Labour MP says Party 'absolute embarrassment' over gender identity

The Labour Party has been branded an “absolute embarrassment” by one of its own MPs when it comes to the conversation about women’s rights and gender identity.

Rosie Duffield said she felt she was in a “safe space” attending the first annual conference of the LGB Alliance in central London.

The Canterbury MP appeared on a panel entitled Cancel Culture and Free Speech alongside fellow parliamentarians Joanna Cherry, of the SNP, and Tory Jackie Doyle-Price.

MP Rosie Duffield listens to Allison Bailey, the lawyer suing Stonewall for victimisation, deliver her keynote speech during the first LGB Alliance annual conference.
Kirsty O'Connor

Ms Duffield stayed away from the Labour Party conference last month because of the abuse she suffered after being labelled a “transphobe”.

At a Fringe event, she had reportedly accused colleagues of “chucking me on the railway tracks” over her stance on issues such as people being allowed to self-identify as female and comments including “only women have a cervix”.

Speaking at the LGB Alliance meeting on Thursday, she said it felt “incredibly lonely” within her own party, and credited Ms Cherry and Ms Doyle-Price for supporting her throughout the past year.

MP Rosie Duffield (2nd left), MP Joanna Cherry QC (2nd right) and writer Graham Linehan (right) during the first LGB Alliance annual conference.
Kirsty O'Connor

She told the conference: “We’re OK to talk about everyone else’s rights, but we’re not supposed to talk about women, and we’re not supposed to talk about our bodies without quantifying it or justifying it, or adding on other groups that we also support to, sort of, you know, have our credentials allowed.

“So we’re not allowed to just speak about things that really only do affect women.”

She said being called homophobic was “the most insulting and distressing thing”, and described it as “incredibly hurtful” not to be able to attend Canterbury Pride after being told it was not safe for her to do so.

Labour Party leader Sir Keir Starmer.
Jonathan Brady

She said she cannot “shut up” and “be quiet”, adding: “This idea that women’s rights are, we have to justify talking about them is just completely ridiculous and I’m afraid my party is an absolute embarrassment at the moment.”

She said she had seen Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer on Wednesday night, and told him: “Look, I’m trying to be supportive of you as our leader, and he said ‘I know, I know’ and then he got whisked away.”

The LGB Alliance has said rights of lesbian, gay and bisexual people are “under threat” in the face of a campaign to replace sex with gender.

The organisation, which describes itself as standing for the rights of same-sex attracted people, said there is currently “so much acrimony” in the debate.

A group of demonstrators holding placards saying “Trans rights are human rights” gathered outside the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre where the event was being held.