Labour’s stance on puberty blockers has sparked a row in the party, with the party’s LGBT+ group expressing “deep concerns” at the move to permanently ban them for children.
LGBT+ Labour itself has also come under fire though from its own trans officer for not challenging the Health Secretary more. Gender-critical activists within the party welcomed the announcement, however.
Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced yesterday that a ban on puberty blockers for under-18s will be made permanent.
The Department of Health and Social Care said that the decision was made following advice from independent expert advice that claimed there was an “unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to children”.
Streeting said: “Children’s healthcare must always be evidence-led. The independent expert Commission on Human Medicines found that the current prescribing and care pathway for gender dysphoria and incongruence presents and unacceptable safety risk for children and young people.
“We need to act with caution and care when it comes to this vulnerable group of young people and follow the expert advice.
“We are working with NHS England to open new gender identity services, so people can access holistic health and wellbeing support they need. We are setting up a clinical trial into the use of puberty blockers next year, to establish a clear evidence base for the use of this medicine.”
READ MORE: New Labour MP embroiled in trans rights row
However, the move has been criticised by LGBT+ activists and organisations, including LGBT+ Labour, which said the ban would “have a detrimental impact on the mental health of young trans people”.
Following the decision taken by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care regarding the indefinite ban on puberty blockers, we have written to him to express our deep concern to this decision and request that he meet with us to discuss this further. (1/4) pic.twitter.com/pqizmOynJv
— LGBT+ Labour (@LGBTLabour) December 12, 2024
In an open letter to the Health Secretary, LGBT+ Labour said: “Puberty blockers represent an important medication for many children and young people with gender dysphoria both in the UK and the rest of the world, as part of their gender transition. Trans adolescents must now be offered further resources elsewhere to support them.”
LGBT+ Labour welcomed the news of a clinical trial on their effectiveness, to begin next year, but called for greater information about the nature and scale of the trials.
The organisation’s response to yesterday’s announcement has itself sparked controversy, however, with the national trans officer for LGBT+ Labour Georgia Meadows taking to social media to describe their comments as “shockingly poor”.
“LGB Labour have completely lost the confidence of the trans community,” Meadows wrote.
They claimed to have been “ignored” in the process of drafting the statement, posting online the version they had suggested they should make.
LabourList has approached LGBT+ Labour for comment.
This is the statement that I, as the only trans person on the @LGBTLabour National Committee asked them to make. They completely and utterly ignored me and will release a shockingly poor statement at 16:00.
LGB Labour have completely lost the confidence of the trans community. pic.twitter.com/jTH3T2TSnZ
— Georgia Meadows (@MsGrgaMeadows) December 12, 2024
Ban ‘flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto’
Labour For Trans Rights condemned the decision by the Health Secretary and said that it amounts to a breach of a manifesto commitment to trans people.
In a statement, the group said: “This move disregards the urgent needs of vulnerable young people and flies in the face of Labour’s manifesto commitment to ‘remove indignities for trans people who deserve recognition and acceptance’.
“The indefinite nature of this ban creates an environment of fear and uncertainty, which is already taking a toll on the mental health of trans youth.
“Trans lives are not a political battleground. We urge the Labour leadership to listen to its membership, to the trans community, and to change course.”
‘Wes Streeting has shown himself as the adult in the room’
The decision has received some praise from others within the Labour Party, including the Labour Women’s Declaration Working Group.
They said: “Wes Streeting has consistently shown himself as the adult in the room on this topic. His commendation of those of us who have spoken out for years about the harms to children and to women’s rights was moving to hear.
“Our welcome of the decision is shared by the majority of the PLP, by Labour members and by the general public. The Cass Review concluded that there is no evidence of their safety or efficacy. Those like Labour for Trans Rights who are still opposing the ban are now the outliers.”
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NHS prescriptions of puberty blockers to children at gender identity clinics ended in March, with a government ban following in May, restricting NHS provision to within clinical trials.
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