Why Labour’s ban on puberty blockers shows party abandoning progressive principles

Instead of listening to evidence on trans issues, Labour is following in the footsteps of the culture-war government that preceded it.

Consider UK health secretary Wes Streeting’s intention to ban puberty blockers being prescribed to children for gender-based reasons – a decision he says has come from the Cass Review.

The Cass Review does not call for a ban on puberty blockers, nor says they are dangerous. It instead calls for more evidence and recommends caution. That does not mean a ban – it is a call to review, not rush. Then there is the fundamental question of why the medication can be used to prevent precocious puberty, but is denied to trans youth. It’s either dangerous or it isn’t.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting is minded to ban puberty blockers.

This is not a controversial point, a hot take or me being grabbed by the non-existent trans lobby. It is literally the findings of the review. The health secretary knows this, because he’s read it, and been warned by several of his own MPs.

As Kim Johnson, the Labour MP for Liverpool Riverside, put it, Labour’s manifesto promised to “remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance”. It is hard to see how following a Tory policy does this.

This goes to the heart of Labour’s issues. The party wants to paint itself as a progressive ally to trans people, but consistently acts in a way that proves otherwise. Its manifesto included a trans inclusive ban on conversion therapy and improved access to healthcare for trans people, yet in its first week is promising legislation to make trans lives more difficult.

It’s a far wider issue than puberty blockers. It’s the message it sends to a community so demonised, so misunderstood, that people who have never met a trans person feel entitled to deny their right to exist.

It is a slippery slope and one that has consequences. It is what has led Trans Pride Brighton, the largest outside America, to express “trepidation” among the community. Trans people aren’t interested in bathrooms, they’re scared of people impacting their lives.

It’s why Analysis by Just Like Us – the LGBT+ young people’s charity – suggests young trans people are twice as likely to struggle with self-harm and suicidal thoughts and feelings.

This wider transphobia, this larger normalising of hate is what makes MPs such as Rosie Duffield feel confident posting pictures of children with a pride flag, lamenting their learning of “sexuality/gender identity”. How unreasonable for them to be taught this, she cries, while posting images of children without permission.

It is why, at what should be a time of celebration for the party, LGBT+ Labour has written to the health secretary asking for a clear timetable to allow access to healthcare for trans people as part of safe clinical trials. Then there’s the Cass Review itself, which academics from across the UK, Germany, Canada and the United States raised concerns over research being excluded, especially with regard to mental health improvements.

It’s one thing to pause puberty blockers, it’s another entirely to ban them. This was done without assurances for trans people amid concerns from many within the Labour party. It’s either a progressive party or it isn’t, and will be judged on its treatment of trans people, not what appear to be just empty words.