Four Labour MPs have signed a trans rights pledge that appears to brand the Supreme Court's ruling on biological sex definitions as "divisive".
The quartet - Charlotte Nichols, Kate Osborne, Olivia Blake and Nadia Whittome - endorsed a statement affirming that lesbian rights do not conflict with those of transgender people.
The Supreme Court had unanimously ruled that the terms "woman" and "sex" in the Equality Act referred to biological sex instead of acquired gender.
This endorsement by left-wing backbenchers signals ongoing tensions within the Labour Party over gender identity issues.
Four Labour MPs have signed a trans-rights pledge
PA/Wikimedia Commons
The statement was drawn up for a Lesbian Visibility Week reception in Parliament last week.
It reads: "We reaffirm that the rights of trans people do not conflict with the rights of lesbians. We reject attempts to divide our communities and stand united against all forms of transphobia, lesbophobia and misogyny."
The pledge further stated: "Our liberation is bound together. There is no pride in exclusion. No feminism without solidarity. We stand firm. We will not be divided."
Following the Supreme Court ruling, Whittome expressed she was "very concerned," warning that it "does not provide clarity."
Blake separately acknowledged that "many people are anxious" about the ruling's potential consequences.
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PAShe wrote on Instagram: "As an MP, I remain committed to campaigning for better, fairer services for everyone. We must tackle unequal access so as to ensure everyone, cis women and trans women, receive the support they need."
Just days before, leaked messages from a WhatsApp group showed Labour MPs plotting to defy the Supreme Court's ruling.
Culture Minister Sir Chris Bryant agreed with an MP criticising equality watchdog chief Baroness Falkner after she said the ruling meant trans women could not use women's toilets or compete in women's sports.
Home Office Minister Dame Angela Eagle added: “We need to organise.”
However, Sally Wainwright, from the campaign group Lesbian Persistence, criticised the latest set of MPs to blast the Supreme Court's ruling.
She said: "Clarity is not division. It's the duty of elected parliamentarians, and especially of those in government, to uphold the rule of law, not to try to undermine the authority of the highest court in the land."
Wainwright added: "What is divisive is the trans lobby stirring up fear and alarm by misrepresenting the meaning of the ruling. It is inappropriate for MPs to support such statements."
Leaked messages from a WhatsApp group showed Labour MPs plotting to defy the Supreme Court's ruling
GETTYA Government spokesman defended the ruling, saying: "We have always supported the protection of single-sex spaces based on biological sex."
The spokesman added: "This ruling brings clarity and confidence, for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs."
"Single-sex spaces are protected in law and will always be protected by this Government."
Interim guidance issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission following the judgement stated that trans women should not be allowed to use women's lavatories.
