A brief history of Sir Keir Starmer’s trans flip-flopping

Where public opinion goes, Sir Keir follows. Tony Benn used to divide politicians into two categories: the Signposts and the Weathercocks, with the Labour leader falling decidedly into the latter group. As public attitudes on women-only spaces and elite sport have hardened in recent years, the Leader of the Opposition has slowly, painfully followed suit, often to the chagrin of Labour’s LGBT+ factions. Below is a timeline of Sir Keir’s shifting stance over the past three years of his leadership…

November 2020 – Five months after being elected leader, Starmer posts on Facebook that ‘Trans rights are human rights, and your fight is our fight too. The Labour Party stands proudly with the trans community.’ At this stage, his stance on trans rights is taken to be the same as that which the party had under Jeremy Corbyn. That was articulated in the party’s 2019 manifesto: ‘Labour is committed to reforming the Gender Recognition Act 2004 to introduce self-declaration for transgender people.