Gender Self-identification

David Mundell Excerpts

Monday 19th May 2025 Westminster Hall

[Several hon. Members rose—]

[David Mundell (in the Chair)]

I remind hon. Members that they should bob if they wish to be called. I will not set a time limit, but if hon. Members keep their speeches to around seven minutes, everyone will get to make a meaningful contribution.

--- Later in debate ---

[Olivia Blake]

No, I will make some progress if my hon. Friend does not mind, because I have only a little time.

The idea that it is a shame or somehow sad that people are trans is completely and utterly wrong. As has been said, trans joy exists. The many trans people and non-binary people I know live joyful lives. We should celebrate those lives, rather than suggesting that it is a mental health condition even though the WHO has said it is not. Creating a protracted, medicalised route just to get a piece of paper that says that one’s correct gender is really problematic and something that we should continue to question. This is why the right to self-identify one’s legal gender really matters. It is about the basic freedom to live as oneself. That means being able to go to the local supermarket or local café and not be fearful of being challenged when going to the bathroom. It is about being able to live without intrusive medical gatekeeping that means that it takes years and years for people just to get to that point.

We know that we are out of step internationally here. We know that the health advice has moved on, just as the thinking about hysteria moved on from the time when women got categorised as having that. Many groups of people have been wrongly categorised as mentally ill just for being themselves. We need to get away from the gatekeeping, outdated bureaucracy and humiliation that we have heard about again and again in consultations about the process as it stands.

The EHRC’s recent guidance on sex and gender in single-sex services has created further concern among my constituents, as well as charities, schools and employers who want to act properly but now feel unclear about their responsibilities. We need clarity that reinforces inclusion, not ambiguity that creates fear. I am pleased that Labour committed in our manifesto to making the GRC process simpler, but the recent judgment is very concerning. It risks undermining the existence of these certificates in themselves if we are not careful and if the guidance goes the wrong way.

Trans healthcare, too, is an area where we need action urgently. Current NHS waiting times and the indefinite ban on puberty blockers are leaving people in limbo for years. This is not just a policy challenge. It is a public health issue and one that requires compassion, evidence and leadership. I hope that the puberty blockers trial is as wide as possible and as scientific as it can be.

Thank you, Mr Mundell, for allowing me to speak for this long. Rights are not a zero-sum game. We cannot protect one group without protecting another; we need to strengthen the whole. I urge Ministers to continue listening to trans people, to ground decisions in evidence, and to act with the courage that true equality demands and make sure that instead of us just standing up here, we have proper consultation, which has the voice of trans, non-binary, intersex and all people represented in the evidence that it hears, and that that is taken on board.

We do not want a situation where we are trying to police people going into toilets, which could be problematic to those who do not fit or conform to gender stereotypes, as we have heard. This is not just about toilets; it is about dignity—dignity in death, as we have heard, and dignity in having privacy and the ability to have that joyful life that we all want everyone to have.

[David Mundell (in the Chair)]

I call Martin Rhodes, and I assure Dr Arthur that, after I leave the Chair, he will be called.