Gender Recognition Act 2004

Breaking the Silence: Liberalism or Orthodoxy in the Lib Dem Gender Debate?

·
·
In February 2025, Liberal Voice for Women settled its legal case with the Liberal Democrats, securing equal treatment for members who believe that biological sex is real and matters – often described as “gender critical” or “sex-realist” views. The settlement meant that we could finally book conference stands, organise fringe meetings, and in theory, participate in party life on the same basis as other members. Rather than improving our legitimacy though, this led to a simmering resentment amongst radical trans activists in the party who said we had “legally forced” the party to acquiesce to our requests. This was deemed…

Liberal Democrats – It’s Time to Campaign for What We Believe In – Amend the Equality Act and Remove Sex as a Protected Characteristic

·
·
Editor’s note: This article was submitted anonymously. George Cooper is a pseudonym. He informed me that the article was previously submitted to another Liberal Democrat supporting website but he was told that it would not be published if he did not reveal his name. He is unable to do this. After reading the article, I decided to publish it in the interest of open debate. At Liberal Voices we aim to showcase all strands of opinion in the party. It could be argued that the views in the article are close to reductio ad absurdum. That is for you to…

The New EHRC Code Demonstrates Why Sex‑Based Laws Need a Root‑and‑Branch Review

·
·
Ed Davey, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, and Marie Goldman, the Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Women and Equalities, have recently written to Bridget Phillipson protesting the publication of the EHRC’s new Code of Practice for the Equality Act 2010 and declaring it not fit for purpose. Quite how balanced the evidence base was in reaching this conclusion is unclear. Nevertheless, their letter calls for the need for post-legislative scrutiny of the Gender Recognition Act and the Equality Act by a cross-party committee, “Taking evidence from all communities who have been impacted.” It suggests that the purpose of this is to…


