Calls to ban Labour Party from Pride: ‘If you won’t stand with us, you can’t march with us’

An open letter signed by almost 600 trans groups and activists has called for Labour, and other anti-trans political parties, to be banned from Pride events.

Signed by 117 not-for-profit, human rights and LGBTQ+ organisations, the letter calls on Pride event organisers across the UK to bar all “political parties advocating for, or complicit in, transphobia”, including Labour and the Conservatives.

“This includes any official presence of those parties on parades and marches, speaking invitations to politicians and any official support or endorsement by Pride organisations of these parties,” the signatories demanded.

The call comes after prime minister Keir Starmer voiced his support for the UK Supreme Court’s judgement which ruled that the words “women” and “sex” in the 2010 Equality Act related to “biological women” and “biological sex”.

Starmer said he was “really pleased” with the ruling, adding later that he believes trans women aren’t women, and trans men aren’t men.

Several Pride organisations, including organisers in Northern Ireland and Brighton, have already banned political parties from future events because of attacks on the LGBTQ+ community.

Organisers in Northern Ireland, including Foyle Pride, Causeway Pride and Mid and East Antrim Pride, announced in February that political parties who supported an indefinite ban on puberty blockers in the province would be forbidden from attending any future events, declaring that Pride “belongs to the people, not politicians who betray us”.

Political parties have been banned from Bristol Pride marches since 2023, with a spokesperson saying last July that until the Labour Party “commits to standing up for the entire community,” they would not be welcome.

Asking that all Pride organisers follow suit, a spokesperson for Trans Safety Network, which documents and analyses information on organised anti-transgender movements, said that if politicians won’t “stand with us”, they shouldn’t be allowed “to march with us”.

They went on to say: “The UK government must urgently introduce legislation to meaningfully protect the rights of trans people to participate in public life, including access to public services and facilities under our lived gender.”

What do the major political parties say about the Supreme Court ruling?

While Labour and the Conservatives have voiced support for the Supreme Court ruling, the Green Party has branded the judgement “ill-considered.”

Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer called for the withdrawal of guidance set out by the Equality and Human Rights Commission based on the ruling, which called for trans women to be banned from women’s facilities, and trans men to be prevented from using men’s facilities. It also recommended that, in some circumstances, trans women should also be banned from men’s facilities, and trans men from women’s.

However, co-leader Adrian Ramsay has seemingly refused to clarify whether he believed trans women are women.

The Liberal Democrats accepted the court ruling, which “rightly recognises” the “confusion” over the Equality Act’s definitions of women and sex. However, equalities spokeswoman Christine Jardine admitted it had “caused a lot of worry” for trans people, and called on the government to provide “further guidance and clarity” on what the judgement means for the community.

“We need to move past this toxic debate, and have a calm, positive and genuine good-faith conversation about ensuring everyone’s safety and dignity,” she added.

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