Labour's Bridget Phillipson stalls ‘trans‑exclusive’ guidance on women‑only spaces

The Labour government has paused the release of new Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on women‑only spaces, after Women and Equalities Secretary Bridget Phillipson deemed the proposals “trans‑exclusive” and incompatible with the realities faced by many service users. The draft guidance - produced in response to an April Supreme Court ruling defining sex under the Equality Act as “biological sex” - would have required organisations to enforce strict single‑sex rules in facilities such as lavatories, changing rooms and hospital wards. 

Phillipson has declined to sign off the guidance for more than three months, arguing in a submission to the High Court that its approach would unfairly exclude trans women and fail to account for numerous everyday exceptions. She cited concerns that blanket bans on “biological males” in women’s spaces could also prevent women from taking their infant sons into swimming‑pool changing rooms, and that the proposals overlook “entirely plausible exceptions” grounded in common‑sense service delivery.

Her stance has sparked a heated political debate, with supporters welcoming her refusal to endorse guidance they say could deepen discrimination against trans people. Reporting indicates that Phillipson believes the proposals, in their current form, risk creating legal ambiguity while undermining the dignity and inclusion of trans service users. 

Advocates for trans rights argue that enforcing rigid single‑sex rules would intensify the exclusion felt by many trans people in public life, particularly within essential services. Their concerns echo those raised earlier in the year by more than 650 British businesses and organisations, which warned that similar draft guidance could cause “significant economic harm” and force companies to adopt practices “incompatible with modern business values.” These organisations, which include major high‑street brands, stressed that mandatory exclusion of trans people from gendered spaces would be both impractical and discriminatory.

For trans campaigners, the current pause represents an opportunity to push for a more balanced and evidence‑driven framework - one that protects vulnerable women while also safeguarding the rights and dignity of trans people. Many groups note that trans women already face significant barriers in accessing safe public facilities, and fear that the proposed guidance could legitimise harassment or mistreatment under the guise of legal compliance.

The guidance at the centre of the dispute stems from an April Supreme Court ruling, which interpreted sex under equality law as biological sex. This ruling has been widely debated, with gender‑critical campaigners presenting it as a necessary clarification, while LGBTQ+ organisations argue it risks codifying exclusion. With the EHRC code of practice still awaiting ministerial approval, public bodies - including hospitals, leisure centres and businesses - remain without updated official instructions on how to implement the ruling in practice.