UK Labour party scraps women’s conference amid Supreme court gender ruling

The UK Labour, on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, decided to cancel its national women’s conference and restrict the use of all-women shortlists.

This comes while it awaits full guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC).

It is a move that has triggered a strong backlash from both trans rights advocates and gender-critical campaigners.

The party’s national executive committee (NEC) is expected to approve the cancellation at a meeting on Tuesday.

The women’s conference, scheduled to take place before Labour’s main annual conference in Liverpool in September, is considered a key forum for policymaking on issues affecting women.

The decision follows interim advice from the EHRC, issued in the wake of a UK Supreme Court ruling that defined the term “woman” in the Equality Act as referring exclusively to biological females.

The EHRC suggested that voluntary organisations, such as political parties, should apply this interpretation.

LabourList reported that the NEC had been advised that the party could face legal action if it proceeded with the conference under previous guidelines that allowed for self-identification.

Concerns about protests and direct action were also cited.

Guidance provided to the NEC stated that all party rules and measures related to women should now be interpreted based on biological sex at birth.

It further noted that guidance would be issued to all local party units and stakeholders accordingly.

The document emphasized that Labour would work compassionately with individuals.

Also, according to the document, groups affected by this shift and acknowledged the considerable personal impact the court ruling may have had.

Despite the legal rationale, the decision has drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.

The gender-critical group Labour Women’s Declaration condemned the move.

It called the move a “kneejerk reaction” and accusing the party of undermining a vital policymaking space for women.

They argued that a party seeking to form government should be able to handle such challenges within the framework of laws introduced under previous Labour leadership.

“Women deserve better,” the group said.

The conference’s cancellation also brings financial consequences, as the NEC noted that the party already had significant contractual commitments related to the event.

On the other side, trans rights groups issued a joint statement urging NEC members to reject the proposed changes.

The rights groups include Labour for Trans Rights, Pride in Labour, and LGBT+ Labour’s trans officer

They argued that excluding trans women from the women’s conference is not a reasonable or proportionate response.

According to them, their exclusion does nothing to clarify legal uncertainties.

“This is a blatant attack on trans rights,” the statement read, warning that it further isolates trans people within Labour and the wider political movement.

Georgia Meadows, the trans officer for LGBT+ Labour, echoed these concerns, stating that trans people are already underrepresented in UK politics.

She warned that the NEC’s decision would worsen that marginalization, discouraging trans people from engaging in political processes during an already challenging time for the community.

A Labour spokesperson said the party would respect the Supreme Court’s judgment and comply with the EHRC’s statutory guidance once formally published.

Ministers are expected to take the EHRC’s final code of practice into account when the draft is submitted.

At a meeting of the parliamentary Labour party on Monday night, several MPs raised concerns with Keir Starmer about the implications of the EHRC’s interim advice.

Some MPs expressed the view that the guidance went beyond the Supreme Court ruling.

During a Westminster Hall debate the same day, MPs highlighted the distress caused by the current uncertainty.

Meg Hillier, chair of the Treasury select committee, shared the experience of a transgender constituent who now feared being forced to disclose her gender identity at work due to potential restrictions on using women’s facilities.

Hillier warned that the current legal interpretation had created confusion and hardship.

Similarly, Polly Billington, MP for East Thanet, criticized the EHRC’s interim guidance for causing more anxiety than the ruling itself.

She said it had only deepened the ambiguity rather than resolving it.

Amid increasing pressure, the EHRC has agreed to extend its consultation period on formal guidance to six weeks, ending in late June.

This follows a backlash from staff and external stakeholders.

The women and equalities committee had also requested this extension.

Its chair, Sarah Owen, said many transgender individuals now feel “anxious and unsure” about their rights.

However, the delay means that clarity will not arrive before Parliament’s summer recess, leaving organisations, businesses, and trans individuals in a prolonged period of uncertainty.

Meanwhile, the Good Law Project, along with several trans and intersex individuals, has launched a legal challenge against the EHRC’s interim advice.

They argue that the guidance “authorises and approves unlawful discrimination.”

This is particularly in relation to transgender people’s access to public facilities.

The controversial advice, issued nine days after the court decision, suggested trans people could be barred from using toilets aligned with their lived gender or even their birth sex in certain cases.

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