Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is facing mounting pressure to intervene and legislate for trans equality after leading advocacy groups warned that a new Code of Practice is “unworkable” and risks undermining fundamental rights.
TransActual, the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and Scottish Trans - three of the UK’s leading organisations supporting trans people - have issued a stark warning that the proposed Code fails on multiple fronts. In a joint intervention, they argue it does not adequately protect trans people’s ability to participate fully in society, does not support organisations seeking to remain inclusive, and falls short of the UK’s domestic and international human rights obligations.
The groups have urged the Prime Minister to act immediately to resolve what they describe as a “broken framework”, warning that failure to do so would amount to a political choice for which the government must take responsibility.
Their intervention comes amid growing concern in Westminster. More than 130 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion seeking to disapprove the Code, while others have publicly raised concerns about the practical and legal implications of its implementation.
Campaigners say the government has been repeatedly warned that failing to uphold trans people’s rights would have serious consequences for their ability to take part in public life. Despite this, they say no decisive action has yet been taken.
The government’s own Equality Impact Assessment highlights the potential risks, including increased discrimination, threats to physical safety, and reduced access to essential services. It also raises broader concerns about the implications for the general public, warning that appearance-based gender policing could have unintended consequences for safety more widely.
Helen Belcher, Managing Director of TransActual, said the proposals represented a significant departure from established practice. “Labour’s bathroom ban is an affront to the spirit and intent of the Equality Act,” she said. “It has turned decades-old settled policy on how trans people should be treated into a mess of contradictory, harmful and incoherent rules. It is past time for the Prime Minister to intervene.”
Alexandra Parmar-Yee, Director of the Trans+ Solidarity Alliance, said the government could no longer avoid responsibility. “We have been very clear that allowing this situation to continue is a political choice, and that the government must now take responsibility and legislate to fix our broken framework for trans equality,” she said.
Vic Valentine, manager of Scottish Trans at Equality Network, warned that the impact could be widespread if the Code were implemented as drafted. “If all services ran how this Code says they should, it would cause untold harm to trans people across Britain,” they said. “Rather than letting that come to pass, the Prime Minister should act now to prevent it - whether that means changing the Code, or changing the law.”
The organisations have submitted a joint letter outlining their concerns in detail and calling for urgent intervention.
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