STATEMENT: For Women Scotland v The Scottish Ministers
- Pride in Labour
- 5 days ago
- 2 min read
Our statement on the Supreme Court's ruling - the government must take urgent action to protect trans people in the United Kingdom
Today a great mistake has been made and the erosion of transgender rights in the UK is inevitable unless this Labour government acts immediately. The ruling that a woman is strictly based within biology means that even with a Gender Recognition Certificate, a transgender woman is not legally a woman. This means that a transgender woman is not protected from sex-based discrimination (i.e. misogyny), she is not protected from being paid less than a man, and that she cannot access vital services if she is a victim of sexual abuse.
This ruling stretches much further than legal definitions or accessing spaces, it opens the door to a world of uncertainty and alienation for the transgender community. The cultural message of this ruling is just as powerful as the legal one with the Supreme Court validating transphobic rhetoric. It is now much easier for employers, councils, schools and other institutions to argue against trans-inclusive policy, and campaign groups will find it much easier to push for further rollback of existing rights, including the right to transition-related healthcare or respectful recognition in public life. This is the state telling transgender people that their gender is not real, it is the state telling the public that the gender identity of trans people is not valid. What does this mean for healthcare? What does this mean for schools? What does it mean for a transgender person trying to live their lives? The reality is, with the current direction of this Labour government, nothing is off the table when it comes to the marginalisation of trans people.
We must treat this as what it truly is: a direct threat from the state to the safety, dignity, and equality of our community. This moment calls for more than outrage – it calls for organisation. When the media misrepresents us and the law tries to erase us, we need allies in the room where decisions are made. We need trans people leading, writing policy, challenging outdated thinking, and ensuring that our rights are never an afterthought.
Organisations like Pride in Labour are not just vehicles for representation; they’re shields against rollback. When we campaign within these spaces, we root ourselves in solidarity not with the labour party but with the labour movement - a movement that has always fought for those pushed to the margins. We remind our parties, our unions, and our councils that trans rights are workers’ rights, healthcare rights, housing rights, and human rights. That our lives cannot be abstracted from the social justice fight.
But we cannot rely on promises made in manifestos; we’ve tried that. It’s on us to keep the pressure on, to make sure that the commitments to trans people are real, measurable and resourced. We must demand inclusive policy, not just inclusive language. We must build coalitions strong enough to face a state that disagrees and misinforms, a state that seeks to divide us.
If the courts tell us we don’t count, then we will count ourselves. Loudly, proudly, and politically.
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