Labour’s Bridget Phillipson tells Left-wing councils to abide by guidance on single-sex spaces after they complained new rules are ‘harmful to trans people’
Bridget Phillipson has told Labour-led councils that they must follow official guidance on single-sex spaces, after some local authorities said the proposed rules could harm transgender people. The dispute highlights divisions within Labour over how public bodies should apply equality law following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the meaning of sex in the Equality Act.
The guidance, issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, says access to single-sex services should generally be based on biological sex, while allowing limited exceptions. Councils including Brighton and Hove, Manchester and Bristol had criticised the approach and signalled concern about its effect on trans residents; Phillipson said public bodies must comply with the law and final guidance.
- Phillipson says councils must follow single-sex-space guidance.
- Some Labour councils warn the rules could harm trans people.
- The row follows the Supreme Court’s Equality Act ruling.