Cross-party MPs commit to protecting Trans+ people's fundamental rights in latest pushback against unprecedented erosion

Press Release
Written By H Li

At Trans+ History Week reception, MPs from across Labour, Greens, Lib Dems put their names to commitments on healthcare, safety and dignity — pushing back against an unprecedented erosion of Trans+ people's rights, and protections long promised but still undelivered.

London, 11 June 2026 – Last night, MPs from Labour, Greens, and Liberal Democrats attended the first evening reception held in Parliament by the Trans+ led nonprofit social enterprise Trans+ History Week CIC. 

The reception, taking place in the middle of Pride Month, reflects on the success of the Trans+ History Week initiative, now in its third year (with the Week having taken place last month: 4–10 May) – designed to deliver education and ancestral wisdom at a vital time. It was attended by civil society leaders, business leaders, newly elected Trans+ councillors, and MPs.

Olivia Bailey MP speaking with (L-R) Nicole Treanor, Trans+ History Week Public Affairs Director; Marty Davies, Trans+ History Week Founder; and Deborah Frances-White, podcaster and author, at the Trans+ History Week parliamentary reception.

Photo credit: Trans+ History Week and Henri T (@documentedbyhenrit)

More photos available here.

MPs in attendance included Olivia Bailey MP, Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Early Education and (Minister for Equalities); Kate Osborne MP, Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead, Alex Barros-Curtis MP, Labour MP for Cardiff West; Lorraine Beavers MP, Labour MP for Blackpool North and Fleetwood; Siân Berry MP, Green MP for Brighton Pavilion; Mary Kelly Foy MP, Labour MP for City of Durham; Nia Griffith MP, Labour MP for Llanelli; Kerry McCarthy MP, Labour MP for Bristol East; Steve Race MP, Labour MP for Exeter; Martin Rhodes MP, Labour MP for Glasgow North; and Matt Turmaine MP, Labour MP for Watford.

The evening was brought advocates and politicians together to create a better future for Trans+ people in the UK, accompanied by a cross-party group of MPs signing an Early Day Motion - EDM 150 tabled by Kate Osborne MP in support of the Week, which affirmed that Trans+ people today deserve to “feel safe, respected and included as they move through public life”.

Kate Osborne MP (she/her), Labour MP for Jarrow and Gateshead East, hosted and spoke at the evening reception, saying:

“We meet at a very difficult moment and I want to recognise that and promise to everyone in this room, I won't ever stop fighting for everyone in our community. Especially our trans and non-binary siblings who are facing such an onslaught of abuse and attack on their rights right now.”
“The code fails to protect trans people, it fails to protect organisations that want to operate on a trans-inclusive basis and creates confusion and conflict for associations who want to be inclusive.”
“We must take a stand against discrimination in all of its forms and that’s why I am proud to stand with you all because we must all recognise a simple truth: trans people have always existed. Across centuries and across cultures, trans and gender-diverse people have contributed to our communities, our movements, our workplaces, our arts and our politics. Your stories are not new, and they deserve to be remembered, celebrated and shared in our Parliament.

Marty Davies (she/they), Founder of Trans+ History Week spoke about ancestral wisdom:

“Resistance has always looked like this. It’s people facing injustice, getting together, becoming friends and showing up again and again and again after losses and setbacks and false starts for years, decades. Building, trying, supporting, laughing, crying and grieving. And showing up once more. Until we win and come together in celebration. We will win. The story is still being written. By all of us in this room. No story ends with segregation. That would be a terrible fucking story! This is not our ending. The future is yet to be written. Let’s write it together.”

Deborah Frances-White (she/her), host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, also spoke at the event:

“I've got trans friends telling me they’re not drinking because they're too scared to use the loo. [...] Our friends and neighbours, and frankly just people in our community – I might not even like you, but I’d like you to be able to use the loo, because that’s democracy, isn’t it? That we can all use the loo without fear. Isn't that one of the most basic human rights?"

At the reception, MPs and other attendees made commitments to Trans+ rights, spanning gender-affirming healthcare, legal recognition, and more. These included:

  • Trans+ youth deserve timely gender-affirming healthcare

  • Fix our broken Trans+ healthcare system with informed consent

  • Introduce non-binary legal recognition

  • No more delays — bring forward a trans-inclusive conversion practices ban

  • Trans+ people deserve the right to self-ID

  • End medically unnecessary interventions on intersex children

  • Teach Trans+ history in schools

  • Protect and increase funding for Trans+ organisations in the UK and internationally

  • Stop Trans+ segregation

Growing wave defending Trans+ rights, as UK regresses from 1st to 22nd in Europe for LGBTQIA+ rights

Tonight's commitments come amid increasing recognition of and widening pushback against the injustice the Trans+ community is facing. In recent weeks, the EHRC Code of Practice has been particularly criticized for how it will lead to segregation of Trans+ people.

Over 120 MPs to date have signed a motion tabled by Nadia Whittome MP, Labour MP for Nottingham East, calling for the Code to be rejected. Additionally, both the Green Party and Liberal Democrats have described the Code as “not fit for purpose” and have called for its withdrawal:

  • The Green Party called the Code “cruel and confusing” and noted that “[The government’s] own Equalities Impact Assessment' on the code admits there will be a significant impact on those with the protected characteristic of gender reassignment - from forcing trans people to out themselves by using disabled toilets to putting trans women at greater risk of sexual violence by making them use men's services.”

  • Liberal Democrats described it as “not compatible with longstanding British values”, saying, “We do not want to become a country where people are barred from accessing essential services simply for who they are, or where women are asked to prove that they are women, just to go about their lives” and flagging concerns about the impact of gender policing on all women.

Beyond Westminster, the call now spans many of the country's leading institutions, including:

  • British Medical Association:
    “We are deeply concerned about the potentially devastating repercussions of this proposal on trans patients’ access to healthcare, the ability of trans healthcare staff to conduct their everyday duties, and the NHS’s ability to protect the rights and dignity of their trans patients and staff.”

  • Royal College of Nursing:
    “Since the Supreme Court judgment, we have seen increased public hostility and acts of discrimination towards the trans community. This is unacceptable, as is discrimination against any other group because of a protected characteristic.”

  • Mind, Samaritans, Centre for Mental Health, and other leading mental health organisations:
    “We are concerned that the Code, and its implementation, will prevent many trans and non-binary people from living a full life in the UK, and may contribute to conditions where trans and non-binary people’s mental health is negatively affected. [...] we believe it should receive proper parliamentary debate and scrutiny.”

  • Disability Rights UK:
    “Disability Rights UK issues our unequivocal solidarity with trans people, who should not be forced to choose between risking harassment in public facilities – or not using them at all.”

    “As is clear from this Code of Practice, it sets a dangerous precedent for the erosion of other protected characteristics.”

  • UNISON national women’s conference:
    Passed an unanimous motion criticizing the EHRC, which was introduced by a speaker who said, “Women are more than our appearance. We are workers, carers, organisers, fighters. We are complex, messy and brilliant human beings and none of us should be reduced to whether we look like somebody else’s idea of a woman.”

Warnings about the UK’s commitment to human rights and adherence to human rights law have continued to rise in the past year, with human-rights bodies from Amnesty International to the Council of Europe's human rights commissioner speaking out against the Government’s push toward Trans+ exclusion. 

The UK has fallen from 1st to 22nd for LGBTI rights in Europe since 2015 in ILGA-Europe’s ranking.

Trans+ history recognised in Westminster, from Ancient Rome to contemporary legal battles

In a political moment when Trans+ rights are being rolled back, the reception provided reminders that Trans+ people have always existed and have always been part of our collective human story. The event featured art and history stories developed by Trans+ creatives and mentored with indie publisher QueerAF over the past three years highlighting Trans+ history stories, including:

The event also featured QueerAF’s Milestones Series, launched in March 2026 to improve historical understanding of legal rights for Trans+ people in the UK. Milestones is a six-part, editorially independent newsletter series from QueerAF on the legal cases, political changes and campaigns that have shaped the rights of trans, non-binary, and intersex people in the UK today. It is written by some of the UK’s most respected Trans+ journalists and funded by Trans+ History Week CIC.

Trans+ history mini documentary episodes will be released throughout Pride season on the award-winning QueerAF podcast. The first focuses on the legacy of Lou Sullivan, a pioneer of history and archiving, as well as on the front lines of HIV advocacy.

  • Trans+ History Week 2026 is led by Trans+ History Week CIC, a Trans+ led nonprofit and social enterprise, with storytelling and talent development programmes delivered in close partnership with QueerAF CIC.

  • transhistoryweek.com

    Trans+ History Week CIC is a Trans+ led nonprofit, social enterprise that exists to popularise the global awareness week: Trans+ History Week, 4–10 May 2026 — anchored by Trans+ History Day, 6 May. It is a week-long reflective period to learn and celebrate the momentous and millennia-old history of transgender, non-binary, gender-diverse and Intersex people.

    The organisation has just marked its third year of programming. It commissions content and hosts events and exhibitions that reflect on history and surface learnings for our present to secure a better future. Trans+ History Week has raised over £100,000 and, with QueerAF, invested in over 100 Trans+ creatives: writers, illustrators, audio producers, musicians, photographers, speakers, journalists, poets and comedians. Trans+ History Week itself was originally incubated as a QueerAF launchpad project.

    Recognition received includes:

    • British Podcast Awards 2025 – ‘Impact’ – Finalist (QueerAF podcast)

    • Audio Production Awards 2025 – ‘Changemaker’ – Gold (QueerAF podcast)

    • Rainbow Honours 2025 – Community Initiative of the Year – Highly Commended

    • DIVA Awards 2025 – Charity or Community Project of the Year (Finalist)

  • We’ve used the term ‘Trans+’ to be inclusive of the many ways people describe and define their relationship to their own gender or absence of gender. This term is inclusive of transgender, non-binary, genderqueer, genderfluid, bigender, gender non-conforming and agender people — or indeed inclusive of any of the other ways people define their gender. This term is also inclusive of Intersex people who have natural diversity in sex characteristics.

H Li
Next

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