Labour’s gender change shake-up will end in tears

Anyone who thought the downfall of the Tory government might bring an end to the interminable debate over transgender rights should scrutinise Labour’s plans. It could be that the past seven years of political manoeuvrings was merely the warm-up act. 

Labour reportedly wants to ‘simplify’ the gender recognition process – but this isn’t necessarily a good thing. Specialist reports, a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, the agreement of spouses and the panel of lawyers that checks each application against the legal criteria could all be ditched, according to a report in the Times. One idea is that gender recognition certificates might simply be signed off by a GP. This is self-ID in all but name. 

Anneliese Dodds, the shadow women and equalities secretary, said the Labour party wants, ‘to see the process for gender recognition modernised, while protecting single sex spaces for biological women. This means stripping out the futile and dehumanising parts of the process for obtaining a gender recognition certificates (GRC), while retaining important safeguards.