-seated issues like the housing crisis and health care access, while the real problems remain unresolved. Charley Hasted, chair of the LGBT+ Liberal Democrats, was equally blunt: “You’re not going to vote for Labour when you can vote for Reform. They are also hemorrhaging votes from people who support LGBT people.”
As the Labour Party’s approval ratings hit record lows just a year after its historic 2024 landslide, the consequences of its policy choices are coming into sharp focus. The party stands at a crossroads, with the prospect of a “bathroom ban legacy” looming large. Whether Labour chooses to defend the rights of trans people—or continue down a path of exclusion—will shape not only its own future, but the landscape of human rights in the UK for years to come.
