Labour has the potential to be the catalyst for change, but looks set to fail its first test

We woke up to change on 5 July, but it’s already starting to feel hollow. The Labour manifesto promise was to bring about change and restore hope. The promise of a “national renewal”; where politics should “be driven by a sense of service to the country, not considerations of party or self-interest.” And they should be held to account to deliver on these things.

It is uncontentious to say that the last government did not serve the LGBTQIA+ community well. For years now, our politicians and media have fed each other a diet of pig swill while the issues that matter to ordinary people in our community have been either neglected or become contaminated and muddied. There’s an expectation now that the ‘party of equality’ will prioritise and progress equality for all. So far, the signs don’t look good. 

Over the last 14 years, so-called ‘culture war’ topics have been used to harm our community and distract from government failures. Sensationalised misinformation and disinformation have become weaponised by politicians wanting to make a name for themselves. Important issues — like our healthcare, housing, and safety — have been cast aside. We’ve all read and written this a thousand times at this point, and we’ve all had enough of it. 

“Labour has the potential to be the catalyst for change”

On 4 July the country voted for change. But what will that change look like once the work of government begins?

This year, I founded Trans+ History Week (6–12 May). Our movement celebrates the millennia-old history of trans, non-binary, gender diverse, and intersex people. It is part of a wider movement to advance truth, honesty, and reality, which are sorely needed in Britain.  

Sharing our own stories and rich history shines a light and shows that we’ve always been here. It also inoculates us all against the foundational lie that we are somehow a modern fiction, fantasy, or ideology. We are not. This lie is used to deny us our healthcare, our dignity, and our humanity. 

Nothing about our broken society changed when we woke up after the election. Inflation is still punishing. Our first-past-the-post electoral system isn’t fair or representative. And our media remain obsessed with lying and spreading misinformation about vulnerable minorities. 

Labour has the potential to be the catalyst for change. In the words of Tony Benn, we need signpost politicians, not weathervanes. We need politicians who mean what they say and say what they mean and we need truth and respect back in politics.

We have to hold the Labour Party to higher standards. And demand they deliver change. They must protect vulnerable minorities, including trans+ youth. And all signs point to them failing this basic test.

“Change has to mean something. Let’s unite as a community and remind Labour that we expect them to deliver it”

Victoria Atkins’ emergency puberty blockers ban looks set to become permanent, making it impossible for trans+ youth to access care. Jo Maugham of the Good Law Project wrote: “Wes Streeting’s position is that, subject to the outcome of the court proceedings and consultation, he will renew it and convert it into a permanent ban.” Over the weekend some MPs have criticised Streeting, but not nearly enough. Streeting has remained defiant.

This is leading parents of trans+ youth to pursue emigrating from the UK in order for their children to access their medication. Yes, shamefully it has reached that point. Streeting is gay and is actively harming an already marginalised part of the community.

Labour looks set to swim in the same sewage as the Tories. Change has to mean something. Let’s unite as a community and remind Labour that we expect them to deliver it. They have to pursue the politics of reality and hope, where everyone is treated equally and with respect. 

While it’s great that we have 64 openly LGBTQIA+ MPs in Parliament, it’s meaningless if they stay silent while vulnerable children from their own community are targeted. Write to your new MPs. Have meetings with them. And then insist that they loudly oppose the puberty blocker ban.