Gender Self-identification

Debate between Richard Quigley and Olivia Blake

Monday 19th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Olivia Blake (Sheffield Hallam) (Lab)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Mundell. I thank the hon. Member for South Cotswolds (Dr Savage) for opening the debate incredibly well, on a subject that often gets heated. Today, we have shown that we can discuss these issues without that heat. I also thank the more than 120,000 people who signed the petition, especially the 250 people who did so from my constituency.

ILGA-Europe’s recent report saw the UK fall to 22nd place in the rainbow map of Europe. That should really concern us all; it is not just a warning about LGBT rights, but a signal of a broader erosion of democratic protections across Europe. At the heart of the decline is a failure to uphold the dignity and autonomy of trans people, particularly when it comes to something as fundamental as legal gender recognition. I am exceedingly embarrassed about this—to fall so far, when just 10 years ago we were No. 1, is unforgiveable. We must all look at ourselves hard in the mirror for allowing that to happen.

In recent debates, we have heard Ministers affirm that LGBT rights in the UK remain protected, and that we are firmly committed to equality. I welcome that, as it is something we all want to see upheld both in spirit and in practice. However, I have heard fears from countless people, including many of my constituents and parents of trans children. Some have actually spoken to me about leaving the UK. How embarrassing that we have fallen so far that people would rather not live here because they feel their lives are so unliveable in the society that we are creating.

[Mr Quigley]

Naively, when I was at university in the ’80s and early ’90s, I believed that I would see the end of sexism and racism. Does my hon. Friend agree that we have fallen so far backwards over the last 14 or 15 years, and that it is entirely down to a party obsessed with staying in power, rather than doing the best for its citizens?

[Olivia Blake]

I have been here talking about migrants and other communities who have been victimised and used as scapegoats repeatedly over the past 15 years. It has been sad to see; unfortunately we are seeing it across the globe, but we should all be standing up against it. We should be dealing with people’s daily concerns, rather than using rhetoric, as we do far too often.

As we have heard from colleagues today, trans people will not feel protected right now. They are navigating rising levels of hate, extending delays to healthcare and increasing uncertainty about how existing laws apply to their lives. They are being told that their identity—their sense of self—is something that we can debate, question and deny. I think that is wrong and I urge all people outside the House who are looking at the interim guidance not to have knee-jerk reactions to that but to fully take part in the consultation. That consultation should be 12 weeks long, as previous consultations have been. For something that will mean such a big change for individuals, the EHRC has got the consultation period wrong and needs to extend it even further.

I just think this is quite sad. It is right that people have a way to self-identify their legal gender. That matters for many reasons. I think a lot of politicians, sadly and wrongly, think, “Isn’t it a shame that trans people are trans people?” How completely wrong is that? Too many people live in fear, with false statistics, about the risk that people pose to women—