Letter to Bridget Phillipson MP
Over 200 people — including broadcasters, priests, vicars, academics, and the LGBTIQA+ Greens from the Green Party of England and Wales — have come together to sign this open letter to MP Bridget Phillipson, the Labour Education Secretary and Minister for Women and Equalities, demanding accountability, clarity, and respect for trans rights.
At a time when trans people in the UK are facing increasing hostility, attacks on rights and dangerous misinformation from our political leaders, lives at being put at risk. We cannot stand by while trans people’s dignity and safety are undermined.
We are calling for action, for honesty, and for a recommitment to equality.
A huge thank you to every single person who signed and supported this letter — your voices matter, and together, we are louder.
The time to stand up for trans rights is now. 🏳️⚧️
Read the letter below, followed by the alt text underneath:
Alt Text
Dear Ms Phillipson
We are writing as Equality Amplified alongside over 200 individuals signatory to this letter who represent a growing coalition of individuals, organisations, and allies to express our serious concerns about your recent statement on national television, in which you suggested that trans women should be made to use male toilets. This comment is not only dangerous and dehumanising, but it also misrepresents both the legal and social realities of trans people’s lives in the UK.
You are not alone in promoting this harmful inaccuracy. The Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has on Tuesday 22 April made similar statements asserting that trans women should be using men’s toilets. This is not only factually incorrect but marks a sharp and troubling departure from his previous commitments to trans rights made by the Labour Party.
Let us be clear: The law has not changed. Under the Equality Act 2010, trans people are protected from discrimination in the provision of goods and services, including access to single-sex spaces. The law allows for exclusions only where they are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim, not as a blanket rule, and certainly not as political dogma. The UK Supreme Court ruling did not declare that trans women must be excluded from women’s toilets or spaces. In fact, Lord Hodge, in delivering the recent judgment, explicitly warned against treating the ruling as a victory for either side.
There is no legitimate justification for forcing trans women to use men's toilets, and no credible evidence supports the claim that their inclusion in women's spaces presents any heightened risk to cisgender women. Furthermore, there is no evidence to suggest that self-ID laws lead to an increase in violence or abuse. Many countries that have implemented self-ID laws, such as Ireland, have seen no increase in reported cases of violence or crime. Forcing trans women into a third space, as you suggest, is unworkable, unnecessary and will only serve to out trans people, which could lead to an increase of abuse.
For the Prime Minister, someone who once claimed to stand for equality, to now renege on those principles is not only a betrayal of the LGBTQ+ community, but a stark signal that political expediency has taken priority over human dignity and truth. This loss of integrity does not go unnoticed.
Misrepresenting this legal position not only creates confusion, it also endangers lives. It emboldens those seeking to weaponise the law against trans people, fosters a hostile environment, and contributes directly to the harassment of trans individuals in public spaces. We’ve already seen the fallout. Only days after the ruling, trans people and those perceived to be trans have been accosted, harassed, and filmed in bathrooms and changing rooms.
At a time when trans people already face growing hostility, demonisation in the press, and increasing incidents of public harassment, your words offer fuel to those seeking to roll back hard-won rights. Your statement directly endangers the safety of one of the UK’s most marginalised communities.
Your role as Minister for Women & Equalities carries a duty not only to all women, but to all marginalised groups protected under the Equality Act 2010. That includes trans people. You are failing in that duty.
You claim to support “fairness and respect for all” while actively denying trans people the ability to access safe and appropriate public facilities. This contradiction does not go unnoticed and neither does your silence in the face of mass protests where thousands marched for trans rights. Instead of engaging with those voices, you fixated on chalk markings on statues, once again ignoring the outpouring of trans voices who are concerned for their safety and rights.
Thousands of cisgender women, parents, teachers, trade unionists, and community organisers have been unequivocal in their support of trans people. These women see the attacks on trans rights for what they are: A threat to everyone’s dignity and autonomy.
Labour was once the party of equality, proudly standing on the side of progress. But recent rhetoric suggests a shift toward populist appeasement, not principle. The LGBTQ+ community has noticed, and we feel betrayed.
We therefore demand the following:
A public retraction and correction of your misleading comments about trans people and bathroom access.
An accurate clarification of the Supreme Court ruling, consistent with Lord Hodge’s explicit guidance.
A public commitment to upholding the Equality Act 2010, including the rights of trans people to access services free from discrimination.
Direct engagement with trans-led organisations, legal experts, and grassroots communities to inform Labour’s policy going forward.
Clear action from Labour’s leadership to recommit to LGBTQ+ equality not in words, but in legislation, representation, and policy.
We need clarity, honesty, and a genuine commitment to safeguarding the rights and lives of trans people in the UK.
It is not a hyperbole to say that lives are on the line. The decisions and statements you make in the coming months will shape the future of a generation of trans people in this country. We hope you take our words to heart and make decisions that help trans people, not harm them.
Signed by,
Abi Bliss, Yorkshire Sound Women Network
Alfredo Carpineti, Chair Pride in STEM
Alison Porte, Airline Pilot
Anne Orchard, Concerned parent
Ash Thomas Paley, PhD student University of Leeds
C Heaviside, Contact Centre training manager
Caroline Litman, Author and bereaved parent
Carrie Marshall, Author
Chris Bradley, Business Owner Created by us Limited
Christopher Berry, Senior Lecturer University of Glasgow
David En-Griffiths, Associate Lecturer Open University
Dr Alex Kemp, Specialist in counter extremism
Dr Giles Richard Greenway, Research Software Engineer Team Leader Queen Mary University of London
Dr Oliver Tew, Cognitive Psychologist
E Vincent, Trans ally
Ed Finch, Teacher
Elizabeth Elliott, Senior lecturer University of Aberdeen
Emi Lewis Facilitator, Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective
Fiona MacCarthy, Business Owner Mastercraft Enterprises Ltd
Ian Fellows, Senior Lecturer
India Willoughby, Broadcaster Freelance
Isobel Gray, Writer
Jack Duxbury Barber, Postgraduate Researcher University of Aberdeen
Jessica Bradley, Senior Data Engineer Ardonagh Advisory
Jessica Harriet, Corespondent Trans Advocacy and Complaints Collective
John Wadsworth, Retired Senior Lecturer
Julia Shacklock, IT Director
Justin Peacock, Retired Civil Service
Kit Fryatt, Lecturer Dublin City University
Kit Way, Counsellor Trans Therapy London
LGBTIQA+ Greens Green Party of England & Wales
Marika Rose, Vice Chair University of Winchester UCU Branch
Merek Cooper, Teacher
Ms Ada Wolf, Engineer
Niki Strange, Mother, Ally, Academic
Patricia Watt, Self Employed Musician
Philippa East, Clinical Psychologist and Author
Rachel Mann, Archdeacon of Salford & Bolton, writer & broadcaster
The Rev’d Dr Jo Kershaw, Priest Diocese of Leeds
Tom Wallis, Vicar Church of Engiand
Aaron Michael Read
Abigail Hutchings-Pates
Adam Freedman
Alex Baker
Alexandra Patterson
Amanda Barnfield
Amy Burford
Amy Stubbs
Andrea Vine
Andrew button
Andrew Cochran
Andrew Marshall
Angela Orr
Anne-Marie Organ
Anthony Bird
Arden Jenkins
Aria Walton
Ashleigh Collins-Quirk
Ashleigh Loeb
Averie Watson
Ben Guest
Bethan Nye
Brian Medley
C S Hawk
Cait archer
Cal Byrne
Callie
Callie Damerell
Cara Bennie
Cassandra Trudgett
Cecilia Segantini
Charlie Hallam
Charlotte Lunn
Cherry Lewis
Claire Mullaly
Daisy Stanley
Daisy Wain
Dale Aspinall
Deirdre Murphy
Derek Penny
Devrim Yigit
Dominie Thorne
Dr Cindy Corliss
Dr David Allsopp
Dr Gemma Tickle
Dr Matthew Colbeck
Dr Stewart Smith
Dr Tacey O’Neil
Dylan Coldwater
Eliette Priaulx
Elizabeth B Liddle
Emily
Emily Halton
Emily Harford
Emily Newton
Emily Rogers
Evelyn Kaye White
Felicity Pryke
Fin Mercy Driver
Flora Alexander
Flora Stell
Francesca Rolle
Fraser Brown
Freyja Domville
Gareth Rogers
Gary Waddington
Gigi
Gloria Preston
Gwen Hersi
Gwen Lloyd
Hannah
Hazel Bull
Hazel Bull
Hazel Hamilton
Helen Stubbs
Ian Rennie
Isabella Fozi
Isla Kennedy
Isn Underhill
Isobel Freyley
Jack Newbold
Jack Page
Jae Halton
James Dyche
James Fry
James Loxley
Jamie Bradley
Jane Rawlinson
Jay Allan
Jemma Vanessa Fry
Jen F
Jennifer Wright
Jessica Smith
Jim Chilton
Joanna Franks
Joanna Meader
John Campbell
John Carter
Jonathan Coatman
Jules Kast
Julie Heal
Kate Anderson
Kate Fisher
Kate Hunneyball
Kathy Halton
Kelsey Byers
Kerensa Staniland
Kevin Cunningham
Laura McInnes
Lee Martin
Lena Gibson
Leo Miller
Lesley Hall
lesley menzies
Lisa Wooldridge
Liz Gwynne
Lorna Johnston
Loz Rex
Lu Bowen
Lu Bowen
Lux Williams
Lydian Reeves
Marianne Dawes
Marie Stern-Peltz
Mark De Courcy
Mark Hollowell
Mary Poole
Matilda Wilkinson
Matilda Wilkinson
Matthew Langhorn
Matthew Lewis
Matthew McVeigh
Mel Conway
Michael Goodeve
Michelle Angel
Mikey Lio
Mollie Bloomfield
Mr Alec Burrett
Natalie Pearce
Nicola Clarkson
Nicola M
Nicola M
Nika Mehta
Omar Malik
Paul Chivers
Philip Hoggart
R. L. Bright
R.H. Rishton
Rachel Greenham
Rachel Wilkinson
Rakie Bennett
Richard Matley
Rob Freeman
Rob Robinson
Rob Taylor-Ailes
Robin Cafferata
Robin Hague
Rose Dowding
Rosemary Cumes
Ryan Castellucci
Sam Cook
Sam Thomas
Samantha Mullaney
Samantha Thomas
Sarah Gregor
Scott Malthouse
Selina Nelmes
Sheena Ferguson
Sian Evans
Simon Berthiaume
Simon Jones
Sophie Bosi
Steph Baross
Stephen Yap
Steve Brown
Steven Barton
Steven Perkins
Stevie Ancasta Payton
Susie Day
Tamara Marie Keating
Tamsin Pearson
Tazmin Vince-Lawer
Thomas
Toby Ross
Tom Jenkins
Tom McAteer
Tomos Gethin Johns
Tony Kiernan
Tristan Barber
Valkyrie
William John Lyons
Zara Siddiquee