Several major unions will boycott the Labour Women’s Conference this year, due to a ban on trans women taking part.
The annual event is traditionally held on the eve of the main party conference in September and aims to get women more involved in policy making.
Labour’s decision to ban trans women, external from the main hall, but not fringe meetings, at this year’s event in Liverpool is because the party considers this the least restrictive way of balancing accessibility and compliance with new laws that came into force in April last year.
But the move breaches the equalities policies of most of the unions affiliated to Labour, who fund the party, with some actively campaigning for a change in the law.
Every year the Labour Women’s Conference brings together hundreds of women from Labour’s activist base, including MPs, councillors, and supporters.
Historically, Labour has allowed people to self-identify, so trans women could attend the event, and also take part in “positive action” measures such as all-women shortlists.
Things changed in April last year, when judges at the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that a woman is defined by biological sex under equalities law.
Following that ruling, Labour cancelled last year’s women’s conference outright, awaiting full guidance from the equalities watchdog around the definition of a woman.
That guidance, produced by the Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and approved by ministers, interpreted the law as meaning a trans woman is a biological male who identifies as a woman and should not use single-sex spaces.
Based on that guidance, the National Executive Committee (NEC), which is Labour’s governing body, agreed that references to a “woman” or “women” must be interpreted on the basis of biological sex.
At the time, a leaked NEC advice paper, recommended delaying the conference because the “only legally defensible alternative” would be to restrict attendance to biological women.
That’s why the main session of this year’s Labour Women’s conference will be restricted to biological women, including votes, keynote speeches and policy debates, although no restrictions will be placed on fringe events.
Four unions have confirmed they will boycott the event as a result of the trans ban, as first reported in the Metro, external, with Unison, Usdaw, Aslef and the Musicians’ Union confirming they would not send a delegation this year.
However, the BBC understands that the ban goes against long-standing policies on trans inclusion in most Labour-affiliated unions, so a mass boycott could be on the cards.
A Unison spokesperson said that the union disagreed with how the law was being interpreted to exclude trans people.
“The union has decided against sending a delegation to Labour women’s conference this year,” he said.
“This is because the party’s restrictions on access run counter to Unison’s policy on trans equality.”
They added: “Unison’s policy is that trans women are women, trans men are men and non-binary identities are valid. The union is campaigning for a change in the law in line with this policy.”
A Labour Party spokesman said: “Labour is committed to advancing women in politics and to providing opportunities for all members to network, debate and contribute.
“Labour’s Women’s Conference reflects our commitment to addressing the under-representation of women in the party, inclusion for all, and compliance with the law.”
