Pride in Labour, a group “championing LGBTQ+ rights within the Labour Party”, has expressed “serious concerns” about the endorsement from the Labour Government of Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson to lead the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) due to having aligned herself with gender-critical ideologies – “a position that raises serious doubt about her ability and commitment to protect the rights of trans people”.

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Yesterday, Thursday, 5 June, the government announced its endorsement of Dr Stephenson as the next chair of EHRC. While the EHRC is meant to function as an independent body, its chair is appointed by the Minister for Women and Equalities. Pride in Labour has said this is “a politicised arrangement that fundamentally undermines the Commission’s supposed impartiality”. 

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In a move widely criticised by LGBTQ+ advocacy groups, legal experts, politicians and community peers, EHRC published an “interim update on the practical implications of the UK Supreme Court judgment” in April. Non-statutory guidance that many experts believe misinterprets the court’s decision, is a huge over reach and undermines trans rights. Scottish Greens called it ‘Harsh, authoritarian and cruel’, the Scottish Trades Union Congress “hugely problematic”.

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vPride in Labour said in a statement: “Pride in Labour is alarmed by both the appointment process and the endorsement itself given that Dr Stephenson has previously aligned herself with gender-critical ideologies – a position that raises serious doubt about her ability and commitment to protect the rights of trans people. This is not a neutral appointment. It is part of a broader pattern of interference in institutions meant to safeguard human rights.