Political parties are set to receive guidance that trans women will no longer be eligible for women-only shortlists, while trans men will be permitted. This decision follows a recent Supreme Court ruling affirming that a person’s gender is determined by their biological sex according to equalities law.
Since the mid-1990s, some parties have utilized all-women shortlists (AWS) to bolster female representation, with Labour pioneering this approach ahead of the 1997 general election by selecting half of its candidates from women-only shortlists. Both Labour and the SNP have previously allowed trans women access to these shortlists, sparking controversy in the past.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is expected to issue updated guidance on the matter, citing that it was previously seen as incongruous for a trans woman (assigned male at birth) to be eligible for a women-only shortlist while a trans man (assigned female at birth) was not. The EHRC also noted discrepancies in the eligibility criteria for trans women with and without a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC), a legal document recognizing an individual’s gender identity.
While the recent ruling clarifies that women-only shortlists are reserved for those assigned female at birth, it remains unclear how this will impact broader initiatives to enhance female representation. The charity 50:50 Parliament, which advocates for gender balance in elected UK bodies regardless of political affiliation, plans to assess the ruling’s implications for its work. Furthermore, Labour had temporarily suspended AWS for the 2024 general election due to an overrepresentation of female MPs in the parliamentary party, though this imbalance has since shifted, reigniting discussions about AWS usage for future selections
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