Labour’s dangerous pledge to ban conversion therapy

An incoming Labour government will enact legislation that could prevent gender-questioning children getting the help they need to come to terms with their biological sex. That is the only conclusion it is possible to draw from Labour’s manifesto, released this morning, which says: 

‘So-called conversion therapy is abuse – there is no other word for it – so Labour will finally deliver a full trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices, while protecting the freedom for people to explore their sexual orientation and gender identity.’

There is a glaring omission in this word salad. What actually is conversion therapy? If it is abuse, as Labour seems to claim, then no new legislation is needed. Harmful, coercive and abusive practices are already illegal, and rightly so. Ten years ago, that seemed to be a settled issue and it would have seemed ridiculous for a political party to talk about it ahead of an election.