The Labour Government has sparked controversy by breaking its election promise to protect female-only spaces, now permitting transgender women to access certain single-sex areas designated for biological females under specific circumstances.
Previously, Keir Starmer assured voters that safeguarding female-only spaces was a top priority during a general election debate with Rishi Sunak. However, Labour’s Women and Equalities Unit (WEU) has recently stated that transgender women can use female-only spaces, such as changing rooms and bathrooms, as long as the policy is in line with the Equality Act 2010, provided it doesn’t falsely claim the law mandates such allowances.
This change has left many critics, including Conservative Shadow Minister for Women Claire Coutinho, deeply concerned, calling it a “broken promise” and a “worrying reversal.” Coutinho highlighted that Labour’s manifesto had previously committed to protecting female-only spaces, but the new stance allows biological men to enter these spaces and still label them “single-sex.”
The controversy stems from a consultation launched by former Women and Equalities Minister Kemi Badenoch in May. It aimed to clarify how organisations interpreted the Equality Act’s rules on single-sex spaces amid rising concerns over transgender women using female-only facilities. Under the act, organisations may exclude trans individuals from single-sex spaces only if it is deemed proportionate for privacy or safety.
Labour’s WEU responded to the consultation by acknowledging that many submissions were consistent with the law but stated that some organisations allowed transgender women into these spaces based on their policies rather than legal requirements. Critics argue this move gives tacit approval for more organisations to accept transgender women into women-only spaces.
Maya Forstater, executive director of the campaign group Sex Matters, accused the government of reneging on its promise. She warned, “The government is saying it’s fine for any man who claims to be a woman to enter women’s changing rooms and showers—spaces where people get naked.”