‘This ruling should now remove any remaining barrier to approval of EHRC code’

Labour Women’s Declaration welcomes the High Court’s dismissal of the Good Law Project and three anonymous parties’ challenge to the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s interim update, and its conclusion that the update contained “no error of law”. We trust this will provide the impetus and clarity needed for the EHRC Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations to now be laid before parliament by the Minister for Women and Equalities.

In response to misinformation circulating last April, the interim update was issued to help service providers interpret the law correctly, following the Supreme Court ruling in For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers which unanimously ruled that, for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010, the terms “man,” “woman,” and “sex,” refer to biological sex.

However, despite the ruling last week which dismissed their claims “in their entirety” the Good Law Project (GLP) together with advocacy groups and a couple of highly irresponsible Labour MPs, have taken to social media to share statements which contradict the ruling. Legal expert Michael Foran’s Substack brilliantly dismantles these distortions of the truth. 

READ MORE: ‘Labour’s women’s conference compromise raises questions about our commitment to single-sex spaces’

The GLP’s factually incorrect claims about the ruling aim to perpetuate the misconception that trans-identified people have a legal right to access single-sex spaces based on gender identity, a position that the For Women Scotland Supreme Court judgement made clear is not, and has never been, the law.

It is one thing to disagree with a ruling,but it is only right to do so within the parameters of what has actually been said by the judge and in the law. Otherwise it is just misinformation that risks harm to both women and trans identified people. 

Some trans activist groups have also claimed that the ruling means the anticipated EHRC draft Code of Practice for Services, Public Functions and Associations must be sent back to the EHRC for rewriting. This is untrue, not least because the GLP judicial review concerned only the interim update and did not involve the Code of Practice.

The EHRC Code of Practice does not make the law, as the EHRC explains: 

“The Code of Practice explains how the Equality Act 2010 works in relation to the provision of services, public functions, and associations. It applies the legal concepts in the Act to everyday situations, with practical examples to illustrate how the law can be used to protect equality.”

Following the For Women Scotland ruling, many service providers and employers, including the Civil Service, HM Courts and Tribunal Service and the NHS, have still not updated their single-sex policies, erroneously claiming they must wait for Government approval of the Code of Practice before doing so. The Government has consistently advised employers not to delay and to seek their own legal guidance where necessary.

Once approved, the EHRC Code of Practice must be laid before Parliament for 40 days, (meaning that even if laid tomorrow, it will not come into force as statutory guidance before the one-year anniversary of the For Women Scotland ruling has passed). The Government has emphasised it is taking time to ensure the Code is legally sound. Labour Women’s Declaration sincerely hopes and expects that last week’s ruling will now remove any remaining barrier to approval.

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As legal battles continue, it is women who are left to navigate the real-life consequences of all this prolonged uncertainty. In a recent press release UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls Reem Alsalem encouraged  joined-up thinking between the Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls strategy and the full implementation of the For Women Scotland judgment:

 “… The United Kingdom has long been regarded as a leader in addressing violence against women and girls and its consequences… swift and effective implementation of this judgment would send a clear signal of the UK’s continued commitment to upholding women’s rights and the authority of its highest court.” 

Recent discussion around challenging misogyny and the “boys’ club” culture in Parliament and the Labour Party by “having a woman in the room” misses the point. It is the women outside the room we should be prioritising.

Working-class women need to know that, under this Labour government, the women-only public services we need such as changing rooms, toilets, domestic violence refuges, sexual assault and rape crisis centres, health services, sports clubs, lesbian social groups and prisons will remain women-only.

There is nothing “Labour,” or “socialist” or “progressive” about telling nurses they are bigots because they do not want to undress in front of men, and it is shameful that the Darlington Nurses, Sandie Peggie, and Jennifer Melle were not supported by their trade unions. 

Women’s dignity, privacy and safety is not a culture-war issue. This is about challenging the men who refuse to accept when a woman says no. 

Supporters of Labour Women’s Declaration come from all sections of the party but we are united in our hope for the success of our Labour Government.

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As local and devolved elections approach, ignoring women’s legitimate concerns over single-sex rights is a political liability for Labour. It allows Reform to exploit these concerns, as Trump did, and risks alienating Labour voters who want a return to fairness, decency and common sense.

Labour Women’s Declaration always welcomes respectful debate, and everyone is entitled to their own beliefs in this area. But let us at least agree on our starting points: the truth matters and the law is the law.

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