Trans Labour councillor resigns from party over ‘throwing trans people under the bus’

A trans Labour councillor has resigned from the party, accusing it of having “thrown transgender people under the bus”.

Dylan Tippetts, who sits on Plymouth City Council and is chair of the Taxi Licensing committee, said he could no longer represent a party “that does not support (his) fundamental rights”.

“The Labour Party nationally has thrown transgender people under the bus and has taken us backwards decades. Everyone deserves the right to live peacefully, and the Labour Party continues to deny transgender people that basic right.

“I cannot continue to represent a party that does not support my fundamental rights. I cannot as a trans person continue to support the Labour Party.”

I’ve used the men’s toilets for three years without any issue

Speaking to LabourList, Tippetts said he had been personally affected by the ruling, after he was given legal advice that he should no longer use the men’s toilets in council buildings.

“I had legal advice from council officers in response to the guidance from the Equality and Human Rights Commission about which toilets I should use. For the last three years on the council, I’ve used the men’s toilets without any issue.

“No councillor from any party has ever challenged why I was there.

“They’ve respected I was Dylan, I’m a man, I’m going to use the men’s toilet. And I was told, as a result of legal guidance, that I shouldn’t anymore, and I should use a single, separated cubicle.

“And in our council buildings, that meant the disabled toilet, which has really put me in a difficult situation, because I don’t need to access the disabled toilets, with a disability – I have the physical capability to be able to go to the men’s toilet.

“And now I’m taking away from a space that people genuinely need, that I don’t need to access, and it makes me feel really uncomfortable, because I just want to go to the toilet in the men’s like I have done for the last three years.”

It’s creating a real fear culture

He said he did not want Britain to go in the same direction as Trump’s America on trans rights.

“That is an absolutely terrifying prospect, because it makes everyone unsafe. We’ve seen in America that they started with going after trans people, and then they went after the rights of women, and I don’t want to see us go down that path.”

Tippetts said he also knew “butch-presenting” lesbians who were now being challenged in women’s toilets due to being more masculine-presenting.

“I’ve heard from butch-presenting lesbians in their 50s and 60s who’ve never been challenged before using the women’s toilet, who are now receiving those challenges, asking why they’re in there. And of course, they’re in there, they’re all women, and that’s where they’re going to go to the toilet. It’s just creating a real fear culture.”

Tippetts said he would continue to sit on the council as an independent councillor, but will not be seeking re-election next year.

Labour and Plymouth Council have been contacted for comment.

It comes after the Supreme Court ruled that the term sex refers to biological women in the Equality Act.

At the time, a UK government spokesperson responded by saying it had “always supported the protection of single sex spaces based on biological sex” and would continue to do so, adding that the ruling brought “clarity and confidence” for women and service providers such as hospitals, refuges, and sports clubs.

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Meanwhile Labour peer and former women and equalities minister Harriet Harman, also chair of the Fawcett Society, said the verdict “correctly interprets” current legislation and ministers’ intentions when it was drafted under the last Labour government. ”

She added: “Single sex spaces for women are important and can exclude trans women but only where necessary. The Act, and ruling, protects rights of women while also respecting the rights of trans women.”

However, trans rights campaigners warned the government should not “row back on the trans-inclusive spirit” of the act despite the verdict.

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