Trans rights activists are set to demonstrate at a council meeting in a call for a councillor to resign over sharing posts on social media described as transphobic.
Activists from the Trans Liberation Front Brighton are calling on the Labour administration on Brighton and Hove City Council to “take a decisive stand against local and national transphobia in the party”.
Councillor Alison Thomson apologised and was removed from a role on the council last month after “endorsing” social media posts that contained “anti-trans sentiments”.
She also committed to "undergoing training to better understand the lived experiences of transgender people".
The move attracted criticism from Jon Pike, a local Labour secretary, who said it was "wholly wrong to suggest that Cllr Thomson needs some kind of Maoist re-education on this".
Trans activists have called for Cllr Thomson, who won by only one vote at the local election in May, to stand down.
A spokesman for the Trans Liberation Front said: “Although members of the party offered an apology for her behaviour, and yet even this was too much for local Labour secretary Jon Pike, who declared that Thomson’s transphobic views should be considered representative of the Labour Party policy.
“We believe Brighton and Hove Labour’s response to all of this is unacceptable for a group that claims to be an ally of the trans community.”
Protesters will gather outside Hove Town Hall on Thursday, October 19, to coincide with a meeting of full council to “challenge Labour transphobia”.
Council leader Bella Sankey said: “Brighton and Hove is a beacon city for trans, non-binary, genderqueer and lesbian, gay and bisexual communities.
“People come to our city because we are known as a safe and inclusive city with a thriving diverse and intersectional population.
“As your Labour council, we stand in solidarity with our trans, non-binary and intersex communities and are proud of our commitment to trans equality. We celebrate and support our city’s diversity.
“The last Labour government broke new ground when it passed the 2004 Gender Recognition Act (GRA) and the 2010 Equality Act. Labour’s GRA enabled trans people to legally change their gender for the first time. Our Equality Act protected those who have undergone gender reassignment from discrimination and harassment.
“We are proud that Labour was the party to bring in these changes. Now, in 2023, we have a much better understanding of the barriers trans people face and this is why Labour has committed to modernising the Gender Recognition Act when in government. This will modernise, simplify and reform the gender recognition law.”
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