TL;DR: The Labour Party has promised to fix failing maternity care units, address the mental health crisis, and implement the Cass Review. However, to avoid letting women’s health drop off the agenda, they must build on the previous government’s previous Women’s Health strategy – rather than starting from scratch.
LGBTQIA+ rights
The culture wars are upon us, with transgender women bearing the brunt of the backlash. Earlier this week, a transgender woman was violently attacked in Stockton. Three boys – aged 12, 14, and 16 – have been arrested and remain in police custody. There has been an 11% rise in attacks on transgender people last year.
The Labour Party had previously described the discrimination that transgender people face as “really distressing”, promising a “reset moment” that advocates for “dignity and respect for everyone in Britain” (via Pink News). This rhetoric appears to be at odds with recent comments made by the Labour leader, who said that transgender women “don’t have the right” and “shouldn’t” enter female-only spaces – even if they have a gender recognition certificate, which legally recognises a person’s gender.
Starmer added, “I’ve always said biological women’s spaces need to be protected.”
Wes Streeting, who only just won his seat, has also previously said that he would support proposals to ban transgender women from same-sex wards.
The wider LGBTQIA+ community also needs urgent support; with almost 25,000 LGBT+ people being on the receiving end of hate crimes in 2023, the previous government U-turned on banning conversion therapy, and the grim reality that almost one in five LGBT people have experienced homelessness.
The Labour Manifesto pledges a “trans-inclusive ban on conversion practices”, as well as introducing harsher penalties for hate crimes and “modernising” the gender recognition process.
TL;DR: Given the PM’s apparent U-turn on supporting transgender women’s right to enter same-sex spaces, many LGBT+ people do not trust him to advocate for the community. It’s up to him – and the rest of the Labour Party – to earn back that trust.
Climate change
Women and girls are disproportionately impacted by climate change – and too often shoulder the burden of fighting to save the planet.
The Labour Manifesto is committed to a “clean energy transition”, introducing new legislation to revamp the country’s energy and climate policies, including banning fracking, closing loopholes in the windfall tax on oil and gas companies, and creating a new publicly-owned company, Great British Energy, to deliver clean power.
However, the Prime Minister has been heavily criticised, particularly by environmental groups such as Green New Deal Rising, for scaling back on his promise to invest £28bn a year into a ‘green prosperity fund’ to tackle the climate crisis.
Indeed, last year, GLAMOUR spoke to Sophia Coningham, a climate activist who interrupted one of Sir Keir Starmer’s pre-election speeches about the Labour Party’s approach to climate change. She notes, “[The Labour leader] said clearly that the biggest challenge we face is climate delays. Well, unfortunately, at the moment, he’s one of those.”
It’s also notable that the PM described the activist group Just Stop Oil – which uses controversial direct-action tactics to protest British fossil fuel production – as “contemptible” following its latest action at Stonehenge.
The Green Party had a historic night, winning all four of their target seats. We can expect – and hope – these MPs to hold the PM accountable for his promises on the climate.
TL;DR: The Labour Party has plenty of specific sustainable policies, but is it listening to female climate activists? If not, we’re sure the Greens will be holding thme accountable.
For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.