Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative Party’s Equalities Minister, has criticized Prime Minister Rishi Sunak for not taking a firmer stance against local councils that have refused to comply with new government guidelines on access to single-sex spaces. Badenoch suggested the Prime Minister’s reluctance to act indicates he may still hold views sympathetic to transgender rights that conflict with the current legal framework.
The controversy centers on a code of practice issued by the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) that came into effect on August 5. The guidance requires public services, including local authorities, to allocate access to single-sex spaces based on a person’s biological sex rather than gender identity. This means transgender individuals are expected to use gender-neutral facilities or those corresponding to their sex assigned at birth.
Several local councils led by Green Party members—namely Lambeth, Hackney, Haringey, Lewisham, Southwark, and Waltham Forest—publicly declared last week that they would defy the EHRC guidance. These councils stated that they intended to keep their services “inclusive” and resist what they described as placing staff in an “impossible position” of policing entry to public spaces. The councils warned that they viewed the guidance as harmful to transgender rights, arguing it would increase the exclusion of trans people from public life.
In contrast, Badenoch has called on the Prime Minister to order those councils to comply with the law or face consequences, emphasizing that single-sex spaces must be protected "from biological men." She pointed out that Andy Burnham, the former Greater Manchester mayor and current Labour figure, previously expressed support for transgender rights, including allowing trans women access to women’s lavatories. While Burnham has since expressed support for implementing the EHRC’s code during a recent by-election campaign, Badenoch accused him of backtracking primarily due to shifts in public opinion and criticized his failure to confront the councils openly.
Burnham, who has previously described support for single-sex spaces based solely on biological sex as a "minority view," acknowledged that the “time has come” to implement the guidance amid pressure from various advocacy groups across the political spectrum.
The EHRC, an independent watchdog, stated that it is monitoring compliance with the code and will take enforcement action if deemed proportionate and necessary. While the government has reminded councillors of their legal obligations under the new code, no direct intervention has yet been reported.
Requests for comment from Downing Street were not immediately answered. The unfolding situation highlights ongoing tensions in balancing legal frameworks, transgender rights, and local government autonomy over public service policies.